SPEAKER INFORMATION

 Jan Bergmanson, OD, PhD, FAAO, AAO Diplomate, UHCO Conference Director

Dr. Bergmanson received his optometric training and PhD at the City University, London. In addition, he obtained a Doctor of Optometry degree from Pennsylvania College of Optometry. Currently, Dr. Bergmanson is Professor of Optometry at the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO), where he is the founding Director of the Texas Eye Research and Technology Center (TERTC). He has extensively researched and lectured internationally on subjects of corneal morphological response to contact lens wear, tear and ophthalmic solution effects on the ocular surface, histopathology of ocular tissues damaged by ultraviolet radiation, and the effects of the Excimer Laser on the cornea. Dr. Bergmanson is a Foundation Fellow of the College of Optometry in United Kingdom, where he remains licensed to practice, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, where he is a Diplomate in the Cornea and Contact Lens Section. He is a council member of the International Society for Contact Lens Research and a lifetime honorary member of the Swedish and Dutch Optometric Associations, to which he also serves as a consultant. Dr. Bergmanson is the recipient of the 1998 British Contact Lens Association Gold Medal Award, the 2002 Texas Optometric Association's Educator of the Year Award, the University of Houston College of Optometry 2003 Cora and J. Davis Armistead Faculty Teaching Award and the 2005 Swedish Optometric Association's Mark of Honor Award.

 

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 David Berntsen, OD, PhD, FAAO

Dr. Berntsen is an Associate Professor and the Golden-Golden Professor of Optometry at the University of Houston College of Optometry where he teaches in the graduate and professional programs. He is the Chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences and conducts research on myopia, contact lenses, and aberrations of the eye. He completed his Doctor of Optometry degree at the University of Houston and a Cornea and Contact Lens Advanced Practice Fellowship, MS, and PhD at The Ohio State University. He conducted the Study of Theories about Myopia Progression (STAMP), a two-year clinical trial evaluating theories of juvenile-onset myopia progression and is the Principal Investigator of the University of Houston clinical site for the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) Study and the BLINK2 Study, a multicenter study sponsored by the National Eye Institute evaluating contact lenses for myopia control. Dr. Berntsen serves on the American Academy of Optometry’s Scientific Program Committee.

 

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Peter Cass, OD, ABO Diplomate

Dr. Cass received his Doctor of Optometry from the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO).  He is a full-time associate with MyEyeDr. in Beaumont, Texas, Vice President of Practice Compliance Solutions, partner in Elevate Digital Optics Lab in Dallas, a clinical researcher for Alcon, and an auditor for Medicaid. Dr. Cass is also an Adjunct Faculty member at UHCO, where he teaches practice management to the third-year students. He is a Past President of the Texas Optometric Association and continues to serve on their third party, legal and legislative, and finance committees. Dr. Cass is a nationally recognized speaker on topics of billing, compliance, practice management, and anterior segment disease.

 

 

 

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 Joe DeLoach, OD, FAAO

Dr. DeLoach completed undergraduate training at Texas A&M University where he was designated an Academic Fellow in Biochemical Genetics. He received his Doctor of Optometry degree from the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) in 1981. As a private practitioner, Dr. DeLoach was Chief of Staff at Plano Eye Associates and also served as Medical Director of the EyeCare and Surgery Center of North Texas for almost two decades. Dr. DeLoach retired from UHCO in 2019, having served as the Clinical Director for the University Eye Institute’s Dallas and Fort Worth clinics. Dr. DeLoach served on the Texas Optometric Association’s Executive Committee and Board of Trustees in numerous capacities including President and Chairman of the Legal and Legislative Committee. He has won numerous awards including the Texas Optometric Association’s Young Optometrist of the Year and Optometrist of the Year, the Distinguished Service Award, and fourteen President's Awards. Additionally, UHCO awarded him the Distinguished Alumnus Award, William B. Pittman Award, and Educator of the Year Award. Currently, Dr. DeLoach is the President of Practice Compliance Solutions and lectures extensively on topics related to glaucoma and ocular disease management, as well as, medical billing and coding, documentation of medical records, and HIPAA compliance.

