Celebration Profiles – July 17-21
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…
Melissa Dacumos, OD
Originally from Vancouver, BC, Canada, Melissa obtained her BSc in Cell Biology and Genetics from the University of British Columbia. She is part of the UC Berkeley School of Optometry’s 2004 class where she was the recipient of the Gold Retinoscope award along with multiple other awards in Binocular Vision and Contact Lenses. Thereafter, she pursued a Cornea and Contact Lens Residency at the school, working under the expertises of John Corzine, OD, and Denny Burger, OD. After working in a multispeciality OD/MD practice in Olympia, WA for a couple of years, an opportunity to complete a one year Fellowship in Ocular Disease and Surgical Comanagement presented itself at Pacific Cataract Laser and Institute, a cataract and laser surgical comanagement center with 17 offices all over the Pacific Northwest. In 2008, she was offered a permanent position at the completion of her Fellowship and has been there since! Her home location is in Tacoma, WA where she now also resides. She is fortunate to work closely with an incredibly kind, giving, intelligent and humble group of 40 ODs and 15 MDs.Melissa has always had an innate desire to be involved in leadership. As a member of the Optometric Physicians of WA, she quickly became involved as the Student Liaison Co-Chair, growing student memberships to record numbers. She was Pierce County Society President in 2011-12 and organized the annual society legislative dinner receptions for the following 7 years. Her early involvement was recognized when she received OPW’sYoung OD of the Year in 2011. More recently, she testified in favor of SSB 5389 which expands the scope of practice of ODs in WA, and later was signed into law in May 2023. She served as OPW’s Federal Legislative co-chair until her appointment to the WA State Board of Optometry in April 2023. As a member of OPW’s Diversity, Inclusion and Access Task Force and given the current social climate, Melissa has been driven and inspired to continue her work in organized optometry and now in government, recognizing the importance of female minority voices in leadership roles.
Savanah Litton, BS
Savanah Litton is a current fourth year at the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science. She graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with a Bachelor’s of Science in Biopsychology and Neuroscience. Savanah is the Communications Chair for the University of California Optometric Student Association (UCOSA), and third-year member of the Beta Sigma Kappa (BSK) honor society. Following graduation, she hopes to work in a private practice setting with a focus in dry eye treatment and contact lenses. Aside from patient care and academic endeavors, Savanah enjoys hiking, painting, and traveling to various National Parks around the country.
Stephen Lundquist, OD
Stephen Lundquist, OD ‘17, is the owner of Vis., a high-end retail studio, eye clinic, and art space. Dr. Lundquist says, “we are a luxury store and multidisciplinary art gallery that happens to be a fully functioning design-driven eye clinic. We only carry eyewear from niche, independent designers and as we continue to drop insurance companies (we initially opened accepting all major insurances), we are able to allocate more time with each patient, allowing us to give better personalized care. As someone that cares most about the arts, I am incredibly lucky to be able to work in a beautiful space with inspiring products, develop relationships with great clients, and engage the art scene in SLC. I wear a lot of hats from seeing patients, developing hiring techniques and training modules, deep-diving into accounting and finance, overseeing creative projects, buying product, prepping art shows, etc. The diversity of work keeps things fresh and exciting.”
Anthony J. Adams, OD, PhD, FAAO
Anthony J. Adams, born in Melbourne, Australia in 1940, received a BAppSc and optometry training (LoSc-Hons) from Melbourne. After 2 years as a faculty member at Indiana University (IU) he joined the Berkeley Optometry faculty as an assistant professor in 1968 while completing his PhD (1970, Physiological Optics, IU). In 1968–80, he was Assistant and then Associate Professor, the year he became Professor. He served as the Assistant Dean (1985–92) and Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Optometry (1992–2001). He has published over 200 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Adams’ contributions to the profession include service as Chair of the Committee on Vision of the National Academy of Science’s National Research Council (1985–88).He issued a report titled “Myopia, Progression and Prevalence” in 1987, directed at late-onset myopia, which drew national attention and slowly changed attitudes at the National Eye Institute. It helped lead indirectly to Adams’ highly regarded Orinda Longitudinal Study of Myopia in 1992 with his PhD students Donald Mutti and Karla Zadnik, The clinical data on 900 students in the Orinda School District was the most extensive longitudinal study of myopia ever undertaken. While serving as President of the Academy (1998–2000), he introduced a series of reforms in the admissions process, opening up membership to a younger and more international population of optometrists. During his tenure as Dean of Berkeley Optometry, Adams helped direct a change in philosophy in the management of the optometry clinic and in the training of optometry students, including significant expansion in fourth-year off-campus externships. He also established a new UC Berkeley clinical faculty series, Professor of Clinical Optometry (PCO), and introduced the concept of multiple associate deans, most notably in the area of clinical academic affairs.
Meng C. Lin, OD, PhD
Dr. Meng Lin is known for her clinical research investigating ethnic/racial differences in ocular surface physiology and tear film stability. Her current research focuses on mechanisms responsible for tear film stability in healthy and dry eyes, contact lens discomfort, and ocular surface changes due to topical ophthalmic interventions (such as traditional/specialty contact lenses and topical ophthalmic medications). Dr. Lin has also studied the interplay between morphological changes and functions of Meibomian glands using the application of machine learning. In addition to her own research, she has received federal and private-sector funding for collaborative clinical trials, many of which focus on diagnosis, treatment, and management of contact lens discomfort and dry eye disease. Professor Lin provides direct and personalized care to patients who suffer from dry eye symptoms. With more than two decades of clinical research and patient-care experience, Dr. Lin has extensive knowledge to manage the most challenging dry eye cases.Dr. Lin received her OD from the Ohio State University in 1996 and completed her residency in Anterior-segment diseases and Specialty Contact Lenses at the University of Alabama in 1997. Dr. Lin received her PhD at the Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry & Vision Science in 2002 and received her Post-Doctoral training at Public Health and Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley in 2005.
Back to Archive Celebrating Our Community Return to Main Centennial Page