source: IER Annual Report 2006 - 07

Institute for Eye Research CEO, Professor Brien Holden, received an exceptional acknowledgment in the form of an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the Ohio State University, Columbus, United States on June 8.

Professor Holden is only the second optometrist to receive the accolade from Ohio State University, which was awarded in recognition of his tireless work in attempting to eliminate avoidable blindness throughout the world.The only other optometrist to receive the honorary degree from Ohio State University previously is Lawrence DeLucas.

Commenting on this award, Professor Melvin Shipp, Dean of the College of Optometry at Ohio State University, said, “Dr. Holden has not only made seminal contributions to eye and vision research, but has also been a leader in optometry’s involvement in contemporary global public health issues.”

Professor Shipp added, “His national and international recognition as an expert in cornea and contact lenses and his strong commitment to addressing the global need for quality eye and vision services clearly merit Professor Holden’s nomination and the conferring of an Honorary degree from the Ohio State University.”

Current estimates suggest that over 300 million people are needlessly blind or vision impaired due to avoidable eye disease or because of uncorrected refractive error, which can be remedied by an eye examination and a pair of glasses.

Professor Holden has been integral to the creation of organisations helping people in underserved communities regain their sight, including: the International Centre for Eyecare Education (ICEE), where he serves as Executive Chair and CEO; and Optometry Giving Sight – a global fundraising organisation reaching out to the more than 200,000 optometrists and their patients around the world – of which he is global Chair. Under Brien Holden‘s direction the Institute for Eye Research was a founding partner and continues to be a major contributor to these organisations.

Professor Holden also acts as Chair of the Refractive Error Working Group of the World Health Organisation and as a board member of the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB). The IAPB has driven a co-ordinated global response to this health care crisis through its Vision 2020: Right to Sight initiative, which has set its member organisations the task of eliminating avoidable blindness and vision impairment throughout the world by the year 2020.  

Dr Holden, who is also Professor in the School of Optometry and Vision Science at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, has had a number of visiting appointments at universities throughout the world. “We were fortunate to have Brien spend several months with us here at the Ohio State College of Optometry some 30 years ago”, said Dean Emeritus, Dr Richard Hill. “His interactions with our graduate students and faculty researchers at that time portended the remarkable impact he was to have on both Australian and international optometry”, he added.  

Professor Karla Zadnik, Associate Dean at the College of Optometry, recalled, "I remember meeting Brien in 1985, when I admired him up on a very high research pedestal from my point of view. Now, his humanitarian initiatives toward eliminating avoidable blindness worldwide have him actually hovering above that pedestal in my mind. He is simply extraordinary."

Professor Holden provided the keynote address at Ohio State’s Class of 2008 Doctoral Convocation on June 7.

For further details go to optometry.osu.edu