Global Member Newsletter January 2020
WHAT’S NEW AT IACLE
NEW Your chance to enter the 2020 IACLE Awards

Gain recognition for your achievements and travel to a major international contact lens meeting this year, as a winner of the 2020 IACLE Awards. Entries are now open for the three IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards and three IACLE Travel Awards. All members are welcome to nominate themselves, or be nominated by their regional / country coordinator. The Educator Awards are sponsored by CooperVision and the Travel Awards by all our industry partners. The final deadline for entries is 28 February.
NEW Craig joins the IACLE Education Team

2019 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year, Dr Craig Woods, is IACLE’s new Global Manager of Educational Development. Craig is Professor of Optometry at Deakin University, Australia and Vice President of the International Society for Contact Lens Research. He will review IACLE’s resources and support our education program, review and update the curriculum, and support the Fellowship process. ‘I’m very excited to be more involved with IACLE and hope to support it to become even more integral in the delivery of the contact lens curriculum in all teaching institutions around the world,’ says Craig.
LeW steps down after a quarter of a century with IACLE

‘The experience of a lifetime’ is how our outgoing Director of Educational Development, Dr Lewis Williams describes his 25 years’ service to IACLE. President Dr Shehzad Naroo offered his personal thanks to Lew for his years of service to IACLE, and being a friend and advisor to the current IACLE leadership. Lew is pictured receiving a special award for his outstanding contribution to contact lens education from former President Professor Deborah Sweeney at the 2019 Asia Pacific Optometry Congress.
Read Lew’s account of his time with IACLE
Renew your membership now to receive all IACLE benefits in 2020

Members will recently have received notices to renew their annual membership. Access to our full range of membership benefits – including the new version of the IACLE Contact Lens Course, ICLC2020, launching early this year – is only available to IACLE members. Note that membership expires when payment is not received.
MEET A MEMBER

‘I am vision driven,’ says Dr Chikasirimobi Goodhope Timothy, MSc volunteer facilitator at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Kakamega, Kenya. ‘My delight is in the success of optometry and seeing more optometrists empowered to boldly showcase the optometry profession.’ Chikasirimobi says his competence, confidence and mastery of contact lenses, and management of related complications, has increased markedly through his association with IACLE. Outside work, he likes to travel, cook and explore nature.
WOULD YOU LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO IACLE MEMBERS WORLDWIDE? WE’RE LOOKING FOR MORE MEMBERS TO TAKE PART IN MEET A MEMBER.
Contact your nearest IACLE office for details
IMAGE OF THE YEAR
NEW Oscar takes the winning shot

Congratulations to Colombian member Oscar Bello, winner of the 2019 IACLE Image of the Year, who receives a US$100 gift voucher and certificate. Oscar used 10X magnification and a smartphone to capture this optical section of the profile of a hybrid contact lens (left) and the fluorescein pattern with cobalt blue illumination and a yellow filter (right). The 2019 IACLE Image Collection is now available in our Online Resources under Image Gallery.
SHARE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS FOR THE 2020 IACLE IMAGE COLLECTION AND ENTER OUR IMAGE OF THE YEAR COMPETITION FOR THE CHANCE TO WIN A YEAR’S IACLE MEMBERSHIP AND A US$100 AMAZON VOUCHER!
Submit your Image of the Month
RESOURCES
NEW A bumper issue from Contact Lens Spectrum

IACLE has a high profile in the January issue of Contact Lens Spectrum, with an article on proactive contact lens recommendation by Director of Educational Programs Nilesh Thite, and the latest on International Contact Lens Prescribing from Vice President Professor Philip Morgan and co-authors. There’s also a mention for IACLE’s 40th Anniversary under 2019 Contact Lens Event of the Year.
NEW IACLE India meeting lectures now online

Lectures from the IACLE India Annual Members’ Meeting, held in Hyderabad (23-24 November), are now available via our website. Topics and speakers are ‘How to teach complications’ by Pancham Kulkarni, ‘How to teach lens care’ by Premjit Bhakat, ‘How to teach RGP lens fitting’ by Dr Rajeswari Mahadevan, ‘Practical assessment’ by Usman Memon, and ‘Research Updates – my experience’ by Runa Mazumder. Find the lectures under Contributed Resources – Presentations & Lectures.
Students endorse learning with IACLE Case Reports

