PhD in Optometry & Vision Science

This advanced course aims to acquaint first-year graduate students with fundamental concepts in ocular diseases. Covered topics encompass the pathophysiology of ocular surface infections and inflammations, dry eye syndrome, lens disease, glaucoma, and retinal diseases. It will delve into new non-surgical therapeutic approaches and provide updates on current research efforts. The instructional approach blends didactic lectures with student-led discussions and presentations based on pertinent research literature.

The course provides comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge on the biochemical basis of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, and nucleic acid structures, functions, and metabolism as they relate to eye and ocular diseases. It covers selected topics in molecular biochemistry and describes the biochemistry of vision, the biochemical structure and functions of eye tissues, and metabolic processes that maintain the visual process.

The course discusses experimental design, forming a hypothesis, research methodology, sampling, clinical trials, basic data analysis, and research budgetary management. It covers descriptive statistics, probability sampling, correlation, prediction, parametric and non-parametric variables, repeated measures designs, complex regression, statistical re-sampling, analysis of clinical images, and accuracy of novel clinical methods. Research ethics including ethics codes, participant consent, and types of scientific misconduct are also addressed.

Covers selected topics in visual impairment and perception including retinal signaling, LGN, visual cortex, visual adaptations, luminance contrast processing, and scene perception. Topics also include epidemiology of low vision, its emotional and community impact, sensory substitution, prescribing optical and electronic low vision devices, and multidisciplinary low vision service provision. Involves evaluation of non-optical aids in subjects with low vision.

Provides students with the experience to critically evaluate literature in the area of vision research. Students meet with their supervisors for two hours each week and must submit multiple drafts of literature reviews criticizing the literature on a specific topic.

Provides comprehensive descriptions of binocular vision anomalies — strabismic and non-strabismic, sensory, and motor disorders. Discusses binocular vision instabilities and their correlation with visual stress, implications for learning disability, and motor/sensory ocular dominance instabilities affecting reading performance, all within the scope of scientific publications.

Provides comprehensive and up-to-date knowledge in cornea and clinical contact lenses, tear film, and ocular surface. Covers recent research in cornea and contact lenses, systematic evaluation and grading of dry eyes. Students present, discuss, and critically analyze recent articles in cornea, contact lenses, dry eye management, and new treatment technologies.

Interactive sessions on visual optics, optical error correction, and ocular imaging. Topics include visual image quality concepts, accommodation, strategies for presbyopia, myopia progression reduction, and applications and constraints of technology for measuring and correcting aberrations in normal and highly aberrated eyes, along with its use in ocular imaging.

A continuation of OPTO 622. Students submit their final draft of the literature review, identifying the gap in current knowledge and suggesting future research directions.

Provides students the opportunity to focus on a particular research topic. Students conduct a literature review directly related to their PhD topic and formulate a hypothesis and aims. Students write a complete scientific research proposal in consultation with their supervisors, ideally before applying for external research grants.

The student conducts original clinical or laboratory research under the guidance of a chosen supervisor. They record and analyze data, draw conclusions, and write a formal thesis (abstract, introduction, background, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, references). Once approved by the supervisor and department, the student defends the thesis before internal and external examiners.