Tara Jayne, OD – Class of 2003 – Notable Alumna

Tara JayneDr. Tara Jayne graduated from The Ohio State University College of Optometry in 2003 as recipient of the Air Force Health Professions Scholarship Program. She started her career at Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California for two years before moving on to Osan Air Base, South Korea where she worked as a liaison to the Republic of Korea Air Force and helped return several pilots to flight duty.

In 2006, Dr. Jayne transferred to Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii, where she served as President of the Tri-Services Optometric/Paraoptometric Society (TOPS), coordinated information flow and tri-service coverage for the island of Oahu, and organized free continuing medical education for TOPS members. She represented optometry as a forensics expert by identifying the remains of repatriated military members found by the Joint Pacific Accounting Command over a three-year period.Tara Jayne

Once she moved to Ramstein Air Force Base, Germany, she gained recognition for optometry as an “aerospace scientist” by providing analysis in the investigation for a destroyed unmanned aircraft, for which she developed an optical system standard in order to define a weapons design flaw, allowing the military to swiftly correct the flaw and keep the airframe from being grounded.

Due to Dr. Jayne’s diverse experiences while teaching optometry and ophthalmology examination techniques in austere environments to local national health care providers on humanitarian missions in eleven cities of four countries, she was selected by the USAF Optometry Chief Consultant to the Surgeon General to author the disease and injury training module for all Air Force optometrists to review yearly to assure their readiness status.

Amidst her duties to the Air Force, she attained her Fellowship in the American Academy of Optometry in 2010.

Recently, Dr. Jayne served the Air Force as the Optometry Flight Commander and the Biomedical Sciences Chief Executive officer at Lajes Field, Portugal and is currently at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. In 2013, Dr. Jayne won the Armed Forces Optometric Society Junior Optometrist of the Year award.

Dr. Jayne spends much of her non-duty time travelling with her seven-year-old twins, Bryson and Dakodah. They are proud to say that they have seen and experienced over 30 countries, and they enjoy their weekends at home kayaking and playing with their dogs.

Melissa Bailey, OD PhD – Class of 2001- Notable Alumna

Melissa BaileyMy first official visit to The Ohio State University College of Optometry was in the summer of 1996 with the late John T. Mount, the former Ohio State Vice President and great-uncle of my childhood friend. At the time, I had no idea how important he was to Ohio State. Still, he unbelievably arranged for me to have a tour of our College, gave me a tour of the entire Columbus campus himself, and took me to lunch. During that visit, I decided to become an optometrist, and I only applied to Ohio State. I have been at the college since the fall of 1997. I was fortunate to be one of the students selected to join the first class of National Institutes of Health-funded Summer Trainees at the College of Optometry. After that, I received a doctorate of optometry and two graduate degrees in vision science (MS and PhD), and I have been very grateful for the excellent optometric and vision research training I have received. I was also blessed to have been accepted to train in the laboratories of fellow colleagues, Drs. Karla Zadnik and Donald Mutti. I know I could not have received better training as a vision scientist anywhere else.

I have often said that I chose a career in academia because I wanted to do more than practice optometry; I want to change how it is practiced forever. In addition to teaching our outstanding students, I have had the privilege to be the first researcher to conduct in-depth studies of the ciliary muscle in humans of all ages. In my laboratory, we have discovered that even though there are not yet any diseases or disorders associated with the ciliary muscle, it is not the same in everyone. It is curiously thicker in some individuals with myopia, and we now know that it continues to grow throughout the elementary school years. Graduate students in my laboratory have also helped me to learn more about how it functions during accommodation and its impact on a patient’s ability to sustain accommodation. For pioneering this area of research, I was awarded the Irvin M. and Beatrice Borish Outstanding Young Researcher Award by the American Academy of Optometry in 2012.

In addition to studying the ciliary muscle, I have taken an interest in developing new ophthalmic devices. I was recently the winner of a $10,000 prize in the Big Ideas for Healthcare and Design at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center for inventing a software application that will allow healthcare professionals to make multiple vision measurements on a single device, including autorefraction and eye alignment.

I know that I can speak on behalf of my husband of 17 years, Daniel Bailey, and our nine-year-old son, Luke, when I say that we are all grateful for my selection as a notable alumnus and all of the many educational and career opportunities that I have received from Ohio State over the last two decades.