‘I found the IACLE Case Reports Series a fun way of learning and understanding various conditions of the eye with contact lenses,’ says Tanvi Aravind, a student at the Sankara College of Optometry in Bangalore, India. Case reports are available free and exclusively to IACLE members, in English, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean and Chinese (simplified).
NEW BCLA announces Global Consensus Report

A new Global Consensus Report from the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) will deliver evidence-based guidance on contact lenses and the anterior eye. The Contact Lens Evidence-based Academic Reports (CLEAR) will be published in the March 2021 edition of the BCLA journal Contact Lens & Anterior Eye, which is edited by IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo. CLEAR Executive Chair is FIACLE Professor James Wolffsohn (pictured), and its Vice Chair is IACLE Vice President Professor Philip Morgan.
GLOBAL UPDATE
Americas
NEW IACLE to support Dominican Republic’s 1st optometry program

IACLE Americas has approached the Universidad Tecnologica de Santiago (UTESA) in the Dominican Republic to help set up a contact lens curriculum for the country’s first-ever optometry program.The school held its official launch (pictured) in August 2019. Through Dr Hector Santiago, Chair of the Education Committee of the Latin American Association of Optometry and Optics (ALDOO), IACLE Assistant Treasurer Dr Orlando Neira and Americas Regional Coordinator Guillermo Carrillo are discussing ways for IACLE to support the new program.
Asia Pacific
From training trainers from across Korea…

Teaching methods such as blended learning and problem-based learning proved popular topics for the IACLE Korea Annual Members’ Meeting held at Baekseok University, Chungchung-do last month (6-7 December). Members from as many as 20 institutions and companies attended the meeting to learn how to teach and assess specific subjects.
…to finding effective teaching solutions in China

Guest speaker Rob Terry joined China National Coordinators Professor Wang Haiying (pictured) and Qu Xiaomei for the IACLE China Annual Members’ Meeting held at the Tianjin Vocational Institute (15-16 November). A total of 46 delegates learnt about effective solutions for educators to teach the latest contact lens developments.
Europe / Africa – Middle East
NEW Sunday lunch slot for IACLE meeting at NCC

‘Student education around patient education’ and ‘The future of contact lens fitting’ are on the agenda for an IACLE meeting on 16 March at the Nederlands Contactlens Congres (NCC2020) in Verhoeven. FIACLEs Wim Borst and Henri Eek (top left and right) will host the meeting from 12.30-13.30 in the Diezezaal. All educators are welcome to attend.
Shehzad joins Scots for imaging workshop at SCO

IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo and Dr Sandip Doshi delivered a workshop on ‘Anterior imaging and clinical grading’ at the Scottish Optical Conference (SCO) in Glasgow (24 November). Around 60 delegates attended the workshop. Shehzad is pictured (right) with Nikkhil Masurkar of ENTOD Research Cell, which sponsored the session. SCO is an annual event organized by FIACLE Caroline Christie and Dr Scott Mackie.
NEW BCLA UK to be live streamed worldwide

Practitioners around the world can take part in the British Contact Lens Association’s BCLA UK event, to be held in Birmingham, UK on 14 June, when the event will be broadcast live. ‘We are excited to welcome a ‘virtual audience’ to BCLA UK and the live-streaming element will add a whole new dimension to the event,’ says BCLA President Jonathon Bench.
NEW TFOS calls for abstracts for 2020 conference

Cernobbio in the Italian Lakes will be the scenic venue for the 9th International Conference of the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (9-12 September). TFOS 2020: Basic Science and Clinical Relevance is this year’s theme. TFOS welcomes the submission abstracts for poster presentations at the conference. Abstract submission will open on 3 February.
More information and registration
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
22 January – International Forum for Scleral Lens Research, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Details.
22-25 January – Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS 2020), Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Details.
13-16 February – All India Ophthalmological Society 78th Annual Meeting 2020 (AIOS 2020), Gurugram, India. Details.
21-23 February – 24th European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons Winter Meeting 2020 (ESCRS 2020), Marrakesh, Morocco. Details.
15-16 March – Nederlands Contactlens Congres (NCC 2020), Verhoven, the Netherlands. Details.
22-26 April – 34th Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthamology Congress 2020 (APAO), Xiamen, China. Details.
15-17 May – European Academy of Optometry and Optics Annual Conference (Helsinki 2020), Helsinki, Finland. Details.
THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS

