Barbara Caffery, OD, PhD, FAAO.
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ORLANDO—The American Academy of Optometry has named Barbara Caffery, OD, PhD, FAAO, as the incoming president of the American Academy of Optometry. Dr. Caffery was formally inducted during the Academy’s annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas on Nov. 10, 2018. She is the first Canadian woman to serve as president. “The American Academy of Optometry is an inspiration to each of its members. Here, dedicated practitioners and vision scientists participate by teaching, mentoring and collaborating, to promote the best evidence-based eyecare and to disseminate vital vision science,” said Dr. Caffery.

Dr. Caffery is a Toronto optometrist who has worked in a group practice since her 1977 graduation from the New England College of Optometry. She is also a member of the University Health Network Multidisciplinary Sjögren’s Syndrome Clinic and the Kensington Vision and Research Centre’s Therapeutic Contact Lens Clinic. Dr. Caffery is a diplomate of the Academy’s Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses & Refractive Technologies.

Dr. Caffery practices comprehensive eyecare and her areas of expertise are dry eye disease and contact lenses. She completed her Master of Science degree in Nutrition in 1987. She completed her PhD program in Vision Science at the University of Waterloo in 2009. She has done several clinical trials in dry eye disease and has published widely in the areas of contact lenses, dry eye and Sjögren’s Syndrome. Dr. Caffery is an invited lecturer at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science.

Dr. Caffery has served on the American Academy of Optometry board of directors since 2007, most recently serving as secretary-treasurer (2015 & 2016) and president-elect (2017 & 2018). She was instrumental in the formation of the Fellows Doing Research Special Interest Group, created to train and encourage the performance of clinical research by Fellows of the Academy.

During the 2019 & 2020 term, Dr. Caffery will serve alongside Dr. Timothy McMahon (president-elect), Dr. Susan Cotter (secretary-treasurer), Dr. Joseph Shovlin (immediate past-president), Dr. Jenny Coyle, Dr. Andrew Mick, Dr. Carl Spear and Dr. Jeff Walline.