Featured Speakers
Melissa Barnett, OD, FAAO, FSLS, FBCLA
Dr. Barnett is a world-renowned key opinion leader recognized for her expertise in specialty and scleral lenses, dry eye disease, keratoconus and presbyopia. She has authored more than 275 articles and books, serves on several industry boards, and delivered over 350 lectures. Her work has been featured in medical journals, professional magazines, as well as consumer publications such as Bloomberg, Prevention Magazine and Good Housekeeping.
She is energized by her passion for helping people improve their lives by optimizing their vision, health and wellness with a customized approach. Dr. Barnett is most proud of being awarded the Scleral Lens Practitioner of the Year from the Scleral Lens Education Society, the inaugural Theia Award for Excellence for Mentoring by Women In Optometry and was granted the Most Influential Women in Optical from Vision Monday.
Dr. Barnett is the Director of Optometry at the University of California, Davis, and is the host of the Clearly KC podcast. She advocates for elevating eye care through technology and her influence on the profession.
Andrew S. Morgenstern, OD, FAAO, FNAP
Dr. Morgenstern is a graduate of Boston University (B.S.) and Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry (O.D., Clinical Honors). He completed his optometric training at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Florida. Dr. Morgenstern is a contract optometrist for the Defense Health Agency - Vision Center of Excellence researching acute eye injury, blast eye injury and vision dysfunction associated with Traumatic Brain Injury. He is also a volunteer clinician at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda Maryland. Dr. Morgenstern is also the Director of the American Optometric Association Clinical Resources Group charged with developing the AOA Evidence Based Clinical Practice Guidelines. He currently holds the faculty rank of Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Department of Defense Uniformed Services University School of Medicine. Prior to his current role, Dr. Morgenstern was a Clinical Director and Education Director for TLC Laser Eye Centers and Principal Investigator for CXL-USA/CXL-O Corneal Cross-Linking clinical trials/studies. He has a special interest in surgical and non-surgical solutions to refractive error as well as corneal ectatic disease. Dr. Morgenstern is published and has lectured extensively both nationally and internationally on a variety of topics related to vision and eye care.
Mark T. Dunbar, OD, FAAO
Dr. Mark Dunbar has been a member of the optometric staff at the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute for over 30 years and currently serves as the Director of Optometric Services.
Dr Dunbar is a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and is a founding member of both the Optometric Glaucoma Society (OGS) and the Optometric Retina Society (ORS). Dr. Dunbar serves on the Editorial Boards for Review of Optometry where he has written the monthly column “The Retina Quiz” for over 20 years. In 2021 and 2022 he was named as one of the “Top 150 Optometrist in the Nation” by Newsweek Magazine’s annual survey.
