Faculty at Berkeley Optometry

The faculty at Berkeley Optometry constitute a prestigious group of educators and researchers. Links to their professional profiles can be found under four categories, as outlined below:

Full-time Faculty in clinical and basic science devote all their time to teaching and research at UC Berkeley, nearly all of them full-time at Berkeley Optometry.

Part-time Faculty include optometrists and ophthalmologists who maintain private, group, or clinic practices while also teaching part time at Berkeley Optometry.

Affiliated Vision Science Faculty represent distinguished professors and researchers in vision science programs in other departments who are associated with Berkeley Optometry. [Also see the Vision Science Graduate program.]

Affiliated Off-Campus Faculty work as clinical professors and instructors in off-campus programs associated with Berkeley Optometry.

Faculty in Clinical and Basic Science

We have a long tradition of groundbreaking investigation into the origins of vision disorders and the development of improved diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of visual defects and diseases. Many Berkeley Optometry faculty have international reputations and are recipients of prestigious awards. Some researchers have held important appointments in governmental agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, while others consult with private organizations that support research for the prevention of visual impairments and sight-threatening conditions. Our students therefore have the opportunity to learn from recognized leaders in the field of clinical optometry and vision science.

Faculty in the Clinical Research Program

We have designed our Clinical Research Program so that students are involved with patient-based research through collaborative ventures among clinicians, clinician scientists, and vision scientists. Our Clinical Faculty offer the highest level of expertise and experience in clinical education and training, providing valuable experience for the practice of optometry and introducing students to the very latest in new technology, diagnosis, and treatment.

Faculty in the Vision Science Research Program

Eighteen professors from Berkeley Optometry are currently participating in the multi-disciplinary Vision Science Research Program. Their laboratories are engaged in the full spectrum of vision research, probing topics as varied as corneal tear film biophysics, refractive error development, gene therapy for retinal disease, cortical neurophysiology, adaptive optics, and depth perception. Supported by millions of dollars in research and training grants, and working closely with their graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, faculty in basic and clinical vision science are are making cutting-edge discoveries, some of which may have direct applications in enhancing the optometrist's ability to provide primary vision care. Berkeley Optometry faculty also include an additional five professors emeriti who to varying degrees maintain research laboratories or mentoring programs in the field of vision science.

Some optometry students choose to spend part of their time at Berkeley Optometry working in the exciting and dynamic environment of one of these research laboratories, and a few even opt to pursue combined careers in optometry and vision science research. See the website of the Graduate Program in Vision Science.