2020 IACLE Awards
Search begins for 2020 IACLE Educator of the Year and Travel Award winners

Six contact lens educators from around the world will be attending major international meetings this year, as winners of the 2020 IACLE Awards.
The International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) is offering educators worldwide the chance to become IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year and travel to the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), Academy 2020 Nashville, in Tennessee, USA (8-10 October). IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year will be awarded to three individuals, one from each of IACLE’s three global regions:
- 2020 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year
- 2020 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year
- 2020 IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year
These awards recognize and reward achievements in contact lens education and are sponsored by CooperVision with support from the Academy. The winners will each receive a bursary of up to US$3,000 towards the cost of attending Academy 2020 Nashville and permission to use the title 2020 IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year for their region.
The IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards are open to all IACLE members who have been paid-up members for at least 3 years. Members can either nominate themselves, or be nominated by another member, their IACLE regional / country coordinator or IACLE staff. Applicants must demonstrate use of IACLE resources, engagement with IACLE, impact on their institution and the ways that they inspire their students to become future contact lens practitioners.
‘Continuous advances in contact lens technology require ongoing evolution in contact lens education,’ said Dr Gary Orsborn, Vice President of Global Professional and Clinical Affairs for CooperVision. ‘We are proud to continue our partnership with IACLE to recognize the educators who never cease to give their students the best possible preparation for a career in optometry – today, tomorrow, and well into the future. We look forward to celebrating those who rise to the top in 2020.’
The IACLE Travel Awards are bursaries of up to US$3,000 allowing IACLE Educator Members to attend international meetings. The IACLE Travel Awards are sponsored by IACLE through the generous support of all IACLE’s sponsors (Alcon, CooperVision, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Bausch + Lomb and Euclid).
This year there will be three IACLE Travel Awards. Recipients will attend either Academy 2020 Nashville (one award), or the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators (AOCLE) Annual Workshop (one award) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (28-31 May), or another major meeting to be agreed by the IACLE Executive Board (one award). Academy attendance is supported by AAO and AOCLE attendance by AOCLE.
‘A dream fulfilled’ is how 2019 IACLE Travel Award recipient Joseph Afonne from Mzuzu University, Malawi described his experience of attending the British Contact Lens Association Clinical Conference in Manchester, UK last year. And 2019 IACLE EAME Contact Lens Educator of the Year Dr Fabrizio Zeri of the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Italy said being chosen for this prestigious award was ‘a great honour’.
IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo said: ‘I would encourage all members to consider applying for the 2020 awards or perhaps nominate someone for an award. We are grateful to all our sponsors for their support, to CooperVision for continuing to sponsor the Educator Awards, and to the American Academy of Optometry and AOCLE for additional support.’
The deadline for entries for the 2020 awards is midnight (EST) on Friday 28 February 2020. Entries must be submitted using the application forms at www.iacle.org (Awards).
Information on all IACLE membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.
Special Notice – Apply for IACLE’s 2020 Awards
Enter now for the 2020 Educator of the Year and Travel Awards

