Dr. Cynthia Owsley, PhD, MSPH.
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CHICAGO—Prevent Blindness has announced that it will be honoring Dr. Cynthia Owsley, PhD, MSPH, Nathan E. Miles chair of ophthalmology and director of the clinical research unite at the University of Alabama (UAB) School of Medicine, department of ophthalmology and visual sciences with the 2019 Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health. Owsley will be presented with the award at the 8th annual Prevent Blindness Focus on Eye Health National Summit in Washington, D.C. on July 17, 2019. Owsley will highlight her work as the closing plenary speaker of the summit.

Owsley was selected for this honor by an all-volunteer committee for her decades of work dedicated to vision and public health services. She has over 30 years of experience conducting research on vision impairment, eye disease and aging funded by the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevent, non-profit foundations and various industries. Her areas of focus include vision impairment and driving, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and diabetes; quality of and access to eyecare for underserved, older populations and vision impairment and its impact on quality of life.

At UAB, Owsley’s research program focuses on aging-related eye disease and vision impairment, using a variety of research techniques from epidemiology, clinical trials, psychophysics, health behavior, and health services research.

In addition to work in research and public health, Owsley has served as a volunteer at Prevent Blindness. She has served on several committees including chairing its Scientific Committee for seven years and on the national board of directors from 2011-2018.

“For more than 30 years, my passion has been to use the power of research and data to improve patient outcomes, and expand programs that help to address the various vision issues that impact all of us,” said Owsley. “I thank Prevent Blindness for this acknowledgement and will continue to work to advance these important issues.”

Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness added, “All of us at Prevent Blindness enthusiastically congratulate Dr. Owsley on her award, and also offer our tremendous gratitude for all of her contributions to improve vision health.”

For more information on the Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public
Health, please call Prevent Blindness at (800) 331-2020 or visit preventblindness.org.