New Website Dynamically Tracks World’s Top Optometry Researchers

WATERLOO, Ontario, March 5, 2021— Four ocular researchers have developed a dynamic global ranking system to recognize the world’s top 200 optometry researchers. Updated automatically every 24 hours, the Global Optometrist Top 200 Research Rankings are available at optomrankings.com.

Drs. Philip Morgan, Lyndon Jones, Jason Nichols and Nathan Efron, along with programmer George Morgan, created the website based upon a new co-authored paper that was published in Clinical and Experimental Optometry. The paper can be downloaded at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08164622.2021.1878863

Inclusion on the list is determined through widespread global searches that identify optometrists who have published extensively, in both optometry and other disciplines. All metrics are compiled through a custom tool that accesses the Scopus search engine. Ranking factors include h-index, number of publications, years of active publishing, and number of citations. Individual h-indexes of the top 200 range from 68 to 21, with numbers of published papers as high as 443.

Lyndon Jones, director of the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) at the University of Waterloo, a paper co-author and co-creator of the website, is currently ranked #14. He also ranks fifth among optometrists who have been cited at least 1,000 times in a single year, fifth in the category of most prolific optometrists, and eighth in publication rate.

“It’s quite incredible to see the efforts of researchers with a background in optometry reflected through this new tool, and intriguing to consider the total impact of their work,” said Dr Jones. “While I’m humbled to be among many peers and friends, I am even more enthusiastic to see the growing impact of new research and researchers, helping the field continue to evolve. This publication certainly confirms the fact that optometry is an evidence-based discipline.”

The University of Waterloo ranks fifth among all institutions on the list. In addition to Dr. Jones, the following Waterloo researchers are ranked: Trefford Simpson, Desmond Fonn, Jacob Sivak, Daphne McCulloch, Thomas Freddo, Paul Murphy, Christopher Hudson, Luigina Sorbara, William Bobier and Anthony Cullen.

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About the Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE)

The Centre for Ocular Research & Education (CORE) – formerly known as the Centre for Contact Lens Research – was established in 1988 at the University of Waterloo’s School of Optometry & Vision Science. Over the next three decades, the organization evolved from a three-person operation into a thriving hub of basic and applied research, collaborating with sponsors, agencies and academia on advanced biosciences, clinical research and education. Its uncompromising independence and results of the highest quality have been at the heart of many of the most prominent advances in eye health. Today, its approximately 50-person team serves a range of ophthalmic sectors, including medical devices, ocular pharmaceuticals, digital technology and others, with a focus on the anterior segment. For more information, please visit core.uwaterloo.ca.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Aimee J. Lewis or Mike McDougall, APR, Fellow PRSA
McDougall Communications for CORE
aimee@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.414.9838  |  mike@mcdougallpr.com +1.585.434.2150