2020 IACLE Award Winners
IACLE salutes the achievements of its 2020 Award winners
Contact lens educators from six countries – India, Malaysia, South Africa, the US, UK and Venezuela – are celebrating their success in the 2020 IACLE Awards. The meetings they will attend to receive their awards will be confirmed once COVID-19 restrictions allow.
The IACLE Contact Lens Educators of the Year – awarded by the International Association of Contact Lens Educators – recognize and reward achievements in contact lens education worldwide. Sponsored by CooperVision, and supported by the American Academy of Optometry, these prestigious awards are presented each year to an individual from each of IACLE’s global regions. The 2020 winners are:
• IACLE Americas Contact Lens Educator of the Year
Professor Renée Reeder (above left)
University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Optometry, USA
• IACLE Asia Pacific Contact Lens Educator of the Year
Professor Bariah Mohd Ali (above center)
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
• IACLE Europe/Africa – Middle East Contact Lens Educator of the Year
Jo Underwood (above right)
Association of British Dispensing Opticians College, Godmersham, UK
Professor Reeder commented: ‘This is such exciting news and such and incredible honor. I am so thankful to know that I have colleagues all over the world with the same struggles who are always willing to share and help. I hope that I can serve as a resource for them as well.’
The IACLE Travel Awards enable IACLE members to travel to international contact lens meetings and are funded by all the Industry Sponsors of IACLE (Alcon, CooperVision, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Bausch + Lomb and Euclid). These Awards are also supported by the Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators and by the American Academy of Optometry. The 2020 recipients are:
• Dr Elizabeth Chetty (left)
University of Johannesburg, South Africa
Elizabeth will attend the 2021 Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators (AOCLE) Annual Workshop, with kind support from AOCLE.
• Professor Martín Guzmán (center)
Universidad Nacional Experimental Romulo Gallegos, Zaraza, Venezuela
• Associate Professor Nirav Mehta (right)
Hari Jyot College of Optometry, Navsari, India
Professor Guzmán commented: ‘I am immensely honored to be chosen as the recipient of this award, taking into account the times we are currently going through and the relevance of knowledge in the different areas of health, and the potential contribution that we have ahead. It is our duty to continue studying in order to better serve our patients. This award will be fully used for that purpose.’
2020 IACLE Awards winners will each receive a bursary of up to US$3,000 towards the cost of attending a major international meeting where they will receive their certificates.
IACLE President Dr Shehzad Naroo added his congratulations to this year’s winners and acknowledged the support of the sponsors and supporters: ‘Each year the competition for the IACLE Awards gets stronger. Thank you to CooperVision for continuing to sponsor the Educator Awards. We are pleased to be able to offer three Travel Awards too and we have three worthy recipients. We are grateful to be able to make these awards with the support of all our sponsors,’ said Dr Naroo.
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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. Full details of the IACLE Contact Lens Educator of the Year Awards and their comments on winning. Find biographies of this year’s Educator Award winners.
2. Find out more about the IACLE Travel Awards and their comments. Read biographies of the 2020 IACLE Travel Award recipients.
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 938 (as of December 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 division of CooperCompanies (NYSE:COO), is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of soft contact lenses. The Company produces a full array of daily disposable, two-week and monthly contact lenses, all featuring advanced materials and optics. CooperVision has a strong heritage of solving the toughest vision challenges such as astigmatism, presbyopia and childhood myopia; 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.
THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
