At the recent American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Alex R. Bowers, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, was recognized with the 2023 Glenn A. Fry Lecture Award. This annual award lecture honors a distinguished scientist or clinician scientist in recognition of the quality, significance, impact, and relevance to optometry of their current research contributions.
Dr. Bowers is a highly accomplished clinical scientist focused on vision rehabilitation. A major focus of her research has been the implementation of assessment tools in a high-fidelity driving simulator to enable systematic evaluations of drivers with a range of vision impairments. Dr. Bowers has also made major contributions in the field of rehabilitation of patients with hemianopia. She has designed several clinical trials to evaluate peripheral prism glasses for walking and driving. Through these trials an evidence base has now been established for the utility of the device as a mobility aid.