This year, Optometry and Vision Science is celebrating its centennial anniversary. It is an honor to usher in the 100th volume, and over this next year, we are looking forward to celebrating the history of optometry and vision science and the individuals who have helped shape vision research and clinical practice over these past 100 years. For those interested in the history of optometry and vision research and for those who are working to shape the next 100 years, stay tuned to the editorials. I hope to make this year's collection something that will be different, informative, and maybe even a little provocative.

It is fitting that we begin the new year and our first issue of this centennial with a feature issue on the topic of myopia, a frequent topic of publications in the journal and one central to our professional focus on vision function.

Myopia is a leading cause of functional vision loss that is growing worldwide. Projections are that, by 2050, there will be 5 billion myopes worldwide and 1 billion high myopes1—individuals also at greater risk for glaucoma, retinal detachments and other causes of ocular disease and permanent vision loss.2 In the United States, in the 1970s, myopia prevalence was 25%, and it is now estimated to be 42%.3 This incidence is nearly half that of many Asian and Southeast Asian countries.4 Although these numbers are staggering, it has taken a generation to raise awareness and build consensus around the need to address this condition. Nevertheless, there is now a growing interest from the National Institutes of Health and other public health agencies around the world to recognize and address the public health consequences of the growing myopia pandemic.

Now that effective clinical interventions for myopia are available, there is growing interest and activity at every level of translational research to better understand underlying risk factors for myopia, the fundamental mechanisms that lead to this condition, its prognosis, possible clinical and behavioral interventions, and the need for greater understanding of the growing public health implications. The journal received a record number of submissions and, from those submissions on these topics and a distinguished guest editorial team, curated an excellent collection of the final accepted articles.

Mark Bullimore, MCOptom, PhD, FAAO

Editor in Chief Emeritus,

Optometry and Vision Science

Adjunct Professor,

University of Houston College of Optometry

Professor Bullimore is an internationally renowned scientist, speaker, and educator based in Boulder, Colorado. He received his optometry degree and PhD in vision science from Aston University in Birmingham, England. He spent most of his career at the Ohio State University and the University of California at Berkeley and is now adjunct professor at the University of Houston. He is the former editor of Optometry and Vision Science. His expertise in myopia, contact lenses, low vision, presbyopia, and refractive surgery means that he is consultant for a number of ophthalmic, surgical, and pharmaceutical companies. This work has resulted in approval of, among others, Paragon CRT, Alcon's iLux, and CooperVision's MiSight lens. He has co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles including several modern classics in the field of myopia control.

Alexandra Benavente-Perez, PhD, FAAO

Associate Clinical Professor,

State University of New York, College of Optometry

Alexandra Benavente is an associate clinical professor at the SUNY College of Optometry. She received her degree in optometry and optics from the College of Science and Medicine in Valladolid, Spain; MS in investigative ophthalmology and vision science from the University of Manchester, United Kingdom; and PhD in vision science from Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom. She is the principal investigator of her research laboratory, focused on identifying the mechanisms that lead to myopia and associated blinding consequences. She has been a part of the clinical research effort at the college through the Clinical Vision Research Center since its creation in 2013, where she has been a principal investigator in a multicenter research study and subinvestigator in more than 20 clinical studies.

Sandra has served as chair of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting Program Committee (Anatomy section) and is an appointed member of the Scientific Committees of the American Academy of Optometry and the International Myopia Conference. She has received the Josh Wallman Memorial Award/Zeiss Young Scientist Award in Myopia Research at the International Myopia Conference and the American Academy of Optometry Professional Career Development Award.

