The 2018 American Academy of Optometry Conference

The American Academy of Optometry hosted its annual conference last Friday through Tuesday. This year, it was held in the Texas Ballroom of the Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. This year’s theme was The Art + Science.

There were presentations from many of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) faculty, five on-campus residents and the College’s affiliated residents.

Previous PCO residents, who received their Fellowship in the Academy, also presented lectures and posters during the meeting. “It always make me very proud to see them continue to add to their accomplishments and watch them represent PCO in such such a positive way,” said Bhawan Minhas, OD, FAAO, director of On-Campus Residency Programs.

In addition to the presentations, there were other accomplishments for faculty as well as a PCO alumni.

Bisant Labib, OD, FAAO, assistant professor, became a diplomate in Comprehensive Eye Care in the Academy, which, according to Dr. Minhas, is “an amazing accomplishment for someone so young.”

Also during the conference, a few select members of the Academy received awards – one of which was Kovin S. Naidoo, OD’95, PhD, FAAO. He received the 2018 Carel C. Koch Memorial Medal, which is awarded to a person who has made outstanding contributions to the enhancement and development of relationships between optometry and other professions.

Dr. Naidoo is an advocate for the synergy between ophthalmology and optometry. He founded the African Vision Research Institute, linking optometry and ophthalmology from all over the continent in the pursuit of confronting the challenges of Africa’s eye health issues. He also founded the Our Children’s Vision campaign, a cooperative project between optometry and ophthalmology that has reached an estimated 19 million children.

There were also two receptions held for Salus Alumni.

The first reception was the 15th reunion for the Class of 2003 at Guadalajara Grill, in San Antonio. There were drinks and light fare while members of the class met up and reminisced about their time as students at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry of Salus University. During this time, it was also announced that Salus will match $25,000 to create a $50,000 endowment fund in honor of Allison Leigh Barinas, OD – a student who had passed prior to graduating in 2003.

The second reception far exceeded attendance expectations with 200 attendees, including several faculty members also attended.