 

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David Dinh, OD, FAAO

Dr. Dinh hails from Baton Rouge, Louisiana where he received his undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry.  He then received his Doctor of Optometry degree from the University of Houston College of Optometry where he received multiple honors and awards from his colleagues and professors in recognition for his excellence in pediatrics as well as his leadership.  Following optometry school, Dr. Dinh underwent an intensive residency in Ocular Disease at Cedar Springs Eye Clinic in Dallas, Texas where he gained advanced training in the areas of glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, and dry eye syndrome.  He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and maintains active memberships in the Texas Optometric Association, the American Optometric Association, the local Dallas County Optometric Society, and the international Gold Key Honor Society.

 

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 Steve Ferguson, OD

Dr. Ferguson is a 1987 graduate of the University of Houston earning his Optometry Physician’s Degree with honors. He is former president of the Minnesota Optometric Association and was named Minnesota’s first ever “Young Optometrist of the Year.” While practicing in Minnesota, he helped launch therapeutic legislation for the optometric profession. Dr. Ferguson is a nationally recognized leader in dry eye treatment who has participated in clinical studies for Tear Science regarding LipiFlow patient acceptance.He continues as an Alpha investigator for eyebrain Medical, KOL for Johnsonand Johnson and is a Senior Strategic and Medical Advisor for Percept technologies.He founded Dunes Eye Consultants and Dunes LASIK Center in 2003 in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota.

 

 

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Leah Johnson, OD, FAAO

Dr. Leah Johnson is the Director of Professional Affairs for CooperVision Specialty EyeCare, Americas. She is responsible for the development and implementation of clinical and educational programs supporting current and future eye care practitioners across the Americas and China. 

 

She is a graduate of the University of Houston, College of Optometry where she also completed a post-doctorate fellowship in Cornea & Contact Lens. Afterwards, she practiced in Houston, Texas with a concentration in specialty contact lenses. She currently serves at the University of Houston, College of Optometry as clinical adjunct faculty, focusing on Myopia Management Services. Dr. Johnson is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and the Scleral Lens Education Society.

 

Dr. Johnson has spent extensive time in China, which contains the highest numbers of myopic children. There she works collectively with key opinion leaders and eyecare professionals to bring a better understanding of myopia and supports selecting the best treatment options that enhance patient outcomes and care.

 

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 Christina Kinate, OD

Dr. Kinate is proficient in primary eye care with an emphasis in anterior segment disease and specialty contact lenses. After her Marine Corps service, she earned her Doctor of Optometry from the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) where she actively participated in optometric and public health organizations. After receiving her OD, she completed a fellowship with the Texas Eye Research and Technology Center; extensively studying corneal disease and co-managing complex acute and chronic eye diseases. She received sub-specialty training in therapeutic contact lenses, studied corneal dystrophies on a histopathological level, and aided in educating optometry students. She strives to deliver quality eye care in order to preserve and improve vision and ocular health. She is an active leader of the Texas Public Health Association Vision Care Section and a member of the American Optometric Association, Texas Optometric Association, Harris County Optometric Association, and a volunteer for the Women Marines Association.

 

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Norman Leach, OD, MS, FAAO, FOAA

Dr. Leach received his OD and MS degrees from the University Of Houston College Of Optometry (UHCO).  He served on the faculty of the University Of Alabama Medical Center School Of Optometry from 1972 to 1981 as Chief of Contact Lens Programs and Services.  He was in part-time practice during those years and full-time practice from 1981 to 1984.  Dr. Leach was the Director of the Cornea and Contact Lens Service, Director of the Cornea and Contact Lens Residency Program, and Optometry 4th Year Clinical Course Master from 1987 to 2006 at UHCO.  He also served as the Associate Director of the Texas Eye Research and Technology Center until his retirement after 31 years of service at the University of Houston. Dr. Leach has published numerous articles and lectured internationally on contact lenses and related topics.  He served on the American Academy of Orthokeratology Board from 2002 to 2009.  He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthokeratology.  Dr. Leach currently holds an Adjunct Clinical Professor of Optometry position at the University Of Houston College Of Optometry.

 

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Amber Nichols, OD

Dr. Nichols is the current Cornea and Contact Lens Fellow with the Texas Eye Research & Technology Center at the University of Houston College of Optometry. She earned an Associates in Science and a Bachelors in Biology back home in Norfolk, Virginia at Old Dominion University. During her optometric education, she gained experience in Primary Care and Specialty Lens Fitting at her externships in Kingwood and Spring, Texas.

