College News
University of Houston Optometry Professor Receives Retina Australia’s Top Honor
Professor Michael Kalloniatis of the University of Houston College of Optometry has been honored by Retina Australia as the inaugural recipient of its Hall of Fame Award, recognizing his decades of pioneering work in inherited retinal disease research and his international impact on vision scienc...
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Two Fourth-Year Students Earn National Practice Excellence Scholarships
UHCO fourth year students Madeline Fossitt and Uyen Ha have been awarded the VSP and AAOF Practice Excellence Scholarship, a national recognition honoring their achievements in academics, patient care, and dedication to the profession.
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University of Houston Leads Texas in National Eye Institute Research Funding
The University of Houston has secured a top 10 national ranking in National Eye Institute funding, leading Texas institutions with nearly $13 million across 29 active projects. The majority of the support advances groundbreaking work in the College of Optometry, complemented by major initiatives ...
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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...
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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 ...
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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...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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College of Optometry
J. Davis Armistead Building
4401 Martin Luther King Blvd.
Houston, TX 77204-2020
uhco@central.uh.edu
(713) 743-2020