Recent graduate, Dr. Alisa Molina (OD ’25) has published a paper on “Tear aqueous production rate between symptomatic and asymptomatic soft contact lens wearers,” in Optometry and Vision Science. Dr. Molina is listed as first author, alongside other Berkeley contributors: Helen Tasho, OD; Jennifer Ding, OD; Dorothy Ma, OD; and Meng Lin, OD, PhD, FAAO. Dr. Molina, who graduated with an Honors Thesis and participated in the T-35 Summer Research Program, conducted her project under the supervision of Dr. Meng Lin in the Clinical Research Center.
Her study compared tear production rates in four groups: contact lens wearers with and without discomfort, and non-contact lens wearers with and without discomfort. Using a modified Schirmer strip test, the team found that in the morning, asymptomatic contact lens wearers had lower tear production than non-lens wearers, while symptomatic wearers had higher rates. These findings suggest that contact lens wear may alter corneal sensory function which in turn affects tear production.
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