Six contact lens educators from around the world will be attending major international meetings this year, as winners of the 2020 IACLE Awards.
The International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) is offering educators worldwide the chance to become IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year and travel to the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), Academy 2020 Nashville, in Tennessee, USA (8-10 October). IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year will be awarded to three individuals, one from each of IACLE’s three global regions:
- 2020 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year
- 2020 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year
- 2020 IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year
These awards recognize and reward achievements in contact lens education and are sponsored by CooperVision with support from the Academy. The winners will each receive a bursary of up to US$3,000 towards the cost of attending Academy 2020 Nashville and permission to use the title 2020 IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year for their region.
The IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards are open to all IACLE members who have been paid-up members for at least 3 years. Members can either nominate themselves, or be nominated by another member, their IACLE regional / country coordinator or IACLE staff. Applicants must demonstrate use of IACLE resources, engagement with IACLE, impact on their institution and the ways that they inspire their students to become future contact lens practitioners.
‘Continuous advances in contact lens technology require ongoing evolution in contact lens education,’ said Dr Gary Orsborn, Vice President of Global Professional and Clinical Affairs for CooperVision. ‘We are proud to continue our partnership with IACLE to recognize the educators who never cease to give their students the best possible preparation for a career in optometry – today, tomorrow, and well into the future. We look forward to celebrating those who rise to the top in 2020.’
The IACLE Travel Awards are bursaries of up to US$3,000 allowing IACLE Educator Members to attend international meetings. The IACLE Travel Awards are sponsored by IACLE through the generous support of all IACLE’s sponsors (Alcon, CooperVision, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Bausch + Lomb and Euclid).
This year there will be three IACLE Travel Awards. Recipients will attend either Academy 2020 Nashville (one award), or the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators (AOCLE) Annual Workshop (one award) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (28-31 May), or another major meeting to be agreed by the IACLE Executive Board (one award). Academy attendance is supported by AAO and AOCLE attendance by AOCLE.
‘A dream fulfilled’ is how 2019 IACLE Travel Award recipient Joseph Afonne from Mzuzu University, Malawi described his experience of attending the British Contact Lens Association Clinical Conference in Manchester, UK last year. And 2019 IACLE EAME Contact Lens Educator of the Year Dr Fabrizio Zeri of the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Italy said being chosen for this prestigious award was ‘a great honour’.
IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo said: ‘I would encourage all members to consider applying for the 2020 awards or perhaps nominate someone for an award. We are grateful to all our sponsors for their support, to CooperVision for continuing to sponsor the Educator Awards, and to the American Academy of Optometry and AOCLE for additional support.’
The deadline for entries for the 2020 awards is midnight (EST) on Friday 28 February 2020. Entries must be submitted using the application forms at www.iacle.org (Awards).
IACLE calls for entries for 2020 Educator of the Year and Travel Awards

Six contact lens educators from around the world will be attending major international meetings this year, as winners of the 2020 IACLE Awards.
The International Association of Contact Lens Educators (IACLE) is offering educators worldwide the chance to become IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year and travel to the annual meeting of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), Academy 2020 Nashville, in Tennessee, USA (8-10 October). IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Yearwill be awarded to three individuals, one from each of IACLE’s three global regions:
- 2020 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year
- 2020 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year
- 2020 IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year
These awards recognize and reward achievements in contact lens education and are sponsored by CooperVision with support from the Academy. The winners will each receive a bursary of up to US$3,000 towards the cost of attending Academy 2020 Nashville and permission to use the title 2020 IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year for their region.
The IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards are open to all IACLE members who have been paid-up members for at least 3 years. Members can either nominate themselves, or be nominated by another member, their IACLE regional / country coordinator or IACLE staff. Applicants must demonstrate use of IACLE resources, engagement with IACLE, impact on their institution and the ways that they inspire their students to become future contact lens practitioners.
‘Continuous advances in contact lens technology require ongoing evolution in contact lens education,’ said Dr Gary Orsborn, Vice President of Global Professional and Clinical Affairs for CooperVision. ‘We are proud to continue our partnership with IACLE to recognize the educators who never cease to give their students the best possible preparation for a career in optometry – today, tomorrow, and well into the future. We look forward to celebrating those who rise to the top in 2020.’
The IACLE Travel Awards are bursaries of up to US$3,000 allowing IACLE Educator Members to attend international meetings. The IACLE Travel Awards are sponsored by IACLE through the generous support of all IACLE’s sponsors (Alcon, CooperVision, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Bausch + Lomb and Euclid).
This year there will be three IACLE Travel Awards. Recipients will attend either Academy 2020 Nashville (one award), or the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators (AOCLE) Annual Workshop (one award) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (28-31 May), or another major meeting to be agreed by the IACLE Executive Board (one award). Academy attendance is supported by AAO and AOCLE attendance by AOCLE.
‘A dream fulfilled’ is how 2019 IACLE Travel Award recipient Joseph Afonne from Mzuzu University, Malawi described his experience of attending the British Contact Lens Association Clinical Conference in Manchester, UK last year. And 2019 IACLE EAME Contact Lens Educator of the Year Dr Fabrizio Zeri of the Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Italy said being chosen for this prestigious award was ‘a great honour’.
IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo said: ‘I would encourage all members to consider applying for the 2020 awards or perhaps nominate someone for an award. We are grateful to all our sponsors for their support, to CooperVision for continuing to sponsor the Educator Awards, and to the American Academy of Optometry and AOCLE for additional support.’
The deadline for entries for the 2020 awards is midnight (EST) on Friday 28 February 2020. Entries must be submitted using the application forms at www.iacle.org (Awards).
-ENDS-
PICTURE CAPTION: IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo (left) and Dr Gary Orsborn (right), Vice President, Global Professional and Clinical Affairs at CooperVision, pictured with some of the 2019 IACLE Awards winners (l-r) Dr Fabrizio Zeri (Italy), Professor Craig Woods (Australia), Joseph Afonne (Malawi) and Dr Rubén Velázquez (Mexico), and BCLA President Professor Sunil Shah (second right), at the 2019 British Contact Lens Association Clinical Conference.
For media enquiries please contact:
Alison Ewbank
Communications | International Association of Contact Lens Educators
International Association of Contact Lens Educators
London | United Kingdom
Email: a.ewbank@iacle.org
Work: + 44 208 390 9378 | Mobile: + 44 7732 121 959
Skype: alisonewbank1 | Web: www.iacle.org
NOTES FOR EDITORS
1. Click here for full details of the IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards and here for a full list of previous recipients.
2. Click here to find out more about the IACLE Travel Awards.
3. Dr Shehzad Naroo is Reader at Aston University in Birmingham, UK.
4. Information on all IACLE activities and membership benefits is available at www.iacle.org.
5. Details of Academy 2020 Nashville are here and the AOCLE Annual Workshop here.
ABOUT IACLE
The International Association of Contact Lens Educators was established in 1979 and is a non-profit, non-political association. IACLE has more than 869 (as of June 2019) active members in 79 countries and welcomes contact lens educators from all eye care professions and related disciplines. IACLE is dedicated to raising the standard of contact lens education and promoting the safe use of contact lenses worldwide. It is the leading provider of educational and information resources essential to contact lens educators. IACLE is supported by leading global contact lens manufacturers: Platinum Sponsor Alcon, Gold Sponsor CooperVision, Silver Sponsor Johnson & Johnson Vision, Bronze Sponsor Bausch + Lomb and Donor Sponsor Euclid.
ABOUT COOPERVISION
CooperVision, a unit of CooperCompanies (NYSE:COO), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of soft contact lenses. The company produces a full array of monthly, two-week and daily disposable contact lenses, all featuring advanced materials and optics. CooperVision has a strong heritage of solving the toughest vision challenges such as astigmatism and presbyopia; and offers the most complete collection of spherical, toric and multifocal products available. Through a combination of innovative products and focused practitioner support, the company brings a refreshing perspective to the marketplace, creating real advantages for customers and wearers. For more information, visit www.coopervision.com.
Educator of The Year Award Recipients
2021
2021 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2021 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2021 IACLE Europe/Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year |
Dr Johanna Garzón | Wei Xu | Dr Byki Huntjens |

