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This version of NSU News has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of NSU News, visit news.nova.edu.
This version of SharkBytes has been archived as of February 28, 2019. To search through archived articles, visit nova.edu/search. To access the new version of SharkBytes, visit sharkbytes.nova.edu.
NSU Research Spotlight: Eye Health
Heidi Wagner, O.D.
Heidi Wagner, O.D., has dedicated her professional life to identifying and disseminating best practices to promote safe and healthy contact lens wear.
As co-chair of a group of cornea and contact lens researchers in academic health centers across North America, Wagner is exploring the extent to which youth is a risk factor for contact lens wearers. The group discovered that older teens and young adults are at greatest risk for soft contact lens complications.
“I mentally superimposed an image of my daughters, now 16 and 18 years old, upon the risk profile. This connection made the data clear and also more personal, and helped me draw connections to other risky behaviors associated with this age group such as the auto accident risks of teen drivers,” Wagner says.
The group next developed a contact lens risk assessment survey to identify patients at higher risk for complications. Now, practitioners have guidance relating to point-of-care and proactive education related to those risks.
Wagner was the principal investigator at NSU under a multiclinic study funded by the National Eye Institute. She has also received numerous industry awards for her research benefiting contact lens wearers.
She credits two high school teachers with leading her to the practice of optometry in an academic health care setting. A chemistry teacher encouraged her to pursue what are now called STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) at a time when women were underrepresented.
And an English teacher fueled a love of reading. “I believe that the best way to thank my role models is to ‘pass it forward’ and serve as mentor to the next generation,” says Wagner.
To read more on Eye Health, Click here.