Anna F. Ablamowicz, OD, FAAO.
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ORLANDO—The American Optometric Foundation (AOF) in collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc. has announced the three recipients of the 2016 Innovation in Education grants.

The grants are designed to aid recently appointed faculty in advancing their teaching skills in the areas of improving delivery of information to students, new methodologies, increasing the use of new technology in all teaching settings, and the promotion of online learning tools, according to the AOF Foundation, which issued a statement about the grant winners earlier this month.

This year’s recipients received up to $6,000 to support their projects. The recipients, and their specialized subject matter, are:

• Elena Z. Biffi, OD, PhD, FAAO, New England College of Optometry, Effectiveness of a Novel Smartphone App for Diagnostic Interpretation of OCT Data.
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• Jason Ng, OD, PhD, FAAO, Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University, Development of an Interactive Learning Module to Improve Learning of Signal Detection Theory
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• Jingyun Wang, PhD, Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University, Can Prompt Feedback Provided to Students Using “Poll Everywhere” Improve the Effectiveness of Optometric Education?

AOF thanked J&J Vision Care for its continuing support of the grant program that supports high-caliber optometric resident education.

Separately, AOF in collaboration with Beta Sigma Kappa International Honor Society announced Anna F. Ablamowicz, OD, FAAO, as the 2016 recipient of the Beta Sigma Kappa (BSK) Research Fellowship. The fellowship is designed to provide support for early career optometric and vision science faculty research.

Dr. Ablamowicz’s research project will be: “Investigation of an Inflammatory Component of Lid Wiper Epitheliopathy in Dry Eye Disease.” Dr. Ablamowicz, a clinical assistant professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry, will be honored at the AOF Annual Celebration Luncheon during the American Academy of Optometry’s Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif.