UH Optometry Professor Receives $2.6M To Continue Groundbreaking Eye Research

University of Houston College of Optometry Professor John O’Brien has received a $2.6 million National Eye Institute award to continue long-term research on electrical synapses and gap junction plasticity. The project advances understanding of how retinal circuits function, with relevance to visi...

Three UHCO Graduate Students Awarded Prestigious Ezell Fellowships

Three University of Houston College of Optometry graduate students — Bismark Owusu-Afriyie, Kwaku Bonsu and Ebenezer Owusu — have been awarded 2025 Ezell Fellowships from the American Academy of Optometry Foundation. The recognition underscores UHCO’s strength in preparing the next generation of ...

UH Optometry Professor Co-Leads $25 Million NIH-Funded Grant to Study the Delay of Nearsightedness in Children

David Berntsen, Golden-Golden Professor of Optometry at the University of Houston, is helping lead a $25 million National Institutes of Health trial to find out if nightly low-dose atropine drops can delay nearsightedness in children ages 6 to 11. Known as the DONUT study, the project is designed...

UH Optometry Leaders Share Digital Innovations At AWS-Imagine Conference

Visually Impaired Children Receive Life-Changing Vision Aids

The University of Houston Center for Sight Enhancement partnered with Sight Savers America to provide 30 local children who are visually impaired with high-tech vision aids at no cost.

New UH Campus Store Additions Promote Eye Care, Convenience, and Student Engagement

The UH Campus Store introduced several changes, including a new optometry kiosk that promotes eye health and offers discounts, plus new retail offerings and services.

Booked, Busy and Winning: UH Optometry Staffer Honored for Innovation

Guaquita Lavelle-Watkins, clinic administrator at the UH College of Optometry, received the inaugural Centennial Staff Innovation Award for developing the college’s first online appointment booking system - a project that has modernized patient care and streamlined clinic operations.

University of Houston Optometry Researcher Provides New Hope for Injured Corneas

The National Institutes of Health awarded Professor Tarsis G. Ferreira a $2.2 million grant to develop a treatment for corneal scarring, a condition that can lead to permanent vision loss.

Insight Expo Partners with UH Optometry Providing Education and Peer Support for Blind and Visually Impaired Houstonians

The Insight Expo, a partnership between the Houston Area Visually Impaired Network and the University of Houston College of Optometry, brought together individuals with low vision, their families, and vision care professionals for a day of education, empowerment, and community. Held on the UH cam...

Research Provides Insight into How Multifocal Contacts Help Fight Myopia

With childhood myopia on the rise, researchers at the University of Houston and Ohio State University have found that high-add multifocal contact lenses can slow its progression. Led by Dr. David Berntsen, the BLINK Study revealed that these lenses not only reduce eye growth in myopic children bu...