David Berntsen, OD, PhD, FAAO

Associate Professor,

University of Houston College of Optometry

David A. Berntsen is the Golden-Golden professor of optometry at the University of Houston College of Optometry where he teaches in the graduate and professional programs. He is the chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences and conducts research on myopia, contact lenses, visual performance, and aberrations of the eye. He completed his doctor of optometry degree at the University of Houston and a Cornea and Contact Lens Advanced Practice Fellowship, MS, and PhD at The Ohio State University. He conducted the Study of Theories about Myopia Progression (STAMP), a 2-year clinical trial evaluating theories of juvenile-onset myopia progression and is the principal investigator of the University of Houston clinical site for the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) Study and the BLINK2 Study, a multicenter study sponsored by the National Eye Institute evaluating contact lenses for myopia control. Dr. Berntsen serves on the American Academy of Optometry's Scientific Program Committee and is a diplomate in the Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses, and Refractive Technologies.

Timothy Gawne, PhD

Professor,

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Timothy Gawne, PhD, started out as an electrical engineer with a degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and for a time, he worked at Digital Equipment Corporation. He then got a PhD in physiology from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science and moved into visual neuroscience. He is currently a professor in the School of Optometry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His major research interest is determining how the neural retina can use visual cues to evaluate defocus and guide ocular elongation to achieve and maintain good focus (emmetropization). He uses as an animal model the tree shrew, small diurnal mammals very closely related to primates. He is also working to develop more effective methods for combating myopia (nearsightedness).

Kee Chea Su, BSc (Hons) Optom, MA, PhD

Professor,

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Prof. Kee is a professor teaching optometry subjects related to clinical and ophthalmic dispensing at the School of Optometry, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He received his bachelor's degree in optometry from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He later obtained his master's and PhD degrees from the City College of New York and University of Houston, respectively. Before returning to Hong Kong, Prof. Kee was an assistant professor in physiological optics at the New England College of Optometry in Boston, Massachusetts. Prof. Kee is appointed as the interim head of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's School of Optometry and the interim director of Research Centre for SHARP Vision in 2022.

Prof. Kee's constant research interest is how visual optics regulate eye growth. Through active collaborations with vision scientists and engineers around the world, Prof. Kee and his team have devised ocular diagnostic tools and animal models to study the role of visual experience on refractive development. Knowledge gained from the mixture of basic and translational research has accelerated our knowledge transfer.

Lisa Ostrin, OD, PhD, FAAO

Associate Professor,

University of Houston College of Optometry

Dr. Ostrin is an associate professor at the University of Houston College of Optometry. She received a bachelor of arts degree in studio art at the University of Texas at Austin. She then completed the combined OD/PhD program at the University of Houston College of Optometry. After graduate work focused in accommodative physiology, she went to John Hopkins University for post-doctoral research in low vision and retinal prosthetics. From there, she worked as a clinician researcher at the University of California Berkeley School of Optometry with a focus on myopia. She returned to the University of Houston as faculty to continue her work in myopia and circadian rhythms. Her laboratory is interested in how light exposure and other behavioral factors influence eye growth and myopia development.

Dr. Ostrin is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, Gold Fellow of Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and a past recipient of the American Optometric Foundation Ezell Fellowship. In addition to research, Dr. Ostrin teaches gross and ocular anatomy in the optometry program at the University of Houston and recently authored the book Anatomy of the Human Eye: A Coloring Atlas.

Scott Read, BAppSc (Optom), PhD, FAAO

Associate Professor,

Queensland University of Technology

Scott Read is a professor in Queensland University of Technology's School of Optometry and Vision Science, with more than 15 years' experience in vision research. The primary focus of his research has been to better understand the ocular and environmental factors underlying human myopia development and progression. His work has used high-resolution imaging and wearable sensor technology to provide novel insights into these research areas. Professor Read was awarded the “Zeiss Young Investigator Award in Myopia Research” for his distinguished contributions to the myopia research field.

In his career to date, Professor Read has authored more than 120 research publications and has been awarded more than $2.5 million in research funding from a variety of sources. Scott has been a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry since 2012. He has also been an associate editor and editorial board member for Clinical and Experimental Optometry and is currently an editorial board member and a topical associate editor for Optometry and Vision Science.

