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ORLANDO, Fla.—The American Academy of Optometry Foundation has announced the 11 recipients of the 2020 William C. Ezell Fellowships. The Ezell Fellowship program is named after the founding president of the AAOF, William C. Ezell, OD. The program was established to provide recognition and support to talented post-doctoral students who are pursuing an advanced degree in optometric research and education. To date, over 430 William C. Ezell Fellowships have been awarded since the inception of the program in 1949. Funding for these Fellowships is provided by leading optometric companies, private endowments, and other generous business organizations that represent most sectors of the industry.

The AAOF congratulates the following recipients who have been selected as the 2020-2021 Ezell Fellows:

AAO Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses, and Refractive Technologies (CCLRT) Ezell Fellowship
Erin Tomiyama, OD, MS, FAAO
University of Houston College of Optometry

American Academy of Optometry (AAO) Ezell Fellowship
Eugene Appenteng Osae, OD
University of Houston College of Optometry

Danne Ventura/Essilor Ezell Fellowship
Reynolds Kwame Ablordeppey, OD
State University of New York College of Optometry

Facebook Ezell Fellowship
Lyndsey Ferris, OD, FAAO
Indiana University School of Optometry

Irvin M. Borish / Essilor Ezell Fellowship
Young Hyun Kim
University of California Berkeley School of Optometry

John N. Schoen Ezell Fellowship
Justin Courson
University of Houston College of Optometry

Merton C. Flom Leadership Ezell Fellowship
Kelsy Steele, OD, MS, FAAO
The Ohio State University College of Optometry

Mike Daley/Essilor Ezell Fellowship
Kwaku Osei, OD, FAAO
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry

Michael G. Harris Ezell Fellowship
Afua Oteng Asare, OD, MPH, MSc
University of Toronto

Optometric Glaucoma Society (OGS) Ezell Fellowship
Billie Beckwith-Cohen, DVM, MBA, FAAO
University of California Berkeley School of Optometry

Rod Tahran/Essilor Ezell Fellowship
Rabia Mobeen, BOptom, MPhil
University of New South Wales

This year’s Ezell Fellows will be honored at the AAOF’s Annual Celebration Luncheon on Saturday, October 10, 2020 at Academy 2020 in Nashville, Tenn.