JACKSONVILLE, Fla.—Vistakon, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., and the American Optometric Foundation (AOF), announced recipients of the Vistakon Ezell Fellowship program and AOF-Vistakon Research Grants.

“Vistakon and the AOF are truly changing the future of optometry by supporting education, leadership and research in optometry,” said AOF president Tony Adams, OD, PhD, FAAO.

The recipients of the Vistakon Ezell Fellowships are:
• Nicole Putnam, MS, of the University of California-Berkeley School of Optometry
• Johanna Tukler-Henriksson, BS, of the University of Houston College of Optometry

Each will receive $8,000 toward their graduate education and $750 in travel grants to the annual meetings of the American Academy of Optometry and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Additionally, recipients of the AOF-Vistakon Research Grants are:
• “Uncovering the Role of Mucins in Contact Lens Induced Corneal Infiltrates” by Loretta Szczotka-Flynn, OD, PhD and Ilene Gipson, PhD, of the Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Sciences at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Schepens Eye Research Institute at Harvard Medical School for the $25,000 grant.
• “Engineering of Novel Contact Lens Materials for Ciprofloxacin Drug Delivery” by Alex Hui, OD and David McCanna, BSc, MA, PhD, of the Centre for Contact Lens Research, School of Optometry at University of Waterloo for the $10,000 grant.

“Vistakon is proud to have partnered with the AOF for over a decade, providing over $1 million of support for scholarships, fellowships and research grants,” the company said.