 

 

 

 

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 Jason Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO

Dr. Nichols is the Assistant Vice President for Industry Research Development and Director of the Office of Industry Engagement at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He also actively conducts ocular surface and contact lens research and trains PhD students and fellows. Prior to his current position, Dr. Nichols was the Kevin McDaid Vision Source Professor (with tenure) at the University of Houston College of Optometry between 2011 and 2014, and an Associate Professor (with tenure) at The Ohio State University College of Optometry from 2004-2011. While at University of Houston, he founded The Ocular Surface Institute (TOSI) and was its Chief Operating Officer; TOSI had a team of 20 scientists, project managers, faculty and graduate students dedicated in translational ocular surface based research. Dr. Nichols received his undergraduate degree at Hope College (BA, biology), and Doctor of Optometry, Master’s in Public Health (epidemiology), and PhD (vision science) all from The Ohio State University. He is currently Editor of Contact Lens Spectrum and Contact Lenses Today®, whose publications reach over 50,000 eyecare practitioners worldwide. Dr. Nichols also serves as an Associate Editor for Eye and Contact Lens, is a topical editor for Optometry and Vision Science, and is on the editorial board of Current Ophthalmology Reports.

 

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 Ryan Parker, OD

Dr. Parker received his undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University in 2000. He graduated from the Oklahoma College of Optometry at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah Oklahoma in 2004. He opened Ardmore Premier Eyecare in 2007. In 2018 he joined Essilor full time as the Director of Professional Education. Dr. Parker has lectured on practice management at many of the schools and colleges of Optometry and has presented numerous lectures to opticians and optometric physicians on a variety of spectacle lens-related topics.

 

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 Kathryn Richdale, OD, PhD, FAAO

Dr. Kathryn Richdale received her BS from the University of Notre Dame and her OD, PhD, and Cornea and Contact Lens Advanced Practice Fellowship from The Ohio State University. She was founding director of the Clinical Vision Research Center, and established the Myopia Control Clinic at the State University of New York College of Optometry before joining the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) as an Associate Professor in 2017. Dr. Richdale is an attending in the Cornea and Contact Lens Service, oversees the Myopia Management Service, and teaches in both the optometric and graduate programs at UHCO. She conducts research primarily in the areas of cornea, contact lenses and refractive error. Dr. Richdale earned her Diplomate in the American Academy of Optometry Cornea, Contact Lenses and Refractive Technologies section in 2019.

 

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 William Townsend, OD, FAAO

Dr. Townsend is a graduate of the University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO). Retired from private practice, he also served as an adjunct faculty member and preceptor at UHCO, as well as, a consultant for eleven years at the VA Medical Center in Amarillo, Texas. In 2015, he was named the University of Houston College of Optometry Alumnus of the Year. Dr. Townsend conducted clinical research with special emphasis on ocular surface disease and dry eye. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and past president of the Ocular Surface Society of Optometry.

 

 

 

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 Maria Walker, OD, PhD, FAAO, FSLS

Maria K Walker is a clinician scientist with a clinical and research focus on keratoconus and scleral lenses. She graduated with an OD and MS degree from The New England College of Optometry in 2013 and went on to complete a one-year Cornea & Contact Lens Residency at Pacific University in Portland, OR. She joined the faculty of UHCO in 2014 and in 2021 completed her PhD under the mentorship of Dr. Rachel Redfern with a dissertation entitled: “The Impact of a Scleral Lens on the Eye”. Throughout her education and early career, Maria has won several awards including the Sheldon Wechsler contact lens residency award, the Founders’ Grant from the International Society of Contact Lens Specialists, and she is a two-time recipient of the Ezell Fellowship offered through the American Optometric Foundation. She is an active Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry, a Fellow and the 2021 President of the Scleral Lens Education Society, as well as an advisory board member of the Gas Permeable Lens Institute. Dr. Walker is currently a tenure-tracked assistant professor at UHCO, where her lab focuses on tear film and inflammatory research on keratoconus.

