Skip to main content

UMSL Resident Wins National Award




Congratulations to Rob Ensley, OD  who won  the George Mertz Contact Lens Residency Award. A prestigious award that is given to two residents each year.

The George Mertz Contact Lens Residency Award is intended to promote the practice and development of the field of contact lenses by providing incentive and support to talented optometric residents who demonstrate a passion and commitment to practice, research, and education.

Dr. Ensley is a 2013 graduate from the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Optometry and the current Contact Lens Resident for the College of Optometry.

The award is given by the American Academy of Optometry in partnership with VISTAKON gives a total six awards each year.

                                                        Dr. Rob Ensley, OD


Dr. Ensley will receive a monetary award, plaque and a travel fellowship to assist with attending the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Optometry in Denver later this year.  At the meeting a annual celebration luncheon will be held and at that time Ensley will be presented with a plaque.

Dr. Julie DeKinder, Director of Residencies and Chief of Contact Lens Service for the College of Optometry believes Ensley was an outstanding choice for this award.  "His recommendation letter was easy to write, because he has excelled as a resident. Dr. Ensley has given several lectures and grand round presentations to the students and faculty, presented three posters at various optometric meetings, and been involved in clinical research; all of which made him the ideal candidate," she said.


 Ensley is the first UMSL resident to receive this prestigious award.

The VISTAKON Residency Awards are intended to promote post-graduate optometric clinical education by supporting residents who demonstrate talent and commitment in the field of children's vision and contact lenses.  These are highly competitive fellowships with the recipients being selected by the American Optometric Foundation.

 NGP



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Heart of America: A Great Annual UMSL Tradition

The 56th Annual Contact Lens & Primary Care Congress presented by the Heart of America Contact Lens Society was, once again, a great success and represented a great opportunity for College of Optometry students and residents to network, present posters, receive high quality continuing education, and help as monitors and graduates to have the opportunity to see their classmates and enjoy, not only the expansive exhibit hall but also customize their education based upon the five tracks of courses given simultaneously.  The faculty included two UMSL graduates, Drs. Rebecca Wartman(‘87) and Shane Kannarr(‘00) and Assistant Dean, Dr. Ed Bennett.  Likewise, the Heart of America Board of Directors had a significant UMSL presence with Drs. Sean Mulqueeny(‘91), Wes DeRosier(‘96) and President Craig Brawley(‘01).  Dr. Delaram “Deli” Shirazian(’16), currently completing the Kansas City Veteran’s Administration Medical Center residency program, was a recipient of a $2,0...

UMSL Hosts Receptions at the Missouri Optometric Association and the American Academy of Optometry

An important part of a successful organization is to maintain engagement with our alumni as well as provide the opportunity for students and alumni to connect at various events across the state.  The College of Optometry has been hosting receptions as Heart of America, Optometry’s Meeting, and most recently at the Annual Meeting of the Missouri Optometric Association (MOA) and the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO). The recent MOA meeting was in Branson, Missouri. Dean Larry Davis addressed all of the attendees with an update on the newly opened UMSL Patient Care Center. During his address, he discussed the ongoing fundraising. In addition, Director of Student and Alumni Services Nick Palisch, along with a great team of student ambassadors staffed the UMSL booth to meet with attendees. The College of Optometry also hosted a reception in Anaheim, California in conjunction with the Annual meeting of the AAO.  The AAO reception held on Nov...

UMSL Hosts the 2017 Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators 34th Annual Educational Workshop

The UMSL College of Optometry was host to 56 contact lens educators from all of the Colleges in North America as well as 23 representatives from contact lens industry sponsors as host of the 34th Annual Association of Optometric Contact Lens Educators(AOCLE) Annual Educational Workshop, held June 1 – 3.  The theme of the meeting was ““Scleral Lenses: The Good, The Bad, The Technology.” Guest lecturers included renown scleral lens innovators Drs. Christine Sindt and Jason Jedlicka.  Attendees had the opportunity to participate in workshops pertaining to scleral lens evaluation and fitting.  A highlight of the workshop was a tour of the new UMSL Patient Care Center.  The organizing committee consisted of Drs. Julie DeKinder, Vinita Henry, Ed Bennett, and Beth Henderson with Dr. DeKinder doing a wonderful job as Chair of the committee.  And she was very pleased to have this opportunity as she relates: “It was an honor to host the AOCLE at UMSL....