Susan G. Quinn, OD – Class of 1982 -Notable Alumna

Susan G. QuinnDr. Susan Quinn is a 1982 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Optometry. She is in group private practice in Athens, Ohio with her husband, Dr. Thomas Quinn (OD’79), Dr. Shane Foster (OD’08) and Dr. Robyn Stout Sargent (OD’99). Susan provides expertise in vision rehabilitation as well as full scope eye care for all members of the family.

Susan served as a clinical instructor at The Ohio State University College of Optometry Vision Rehabilitation Clinic from 1991-1999. She has also served the college as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council for the past several years.

Susan is a charter member of the American Optometric Association’s Low Vision Section and is a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. She has served both as a member and president of the Ohio State Board of Optometry. Dr. Quinn was awarded the Ohio Optometric Association’s Special Merit Award and the Ohio State Optometric Association Optometrist of the Year Award.

She has served in many leadership roles in her community, most recently as president of the Board of Trustees for the Sheltering Arms Hospital Foundation, the governing body of O’Bleness Memorial Hospital. Other community activities include donating her time for vision screenings and dilated retinal examinations at a Diabetic Free Clinic held at the Ohio University Osteopathic Medical School and serving on the Leadership Council for Planned Parenthood of Southeast Ohio. Susan is also a Clinical Assistant Professor at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Susan is an avid gardener, bread baker, and wine aficionado. She enjoys seeing the world from the seat of a bicycle, having cycled the western coast of Ireland with husband Tom in 2013. This year, the Quinn family will be cycling through Willamette Valley in Oregon, home to some of the world’s finest pinot noirs. Cheers!

Kathryn Richdale, OD PhD – Class of 2002 – Notable Alumna

Kathryn RichdaleDr. Kathryn Richdale received her OD and PhD, and completed a Cornea and Contact Lens Advanced Practice Fellowship from The Ohio State University College of Optometry. She is currently an Assistant Professor and Director of the Clinical Vision Research Center at the SUNY College of Optometry. Dr. Richdale teaches Advanced Contact Lenses to third year students and is a clinical attending in the Contact Lens Service at the University Eye Center. She is Co-Chair of the Contact Lens Assessment in Youth (CLAY) study group and has been an investigator for industry- private and federally funded research in presbyopia, cornea, and contact lenses. She is an active member in the American Academy of Optometry and was recently appointed to serve on the Academy’s Research Committee. Dr. Richdale has been awarded an American Optometric Foundation Ezell Fellowship and is the inaugural Alden N. Haffner Innovation Chair at the SUNY College of Optometry.

Gina Wesley OD, MS – Class of 2006 – Notable Alumna

Gina WesleyAfter graduation, Gina Wesley (OD/MS’06) and 2006 Graduate of the Year proceeded to earn her American Academy of Optometry fellowship and is active in the Minnesota Optometric Association. Dr. Wesley opened her own primary care practice with emphasis on advanced contact lens care and children’s vision in Medina, Minnesota in 2008 and just completed building her new optometric facility in the fall of 2013. She consults for a variety of ophthalmic companies and also writes regular publications for various industry magazines. Additional accolades include the 2011 Minnesota Young Optometrist of the Year and the 2013 Early Professional Achievement Award from Ohio State’s Optometry Alumni & Friends. She is married to Alex, and they have two sons, Quinn and Rhett. Dr. Wesley enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.

Marjean Kulp, OD MS – Class of 1991 – Notable Alumna

Marjean KulpAfter receiving her OD degree, Dr. Marjean Kulp completed an Advanced Practice Fellowship in Binocular Vision and Pediatrics and joined the faculty in 1993. She has collaborated with outstanding faculty at The Ohio State University College of Optometry and across the US as an integral part of the Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial Group, the Vision In Preschoolers Study Group, and the Pediatric and Eye Disease Investigators Group. These studies have led to meaningful answers to important questions in clinical practice that can help doctors provide care for their patients. She is fortunate to have worked with many exceptional faculty and students at the college. She is thankful for her two wonderful daughters and supportive husband and parents.

PremNandhini Satgunam, MS, PhD – Class of 2004 – Notable Alumna

PremNandhini SatgunamDr. PremNandhini Satgunam received her Bachelor’s degree in Optometry from the Elite School of Optometry (Sankara Nethralaya), BITS, Pilani. She was awarded the Best Outgoing Student in her class. After working as a clinical faculty member in her school, she came to The Ohio State University College of Optometry to pursue her graduate studies. She received her MS (2004) and PhD (2007) in Vision Science under the guidance of Dr. Nick Fogt. She received her postdoctoral training in low vision rehabilitation at Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School. While in the United States, she was actively involved with community activities through Ohio State’s Global School Bus program and with the student organization, Association for India’s Development (AID), through both the Ohio State and Massachusetts Institute of Technology chapters.

