Oberdorfer Award in Low Vision Research
This award recognizes the seminal contributions of Michael D. Oberdorfer, PhD in support of low vision research. Dr. Oberdorfer served for many years at the National Eye Institute (NEI) as director of Strabismus, Amblyopia and Visual Processing and director of Low Vision and Blindness Rehabilitation for the NEI Extramural Research Program. His support of low vision research led to an expansion of funded grants in that field. First presented in 2012, the Oberdorfer Award in Low Vision Research is supported by the Lighthouse Guild through the ARVO Foundation.
Awardees will receive a $1,250 honorarium, an inscribed award and invitations to several special events at the ARVO Annual Meeting.
Eligibility
Eligible candidates are invited speakers to the ARVO Annual Meeting who will be presenting a low vision topic. The award recipient will present a lecture during an invited speaker session (symposium, minisymposium or cross-sectional group session) at the ARVO Annual Meeting.
Application process
There is no application process for this award.
Review and selection process
The Annual Meeting Program Committee (AMPC) nominates invited speakers presenting a low vision-related topic. A selection committee evaluate and score the nominees based on the role they have played in furthering low-vision research.
Timeline
Recipients will be notified in December.
2023 recipient: Lisa Ostrin, OD, PhD, FARVO
Lisa Ostrin is an associate professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry. Dr. Ostrin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin and an OD and PhD from the University of Houston. She then completed post-doctoral research at Johns Hopkins University, where she worked with low vision patients who had received a retinal prosthetic. From there, she worked as a clinical researcher at the University of California Berkeley School of Optometry, where she began research in human and animal models of eye growth and myopia. Once she moved to the University of Houston, she started a lab to continue work in myopia, with a focus on circadian rhythms and the choroid, as well as in developing treatment strategies for myopia. In addition to research, Dr. Ostrin teaches human and ocular anatomy and accommodative physiology in the professional and graduate studies programs, serves on the IOVS editorial board, and has served on several ARVO committees. Dr. Ostrin is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and gold fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. She recently authored the book, Anatomy of the Human Eye: a Coloring Atlas.
