Celebration Profiles – November 20-22
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…
Abraham Bromberg, OD
Dr. Abraham Bromberg is the 2023 Alumnus of the Year. He was born in México City in 1947 to parents who were welcomed by Mexico after fleeing Jewish persecution in Ukraine and Poland. He received a Bachelor of Optometry degree with honors from the Superior School of Medicine at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in 1967. His bachelor thesis was on subnormal vision, which was a subject totally unknown in Mexico. As a student he was very active in organizing activities in favor of optometry. In 1966, he organized a visit to UC Berkeley by Mexican optometric students.Dr. Bromberg has been an academic and professional leader for the profession in Mexico for over 50 years. He received an OD from UC Berkeley’s School of Optometry in 1969, and a Master of Science in Physiologic Optics from the College of Optometry, University of Houston in 1980. His MSc thesis was the first thesis directed by Professor Dennis Levi who at that time was on the Houston faculty.
Dr. Bromberg became a full-time professor of optometry and physiological optics at the Superior School of Medicine of the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) in Mexico in 1970, and later director of optometry. He was responsible for developing a new curriculum, changing the training program from a three-year to a four-year program, and the establishment of an optometry clinic. He remained at the school for almost 20 years. Professor Bromberg also taught low vision at the Autonomous National University of Mexico (UNAM).
Dr. Bromberg has been active in organizing professional optometric associations. He is past president of the College of Optometrists of Mexico City, and the Mexican Association of Faculties, Schools, Councils (AMFECCO) – both associations are very active and well-recognized. Currently, he is president of the Consejo Optometria Mexico, a nonprofit organization that is promoting professional optometry in social media as well as continuing education.
He wrote and proposed the legislative bill that finally made optometry a regulated and licensed profession in Mexico – first at the Chamber of Deputies where it was unanimously approved in 2013, and finally at the Senate where it was also unanimously approved. President Enrique Peña Nieto signed the bill in March 2015.
Dr. Bromberg was given the responsibility by Dr. Enrique Graue, President of UNAM, for opening a new school of optometry within the UNAM system in the City of Leon. This was a significant and important moment for the recognition of optometry in Mexico. Dr. Bromberg has been a generous benefactor to the UNAM and the profession.
Professor Bromberg has written 4 books: Vision Baja, Historia de la Optometria en Mexico, Uso de los Anteojos para todo tipo de vistas, which is a new edition in modern Spanish of the first book of optometry by Benito Daza de Valdes, published in 1623, and Memorias de un Optometrista.
He is a member of the American Optometric Association, Emeritus Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, College of Optometrists of Mexico City, honorary member of the College of Optometrists of the State of Puebla, World Council of Optometry and Emeritus member Board of Governors Shriners Hospital in Mexico City. Dr. Bromberg has received many awards in both Mexico and in the United States, including recognition awards for his work from the State of Puebla, State of Mexico, IPN Alumni, AMFECCO, and the Essilor Award for Outstanding International Contributions to Optometry from the American Academy of Optometry.
Dasheng Bi, BS
Dasheng is a vision science PhD student from Pittsburg, PA. He was an undergraduate at Berkeley in computer science, mathematics, and molecular and cell biology-neurobiology. Dasheng worked on systems neuroscience (various aspects of representations of faces in IT cortex) in the Tsao lab, and on computational biology/genomics (various aspects of translation modeling and prediction) in the Song lab. Dasheng is currently studying computational neuroscience in order to understand the brain.Dasheng works with Professors Malik, Olshausen, and Tsao on modeling latent representations in the brain to understand how we perceive a stable, coherent external world. He wants to be able to tackle the problem of biological and artificial intelligence with a multidisciplinary approach. Through synergistic training in computational modeling, experiments, and machine learning, Dasheng hopes to make headway in understanding how the brain works, as well as developing intelligent artificial systems. Dasheng’s hobbies include hiking, running, reading, traveling.
Bianca Angelica Nunez
Bianca Angelica Nuñez is a dedicated and aspiring business professional currently pursuing her studies at Cal State East Bay with a focus on Entrepreneurship. Her passion for innovation and strategic thinking has led her to immerse herself in the world of business, where she is constantly exploring ways to turn ideas into successful ventures. Recently joining the esteemed UC Berkeley team as a financial analyst, Bianca is excited to contribute her expertise to the university’s financial endeavors.Her journey so far has been marked by valuable experiences, including her role as an operations specialist at D’s Trucking Service Inc., a prominent construction-trucking company. This position allowed her to hone her organizational prowess and problem-solving abilities, proving her adaptability in fast-paced environments. As she embarks on this new chapter at UC Berkeley, she is enthusiastic about merging her academic insights with practical financial analysis, fostering growth and prosperity for the institution and beyond.
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