After spending 10 years in the US, Dr. Satgunam returned to India in early 2012. Upon her return, she first conducted a free vision-screening program for the victims and survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster. Now she is a research faculty member at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), India, where she has set up an independent vision rehabilitation lab. She recently was awarded a Fast Track grant from the Department of Science and Technology, India, to pursue research in the area of pediatric vision rehabilitation. She also teaches at LVPEI’s Bausch + Lomb School of Optometry and says that she continues to draw her inspiration from her mentors and teachers at The Ohio State University College of Optometry.

Sylvia Jones, OD MS – Class of 2006 – Notable Alumna

Sylvia JonesDr. Sylvia L. Jones, a native of Toledo, Ohio, came to The Ohio State University by way of the Ohio State Young Scholars Program. This program provides support throughout high school and full scholarships to academically gifted minority students. In 2002 she graduated from The Ohio State University with a BS in Biology. During her undergraduate studies, she worked at The OSU College of Optometry under the direction Dr. Mark Bullimore and Dr. Karla Zadnik. After graduation Dr. Jones applied and was accepted to the College of Optometry to pursue her OD degree. While at the College she served as the President of the National Optometric Student Association chapter at Ohio State, participated in the National Eye Institute-funded T-35 research program, and was a part of the combined OD/MS program. Dr. Jones graduated in 2006 from The Ohio State University Optometry with a Master’s in Vision Science and a Doctorate of Optometry.

Dr. Jones has a passion for public health. While pursuing her Master’s degree, she worked with the Ohio Optometric Association to assist in the treatment of diabetic patients. She developed a tool that is now used nationwide by optometrists to efficiently communicate with other healthcare providers about the ocular health of diabetic patients. In 2009, she purchased Dr. Jackie Davis’s private practice and is now the owner and CEO of Divine Family Eyecare, Inc. Through her private practice she serves her community by providing comprehensive vision care. Dr. Jones is a member of the Ohio Optometric Association, the New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, and Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. Dr. Jones is happily married and has three beautiful daughters.

Jacqueline G. Davis OD MPH – Class of 1981 – Notable Alumna

Jacqueline G. DavisThese are the things of which I am most proud:

  • The Ohio State University College of Optometry graduate in 1981
  • Solo private practice in Columbus for 22 years
  • Appointed to the Ohio State Board of Optometry by the governor of Ohio. Served for 10 years and was elected twice as president of that board.
  • VRICS and PAM Committee member and Chief Examiner for the Clinical Skills test for the National Board of Optometry
  • Returned to OSU and earned a Masters in Public Health in 2008
  • Member of the National Optometric Association and American Optometric Association and a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry
  • Currently an Associate Professor of Clinical Optometry at Ohio State
  • Mother of two sons and wife of a retired Columbus firefighter

Thanks again for this great honor!

Katie Greiner, OD MS – Class of 2009 – Notable Alumna

Katie GreinerI am employed full-time at Northeast Ohio Eye Surgeons in Stow and Kent, Ohio with five ophthalmologists and two other optometrists. I was a student intern there in 2008 and always hoped to be able to join the practice, as it is located close to my hometown and offers a wide variety of patient care opportunities. I practice medical-based optometry and specialty contact lens fittings along with serving as a facilitator for the refractive surgery division of the practice. I really enjoy hosting an optometry extern each quarter because teaching is one my passions. Prior to this position, I served for two years as Clinical Director of TLC Laser Eye Center in Columbus and as an attending in the Contact Lens and Primary Vision Services at The Ohio State University College of Optometry.

I am the Membership Chair for the Ohio Optometric Association and the Governor Elect of my local Zone. I also serve on the EastWest Planning Committee as co-chair of the Allied Eye Professionals Education track. In the community, I participate in the RealEyes program, volunteer as an elf on the Polar Express train, and serve as Membership Chair for the local Lions Club chapter where we also host eye screenings, collect eyeglasses, sponsor seeing eye dogs, and fundraise for the community’s needy. I am an avid skier and love to travel the world. I reside in Twinsburg with my husband Nathan and son, Henry. Optometry has always been a dream of mine, and I am so happy to be doing what I love every day. I enjoy staying in touch with so many OSU colleagues and especially reconnecting at national meetings.