 

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM	Check-In
8:00 AM - 8:05 AM	Announcements & CE Credit Overview
8:05 AM - 9:45 AM	Myopia Session Part 1: Modernized Management Speakers: Leah Johnson, OD, Norman Leach, OD, MS, FAAO, FOAA, David Berntsen, OD, PhD, and Ryan Parker, OD by Jason Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO	Credit Hours: 2.0 / D/T Cope ID: 75492-GO
9:45 AM - 10:15 AM	Break & Exhibit Hall
10:15 AM - 12:00 PM	Myopia Session Part 2: Pharmaceutical Management & Treatment Showdown Topics in this Myopia Session Include: Pharmaceutical Management of Myopia, Case Scenario 1a: 4yr old -1.00 OU, myopic parents 1b: 4yr old -3.00/-1.50 corneal toricity OU, Case Scenario 2: 9yr old -1.50 OU hating doctors touching her eyes, Case Scenario 3a: 11 yr old wearing -1.00/-1.50 OU spectacle Rx & 3b: 16 yr old electronic gamer with emerging -1.00 OU spectacle Rx - Presented by Jason Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO, Leah Johnson, OD, Norman Leach, OD, MS, FAAO, FOAA, David Berntsen, OD, PhD, Kathryn Richdale, OD, PhD, FAAO, Ryan Parker, OD by Jason Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO	Credit Hours: 2.0 / D/T Cope ID: 75493-GO
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM	Lunch & Exhibit Hall
1:00 PM - 2:45 PM	Scleral Lenses Session: Therapeutics in Scleral Lens Management by Maria Walker, OD, PhD, FAAO, FSLS	Credit Hours: 2.0 / D/T Cope ID: 75495-CL
2:45 PM - 3:15 PM	Break & Exhibit Hall
3:15 PM - 4:05 PM	Scleral Lenses Session: Scleral Lenses Elevating IOP – A Conspiracy Theory? by Jan Bergmanson, OD, PhD, DSc, FAAO, AAO Diplomate	Credit Hours: 1.0 / D/T Cope ID: 75498-CL
4:05 PM - 5:00 PM	Scleral Lenses Session: Scleral Lenses in the Management of Disease by Christina Kinate, OD, Amber Nichols, OD	Credit Hours: 1.0 / D/T Cope ID: 75499-CL

7:00 AM - 8:00 AM	Check-In
8:00 AM - 8:05 AM	Announcements & CE Credit Overview
8:05 AM - 8:55 AM	Therapeutics Session: Preparing the Dry Eye for Contact Lens Wear by William Townsend, OD, FAAO	Credit Hours: 1.0 / D/T Cope ID: 72818-AS
8:55 AM - 9:45 AM	Therapeutics Session: Management and Treatment of Corneal Ulcers (AKA Microbial Keratitis) by William Townsend, OD, FAAO	Credit Hours: 1.0 / D/T Cope ID: 75500-AS
9:45 AM - 10:15 AM	Break & Exhibit Hall
10:15 AM - 11:05 AM	Therapeutics Session: Just like Pinot Noir, MGD can be complex and diverse by Steve Ferguson, OD	Credit Hours: 1.0 / D/T Cope ID: 75501-AS
11:05 AM - 12:00 PM	Therapeutics Session: Medical Management Options in the Treatment of Trigeminal Dysphoria by Steve Ferguson, OD	Credit Hours: 1.0 / D/T Cope ID: 75627-NO
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM	Lunch & Exhibit Hall
1:00 PM - 1:50 PM	Practice Management Session: Telemedicine & Telehealth: A Practical Guide by Peter Cass, OD, FAAO	Credit Hours: 1.0 / General Cope ID: 75645-PM
1:50 PM - 2:40 PM	Practice Management Session: Compliance Issues in Eye Care by Peter Cass, OD, FAAO	Credit Hours: 1.0 / General Cope ID: 72540-PM
2:40 PM - 3:10 PM	Break & Exhibit Hall
3:10 PM - 4:00 PM	Practice Management Session: Opioids: Managing Pain During A Drug Epidemic NOTE: This course will include a screening of a previously recorded session. Participants will receive CE credit for viewing the course – no exam required. by David Dinh, OD, FAAO	Credit Hours: 1.0 / D/T Cope ID: 71255-PH
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM	Practice Management Session: 2021 Professional Responsibility Course for Texas Optometrists NOTE: This course will include a screening of a previously recorded session. Participants will receive CE credit for viewing the course – no exam required. by Joe DeLoach, OD, FAAO	Credit Hours: 1.0 / General/Professional Responsibility Cope ID: 74585-EJ