2022 Nomination Submissions
Nominations will be accepted by the Vision Care Section Awards Committee until 11:59 p.m. CDT on Friday, July 15, 2022 and can be directed to Dr. Daniel Powell.
Questions? Contact Dr. Daniel Powell at vcsectionawards@gmail.com.
For leadership contact information, log into APHA LEAD using your member credentials.
The Distinguished Service Award: Established in 1981, the Distinguished Service Award is the highest honor the Section can bestow and is presented to an individual, institution or group who has made an outstanding contribution or demonstrated continual high quality service in the area of public health eye/vision care.
The Distinguished Student Service Award: Presented to a student enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program who has made an outstanding contribution or demonstrated continual high quality service in the area of public health eye/vision care.
The Outstanding Scientific Paper (Project) Award: This award recognizes an individual, group or institution that has contributed significantly to the advancement of eye/vision care in the public health field. The contribution can be a paper either previously published or suitable for publication or a written description of a project. The paper/project should represent work within the last two or three years, though the project may have been continuous for a longer period.
The Morton W. Silverman Outstanding Student Paper (Project) Award: This award recognizes a student or group of students that has contributed significantly to the advancement of eye/vision care in the public health field from the perspective of a student in optometry, medicine, public health or related health professions programs. The contribution may be a paper previously published, suitable for publication or a detailed written description of a project. The paper or project must represent work that has occurred while the student(s) is/are enrolled in a professional program, although the award may be conferred after graduation.
The Melvin D. Shipp Best Abstract Award: This award recognizes the lead investigator(s) of the highest-scored abstract submitted for presentation during VCS-sponsored sessions at the APHA Annual Meeting and Expo. Nominations are not accepted. All lead authors who submit an abstract and meet the submission deadline will automatically be considered for the award. Research must be in accord with the current theme of the Annual Meeting, and the lead author(s) shall present the research at the Annual Meeting.
Congratulations to the 2021 Award Recipients:
The Distinguished Service Award:
Jacqueline G. Davis, OD, MPH
Ohio State University College of Optometry
Distinguished Student Service Award:
Erica R. Shelton, OD, MS
Ohio State University College of Optometry
The Outstanding Scientific Paper (Project) Award:
Matthew J. Burton, PhD, MA, MBBCh, DTM&H, MRCP, FRCOphth
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Paper:“The Lancet Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health”
Morton W. Silverman Outstanding Student-Paper (Project) Award:
Connor Robbs
Illinois College of Optometry
Project:“Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health in Eye Care Practitioners, Staff, and Optometry Students”
Melvin D. Shipp Best Abstract Award:
Marycon Jiro, Jennifer Cocohoba, Susan L. Ivey, Migel Dio, Michael Sigua, Marlon Maus, Lauren Hennein
University of California, Berkeley, College of Optometry
Abstract title: “The patient experiences and perspectives of older adult Filipino-Americans after eye surgery: A qualitative study”