Presenter: Harbir Sian
October 21st, 2020 at 8pm
COPE Approved Online Event: Power of One – Roadmap to Better Contact Lens Patient Care
CORE Knowledge: The Ultimate Eye Science Game
Beginning Sunday, April 29, join the Centre for Ocular Research & Education at ARVO 2018 as we unveil CORE Knowledge. Match wits against your colleagues in Honolulu and around the world, putting your ocular knowledge to the test in a rapid-fire, fun-for-all quiz game.
Make sure to stop by CORE booth #1316 for your chance to play and win!
Canada-wide
Etty Bitton
Dr. Bitton completed her Optometry degree at the University of Waterloo (1988), followed by a Master’s in Physiological Optics (1994) from the Université de Montréal (Montreal, Canada) in the area of tear film clinical physiology and its relevance in patients exhibiting dry eye. She presently holds the rank of Associate professor, she is the Director of the Externship Program as well as the Director of the Dry Eye Clinic which was established in 2012. In 2015, Dr. Bitton was invited by the Tear Film Ocular Society (TFOS) to participate in the TFOSDEWSII, a global initiate to redefine dry eye, on the Communication and Education Sub-committee, She represents this organization as one of two Ambassadors for Canada.
In 2017 Dr Bitton received the Lester B. Janoff Memorial Award from the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators (AOCLE) for excellence in teaching, clinical work and publication as well as the Dr. Mae Booth-Jones Award for Mentorship and Education, from Women in Optometry Theia Awards.
Dr. Bitton is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and the British Contact Lens Association as well as a member of several regional and international professional organizations. Her research interests include tear film evaluation, dry eye and its effect on contact lens wear.
Richard Maharaj
Dr. Richard Maharaj is the Clinic Director at eyeLABS Optometry and Center for Ocular Surface Disease and Senior Optometrist at York-Finch Ophthalmology, Toronto. Dr. Maharaj is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and is a Clinical Adjunct Faculty at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry. He continues to develop new techniques and devices for non-surgical clinical care of the meibomian glands and ocular surface. He is an international speaker on primary management of eye diseases, a published author on ocular surface disease, current Board Editor for Journal of Dry Eye Disease, Chief Learning Officer of MyDryEye.ca and Chair for the Canadian Association of Optometry’s Section for ocular surface diseases.
Carolyn Ren
Dr. Ren is a professor of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo (UW) and holds the Canada Research Chair in Droplet Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip Technology at UW. She is directing Waterloo Microfluidics Laboratory focusing on advancing fundamental knowledge of microfluidics and developing Lab-on-a-Chip technologies which have significant impact on a wide range of applications. Examples of her research applications span from material synthesis, to protein separation, single cell analysis and water quality sensing. Dr. Ren has received several awards from the engineering and research community, including: being recognized as one of 20 leading innovators in Women of Innovation, appointment as Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering, and an Early Research Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.
Heather Sheardown
Heather Sheardown is a Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at McMaster University, with a cross appointment to the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine. She also has an adjunct appointment with the School of Optometry at the University of Waterloo. She holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ophthalmic Biomaterials and Drug Delivery and has published more than 140 peer reviewed papers on this subject. She is currently the Scientific Director of C20/20, an ORF funded incubator aimed at the commercialization of ophthalmic biotechnologies. Sheardown was previously the Scientific Director of the 20/20 NSERC Ophthalmic Materials Research Network which brought together 12 researchers and more than 10 companies aimed at the early stage development of novel materials based treatments for ophthalmic conditions. Sheardown is the Associate Director of Biomedical Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (BEAM), a McMaster partnership with the Fraunhofer IZI which partners with companies for incubation and commercialization of cell based therapies, diagnostics and biomaterials. She holds 18 patents or provisional patents and is currently the Chief Scientific Officer of 20/20 OptimEyes, a McMaster based spin out focused on developing and commercializing a micelle based technology developed in her laboratory. She runs a large and vibrant research group with more than 10 post doctoral fellows, and graduate students.
c2020hub.ca
University of Waterloo
Carolyn Ren
Dr. Ren is a professor of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering at the University of Waterloo (UW) and holds the Canada Research Chair in Droplet Microfluidics and Lab-on-a-Chip Technology at UW. She is directing Waterloo Microfluidics Laboratory focusing on advancing fundamental knowledge of microfluidics and developing Lab-on-a-Chip technologies which have significant impact on a wide range of applications. Examples of her research applications span from material synthesis, to protein separation, single cell analysis and water quality sensing. Dr. Ren has received several awards from the engineering and research community, including: being recognized as one of 20 leading innovators in Women of Innovation, appointment as Fellow of the Canadian Society of Mechanical Engineering, and an Early Research Award from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation.
UW School of Optometry & Vision Science
Paul J. Murphy
The Murphy Lab for Experimental Optometry undertakes laboratory and clinically studies in a multi-disciplinary environment to investigate the interactions between the anterior ocular surface, eyelids and tear film. More specifically, our research looks at how the tear film, the exposed surface of the eye, the sensory nerves in the cornea, and the eyelids interact in both normal and abnormal circumstances – in the normal healthy eye, and when affected by contact lens wear and ocular surface disease. We also look at anterior segment anatomy to investigate the action of the lids on the eye, and the normal variation in ocular surface shape. The lab develops new instruments and methods of investigation to address these large questions, with the ultimate goal of understanding how best to help patients who experience discomfort when wearing contact lenses or as a result of problems with their tear film quality or quantity. We collaborate nationally and internationally with fellow researchers, and with industrial partners.
Ben Thompson
Ben’s research is concerned with visual cortex plasticity and development. He uses psychophysics, brain imaging and non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to investigate the basic mechanisms underlying visual cortex plasticity and to develop new treatments for brain-based visual disorders such as amblyopia. Ben is also a member of a team developing a new technique for the assessment of vision in children. Ben has expertise in clinical trials, amblyopia, visual development, motion perception and visual-motor integration.
Ocuflow
When it’s not practical to measure contact lens performance in vivo, what is the best way to simulate the ocular environment? While we can extrapolate results to predict in vivo lens performance, conventional in vitro methods are limited by conditions too far removed from the human eye.
While Chau-Minh Phan and Hendrik Walther were not the first to try to come up with a better in vitro system to test contact lens deposition and drug delivery, their tenacious approach in developing various iterations of the OcuFlow has produced a remarkable, patented device capable of simulating key aspects of the natural blink.
In addition to incorporating a range of motion representative of the lid’s vertical “blink” movement, the device is also able to take into consideration the intermittent air exposure that occurs between blinks and the potential to tailor and mimic fluid volume and flow of the natural tear film. Additionally, adjustable amounts of test solutions (i.e. artificial tears, protein and lipid solutions) can be released separately via separate sources, flow-through solution can be collected for in vitro analysis, and blink rate and extent of mechanical rubbing can be programmed.
An evolution of scope
Today, CORE Clinical and CORE BioSciences seamlessly integrate clinical observations with insights grounded in basic biosciences.
Our interdisciplinary team has the expertise and the drive to investigate multiple angles of a research question, building on insights to design multi-faceted solutions and facilitate the development of new biomaterials and technology.
In addition to sharing research results, training graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, and offering continuing education, CORE Education leverages the intellectual capital of the CORE research team to pinpoint research findings of interest to clinical practitioners and develop effective and engaging educational tools designed to keep them up-to-date and facilitate patient communication.
The CORE team has the expertise, technology and regulatory framework to support fundamental and clinical research focusing on pharmaceuticals, biomaterials (including contact lenses), ocular physiology and imaging.