Kathryn Richdale, OD, PhD

Dr. Kathryn Richdale received her BS from the University of Notre Dame and her OD, PhD, and Cornea and Contact Lens Advanced Practice Fellowship from The Ohio State University. She was founding director of the Clinical Vision Research Center and established the Myopia Control Clinic at the State University of New York College of Optometry before joining the University of Houston College of Optometry as a tenured associate professor in 2017. Dr. Richdale served as an attending in the Cornea and Contact Lens Service, directed the Myopia Management Service, and led the interprofessional education at University of Houston College of Optometry. She held industry, private, or government grant funding for more than 20 years and published more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts. In 2022, she joined CooperVision as a clinical research fellow. Dr. Richdale is past chair of the American Academy of Optometry Research Committee and board member of its foundation and earned a diplomate in the Cornea, Contact Lenses and Refractive Technologies section in 2021.

Jeffrey Walline, OD, PhD

Professor,

The Ohio State University

Jeffrey J. Walline, OD, PhD, is the associate dean for research at The Ohio State University College of Optometry and president-elect of the American Academy of Optometry. He received his doctor of optometry degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry, and he received his master's and PhD degrees from The Ohio State University College of Optometry. Dr. Walline has led several pediatric contact lens studies, and he is the study chair of the Bifocal Lenses In Nearsighted Kids (BLINK) Study, a National Eye Institute–sponsored randomized clinical trial to investigate the myopia control effects of soft multifocal contact lenses.

James Wolffsohn, BSc, MBA, PhD, FAAO

Professor, Aston University,

Optometry and Vision Science Research Group

James S. Wolffsohn, a professor of optometry at Aston University since 2000, formerly deputy executive dean for life sciences, and then associate pro-vice-chancellor, is the head of the School of Optometry and head of the Department of Audiology. Before his appointment to Aston University, Professor Wolffsohn was a clinical research fellow at the University of Melbourne in Australia after an optometry degree at the University of Manchester, training period at Moorfields Eye Hospital, and a PhD at Cardiff University. His main research areas are the development and evaluation of ophthalmic instrumentation, myopia management, contact lenses, intraocular lenses, and the tear film. He is a national teaching fellow, has published more than 295 full peer-reviewed papers, and presented at numerous international conferences. He is the academic chair of the British Contact Lens Association, having previously being president and chair of the BCLA Contact Lens Evidence–based Academic Reports; he is on the executive of Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society (TFOS) and was a harmonizer and subcommittee chair for TFOS Dry Eye Workshop II and TFOS Lifestyle reports; he is the International Myopia Institute's Chief Scientific Officer and was joint chair of their white papers. He holds the BCLA Medal (2021) and American Academy of Optometry's Glenn Fry Award (2022).

The topics you will find in this issue include studies that address demographic descriptions and population studies of risk factors. We also include clinical evaluations of biometric findings and behavioral interventions for myopia, clinical trial results on astigmatic myopia, and interesting findings on possible driving mechanisms such as spectral effects of blue light.

Here is a brief summary of the articles in our feature issue:

The 2020 Prentice Award Lecture [Zadnik] Investigations on refractive errors and ocular biometry [Hashemi] Retinal shape in isometropes and anisometropes [Verkicharla] A clinical study to assess the impact of a behavioral intervention designed to reduce the effect of digital device use on myopia progression [Rosenfeld] Strategies in the management of myopia progression [Grzybowski] Clinical outcomes from a controlled clinical trial for astigmatic myopia management [Tomiyama] A clinical perspective piece on fighting myopia with intermittent near-work breaks [Pucker] The effects of evening blue light effects on lens compensation [Nickla] A study of ethnic disparities in risk factors for myopic children in China [Yang] A surprising report of stable prevalence of myopia among Swedish children [Bro] Findings on choroidal thickness profiles in myopic children [Kobia-Acquah]

We hope you enjoy this feature issue and share our excitement about the coming year and the scientific advances that it may bring. It is a great time to be in Optometry and Vision Science!

Michael D. Twa, OD, PhD, FAAO
Editor in Chief
Optometry and Vision Science
University of Houston College of Optometry
Houston TX