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Alumni News
Mariana Garcia ‘26OD is really interested in specialty contact lenses. So, when a patient came into The Eye Institute (TEI), Salus at Drexel University, suffering from keratoconus — an eye disease that causes the cornea to thin and bulge into a cone shape, which can lead to blurred vision, light sensitivity and other vision problems — she thought she would be able to help.
Working under the tutelage of Nicholas Gidosh, OD ‘15, FAAO, chief of the Cornea and Contact Lens Service at TEI, the two decided the patient was a candidate for a new specialty lens that corrects aberrations, imperfections in the eye’s optics that cause distorted or blurred vision.
“The patient had been complaining of blurred vision for two years,” said Garcia. “We ended up getting the perfect lens for him. He tried it on and didn’t see double anymore. He was able to read, drive at night and it really fixed everything.”
The new technology they used to treat the patient is called Ovitz Ares and the machine is called an aberrometer, which measures the patient’s aberrations. And, the success Garcia and Dr. Gidosh had with the patient during her clinical experiences led to a series of additional successes for the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) doctoral student.
She first developed a case report poster on the work with the patient, which she entered into the ABB Optical Student Challenge in December 2024. The challenge is open to all Doctor of Optometry students across the country and this year had the highest number of submissions in the competition’s 10-year history.
From all the student abstracts submitted, a select few were chosen and narrowed down to the top five. Garcia then presented her case through a Zoom webinar to colleagues, including faculty and other Doctor of Optometry students. The audience then graded each presenter, the scores were tabulated and compared to a panel of judges, who were also evaluating each presenter.
Garcia’s was then selected as the ultimate winner of the competition, the first time a student from the PCO has received the award. Because of that, she earned a scholarship to present her abstract at the Global Specialty Lens Symposium in Las Vegas, the largest annual contact lens meeting where the latest cutting-edge research information is exchanged.
“It feels great to have my hard work rewarded and recognized,” said Garcia. “It was nice to be able to share that work with everybody, especially at the symposium, a lot of people had questions about it since it was a newer aspect.”
Originally from Northern New Jersey, Garcia graduated from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, with a biology degree. She has been wearing glasses since she was four, and when she got older, she began working in a private optometric practice.
“That’s where I really got exposed to the fact that optometry is not just about glasses. It’s way more than that. And, that’s where I confirmed that optometry was my passion,” she said.
A self-described hands-on individual, Garcia chose to continue her edcuation at PCO because of the early clinical exposure and for the interprofessional experiences. She said her biggest takeaway from the expeirence she wanted to share with other students was how important it is to get involved early on in the PCO educaitonal experience, both didactically and clnically.
“I was so scared to reach out to my professors, but if you’re really passionate about something, you should go after it and try to get involved and get exposure,” she said.
Dr. Gidosh added that the faculty are proud of the students who go above and beyond to advance themselves toward career success.
“We have seen some great efforts with students working to learn more about specialty contact lenses and optometry within The Eye Institute to further their knowledge,” he said. “This is what brings me the greatest joy as a faculty member, when we get to see our students excel at the highest level."