2020
2020 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2020 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2020 IACLE Europe/Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year |
Professor Renée Reeder | Professor Bariah Mohd Ali | Jo Underwood |

2019
2019 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2019 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2019 IACLE Europe/Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year |
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Dr Rubén Velázquez | Professor Craig Woods | Dr Fabrizio Zeri |
2018
2018 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2018 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2018 IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year |
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Professor Lyndon Jones | Assistant Professor Runa Mazumder | Wim Borst (left) and Henri Eek (right) |
2017
2017 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2017 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2017 IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year |
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Professor Jan Bergmanson | Professor Koon-Ja Lee | Dr Yazan Gammoh |
2016
2016 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2016 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2016 IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year |
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Dr Jorge Giovanni Vargas | Dr Prema Chande | Professor James Wolffsohn |
2015
2015 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2015 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2015 IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year |
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Martín Giraldo | Professor Monica Chaudhry | Helmer Schweizer |
2014
2014 IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2014 IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year | 2014 IACLE Europe / Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year |
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Dr Sergio Garcia | Dr Rajeswari Mahadevan | Dr Eef van der Worp |
Research Update Issue 30
Research Update Issue 29
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Research Update Issue 28
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IACLE completes New ICLC with dry eye lecture
The final lecture in the New IACLE Contact Lens Course, Dry Eye & Contact Lenses (D4), is now available online exclusively to IACLE members.
The lecture has been fully revised and updated by Professor James Wolffsohn of Aston University, UK and reflects the findings of the TFOS DEWS II Report.
All six modules of the New ICLC, comprising 33 lectures in PowerPoint format, are now completed. The course provides educators with the materials needed to teach a high-quality contact lens course, and is also suitable for students and practitioners.
Translations into various languages are under way.
Find more information on the New ICLC here and a full list of editors here.