Celebration Profiles – November 13-17
In honor of our centennial anniversary, we are featuring members of our optometry community — past and present — each day of 2023!
See below for this week’s profiles.
This Week, We Are Celebrating…
Laura Patak, BS
Laura is a vision science student from Albany, NY. She studied Neuroscience at Colgate University in NY. After graduating from Colgate University, she was a post-baccalaureate fellow at the National Eye Institute (NIH), working under Dr. Wei Li, studying retinal development. Laura is here to learn about vision science and become a highly skilled researcher. She is studying the functional properties of retinal circuits and how the retina remodels after injury and disease. Laura’s goal is to acquire the skills to become a successful vision scientist and contribute to the field of visual neuroscience. Her hobbies include hiking, rock climbing, running, biking, and seeing live music!
Bernard J. Dolan, OD, MS, FAAO
Bernie Dolan was born in San Francisco, California. He earned his BS and MS in Biology at University of San Francisco where his life-long passion for teaching was awakened as he was appointed lecturer in the Evening College, teaching anatomy and physiology. He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, where he took graduate courses in anatomy and taught one night a week at USF while completing his Doctor of Optometry in 1980.Dr. Dolan completed his residency in Hospital-Based and Rehabilitative Optometry at Kansas City VA Medical Center. During this year he attended his first American Academy of Optometry Meeting and met his wife Jane. Thus, his residency year provided the framework for his life as a career VA Optometrist, clinical teacher, author and lecturer, academy fellow including professional service, and family life.
Dr. Dolan was the first optometrist hired at San Francisco VA Medical Center and was appointed as a clinical instructor at UC Berkeley teaching weekly in the Ocular Disease Clinic. He taught advanced clinical skills workshops to the clinical faculty and joined the Optometry Alumni Board as director of education for Annual Meeting programs that included hands-on clinical skills seminars.
In 1985, Dr. Dolan established a residency program at San Francisco VA Medical Center affiliated with UC Berkeley, and in 1988 added a student rotation. The residency program grew in stature over the years to become one of the leading programs in medical optometry in the world. Many graduates of the program took teaching positions at UC Berkeley, colleges of optometry, other VA teaching programs, and departments of ophthalmology, positively impacting the quality of education across the nation. Dr. Dolan taught UCSF medical students and participated in the teaching of the UCSF ophthalmology residents. He rose to the rank of clinical professor both at UC Berkeley and UCSF Department of Ophthalmology. The SFVA clinic became a model for UCSF ophthalmology clinics, fundamentally changing their culture and relationship with optometry.
Giving hundreds of local, regional, state, national, and international continuing education lectures, Dr. Dolan has provided current evidence-based clinical practice concepts to practicing optometrists. In addition, he authored or co-authored numerous abstracts at meetings of the American Academy of Optometry and ARVO, sharing new observations and clinical teaching cases with his colleagues. His scholarly contributions include book chapters and numerous publications in the peer reviewed literature where he has published papers in every major ophthalmic journal.
Dr. Dolan has served on many Berkeley Optometry committees, including curriculum, peer review, and promotion, as well as numerous curriculum development committees for post-graduate courses as the profession increased the scope of patient care. His contributions to residency education include service to the Council of Optometric Education, as a member of the initial Residency Standards Development Taskforce and the initial Residency Committee. He provided essential guidance for the residency accreditation standards and the development of the residency accreditation process. He also chaired numerous residency accreditation site visits over his career. Editorial service includes two terms on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American Optometric Association and Optometry and Vision Science, where he also served as an associate topical editor for many years.
Leadership roles include President of the Berkeley Optometry Alumni Association, President of the National Association of VA Optometrists, and President of the American Academy of Optometry, where he established a Joint Symposium with the American Academy of Ophthalmology. His service to the American Academy of Optometry also includes Chair of Committee on Admittance, Chair of Ethics Committee, and member of Nominating and Awards Committees.
Dr. Dolan has been honored as International Keynote Speaker, Southern Regional Congress, Melbourne, Australia; Thomas Peters Memorial Lecturer; Bernie Dolan Resident Mentor of the Year Award; Berkeley Optometry Alumnus of the Year; Tony Adams Eminent Service Award of the American Academy of Optometry; and American Academy of Optometry Hall of Fame.
Jeffrey J. Walline, OD, PhD
Upon graduation from the UC Berkeley School of Optometry, Dr. Walline earned a Master’s degree in Physiological Optics and a PhD in Vision Science at The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Optometry. While at Ohio State, he has taught optometry students Children’s Vision, Specialty Contact Lenses, and Introduction to Primary Care Procedures. He has also taught graduate students Assessing the Literature, the Basics of Graduate Work, and Designing Clinical Trials. Dr. Walline served as the Chair of Graduate Studies and is currently the Association Dean for Research at The OSU College of Optometry.Dr. Walline received a T35 award from the National Eye Institute (NEI) to conduct the Contact Lenses and Myopia Progression (CLAMP) Study. He also received a UG1 award from the NEI to conduct the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) Study, which is in the 10th year of the award. He and David Berntsen are Co-PIs of an R34 award from the NEI to plan the Delaying the Onset of Nearsightedness Until Treatment (DONUT) Study. Additionally, he was Study Chair of the Adolescent Child Health Initiative to Encourage Vision Empowerment (ACHIEVE) Study, a $2.5 million dollar multicenter clinical trial sponsored by Johnson & Johnson.
Dr. Walline also Chaired the Contact Lens and Cornea Section of the American Optometric Association, serves on the American Optometric Association Council on Research, and is the President-Elect of the American Academy of Optometry.
Brandon Friedman, OD
Dr. Brandon Friedman is the proud owner of Friedman Optometry, a private practice with locations in San Bernardino and Rancho Cucamonga, CA. Friedman Optometry emphasizes full scope Optometric care and focuses on providing care to underserved populations. Glaucoma, dry eye, macular degeneration, pediatrics and specialty contact lenses are a few of the many areas of Optometric care provided by Dr. Friedman. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry in 2010. Dr. Friedman has participated in volunteer optometry service missions to Mexico, Dominican Republic and Thailand.Dr. Friedman is a member of the American Optometric Association (AOA), California Optometric Association (COA) and Past-President of Inland Empire Optometric Society (IEOS). He is an active leader with the COA and currently chairs the Health Care Delivery Systems (HCDS) Committee. Dr. Friedman is past-chair of the COA Membership Committee and a past-member of the COA Finance Committee, Nominating Committee and Sponsored Services Committee. He is a strong believer in supporting the profession of Optometry so that Optometrists can better serve their patients, particularly in rural and underserved communities. Through efforts with the HCDS committee it is Dr. Friedman’s hope that COA can improve access to eyecare by Optometrists for all Californians.
Dr. Friedman enjoys educating Optometry Students and currently preceptors 2nd year students from Western University Health Sciences College of Optometry. Students rotate through Friedman Optometry and have the opportunity to participate in full-scope Optometric care provided in a private practice environment.
Dr. Friedman is happily married to Dr. Faith Enfield, fellow Optometrist and classmate from the Class of 2010! Drs. Friedman and Enfield have two children, Ari (8 years old) and Eliana (6 years old). They enjoy hiking, camping, snow skiing and spending days at the beach.
