OD/PhD at NECO

[LedaLeda]

Hey, so I have recently decided to consider the option of going into optomerty. I used to be pre-med, then decided I would like to do research as a PhD but MD/PhD is a little to long for me. So OD/PhD seems to be a good fit for my interests. More specifically I want to do a PhD in Biomedical engineering with a concentration in vision rehabilitation/prosthetics. Is anyone else applying to the program offered in NECO or any other optometry school? Or better yet, is anyone in the program... I am surprised to see that there is very limited information about such programs at many of the schools I've researched.
Thanks!

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[hurricaneuro]

If an MD/PhD is "a little too long for you", I don't see why OD/PhD would be any different. Both take about 6-7 years...(depending on how fast you work).

 

[LedaLeda]

MD/PhD is generally 8yrs, plus residency 4yrs, plus specialization...I've thought hard about this, and I think OD/PhD just works out better for me in the long run...

I was just asking in case someone knew more about the program from experience. I've also noticed that many of the professors at optometry schools are OD/PhD, and I'm wondering what their course of education was, and whether many of them do a lot of research...

 

[EyEnStein 07]

This is interesting...I basically have the same plan as you do hah. However i doubt we (i am also interested in BME) would be able to get the PhD in BME...Does NECO offer a PhD in that? Im mainly interested in SUNY but the only PhD they offer is in Vision Science. But it would be amazing to get a PhD done in one of the BME tracks.

Also, im sure there is probably no more than 5 or 6 OD/PhD Students a year in ALL optometry schools in the US thus making most of the OD/PhD programs inactive. Do post on this thread if you get new info!

SUNY has a few OD/PhD faculty...but from looking at their CV's (available from the faculty page) it seems they werent in any formal programs, rather they did an OD first and then the PhD or vice versa.

 

[LedaLeda]

Yeah, I looked into SUNY as well and noticed that the only PhD offered was in vision science...which depending on the faculty and their research interests, it could probably be tailored in a BME kind of way...

Anyways, NECO, I think is what I'm leaning towards. I don't know if you've looked into it, but it does a joint program with Boston University...and students can choose one of the following for PhD: Anatomy, Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, Genetics and Genomics, Molecular Medicine, Behavioral Neuroscience, Biomedical Neuroscience, Microbiology, Immunology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Physiology, Biophysics or Medical Nutrition Sciences
I really think that if a student is motivated enough, he/she can convince them to work in the BME department of BU. Plus, there is one faculty member in their BME department that works on visual information processing and visual prostheses. I already emailed admissions at NECO two days ago asking about this, but they haven't gotten back to me yet.
That's basically as far as I've gotten in pursuing this...

 

[LedaLeda]

Ok...I just emailed the BU professor as well...hopefully he can steer me in the right direction

 

[EyEnStein 07]

Great idea! Yeah i looked into it after i made my post actually, but didnt see BME (i only saw the list you posted).

Best of luck to you though. Sometimes professors may have a topic listed on their website but might have moved away from it or is doing something completely different. There could be several other reasons but it never hurts to try. Let us know what responses you get!

 

[LedaLeda]

So the professor has moved to Florida...haha, just our luck...I'll email BU and ask them directly if its possible.

 

[EyEnStein 07]

Ahh, sorry to hear. I see that Boston VA has a Center for Innovative Visual Rehabilitation but maybe its not affiliated. Also, perhaps you can just go for the Biophysics (which is not bad, thats actually what im getting my UG concentration in) with some Bio-Imaging thing going. That way im sure you can find a way to investigate something in the vision and hopefully the PI will support you. I think anyone who would want to do a degree in BME with a focus on the visual system, would want a focus in Biomedical Imaging.

 

[LedaLeda]

Yeah, that's a possible alternative. I'm sure many professors will be open to project ideas. But either way I'm thinking I will apply after one year of optometry. Not even sure if GRE is required...NECO hasn't gotten back to me.