Class of ’20 alumna earns highly competitive K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Career Development Investigator Award
February 21, 2024- New York, NY:– SUNY College of Optometry proudly announces that Dr. Carol Lin, ’20, R’22, has been awarded a four-year K08 Mentored Clinical Scientist Career Development Investigator Award, from the National Institute of Health (NIH). Dr. Lin’s K08 research project focuses on understanding the cellular mechanisms by which myopia increases glaucoma susceptibility in the retina.
K08 grants are highly competitive and prestigious federal Career Development Awards. Its purpose is to prepare individuals for careers that have a significant impact on the health-related research needs of the nation, by providing support, mentorship, and protected time to individuals with a clinical doctoral degree for an intensive, supervised research career development experience.
“I am honored to have received a NIH K08 grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) to investigate more deeply myopia’s mechanisms underlying glaucoma susceptibility,” Dr. Lin said, “I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to continue to learn from my wonderful mentoring team.Both myopia and glaucoma are significant public health crises that affect hundreds of millions of people around the world, and I hope to provide evidence on the unknown nature of the myopia-glaucoma relationship in the coming years.”
Dr. Lin gave special thanks to her PhD mentor, Dr. Alexandra Benavente-Perez, for her guidance and boundless energy in continually fostering and cultivating her love for investigative research.I am terribly proud of Dr. Lin, and the diligent and accomplished clinician scientist that she has become,” Dr. Benavente-Perez stated, “This highly competitive career development K08 grant will allow her to transition into an independent research path while continuing to learn and receive support from an excellent team of senior co-mentors, experts in the fields of retina physiology and electrophysiology research, that include: Drs. Bloomfield, Srinivas and Viswanathan.”
Originally from Saratoga, California, Dr. Lin attended the University of California Los Angeles ‘16 (BS in Neuroscience, minor in French Language and Linguistics), SUNY Optometry ‘20 (OD and MS in Vision Science), and the SUNY Optometry Combined Residency/Graduate Program R’22 (emphasis ocular disease/retina). Currently, Dr. Lin is a SUNY Optometry Clinical Instructor and PhD candidate expecting to complete her PhD this year.
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About SUNY Optometry
Founded in 1971 and located in New York City, the State University of New York College of Optometry is a leader in education, research, and patient care, offering the Doctor of Optometry degree as well as MS and Ph.D. degrees in vision science. The College conducts a robust program of basic, translational and clinical research and has 65 affiliated clinical training sites. SUNY Optometry is regionally accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools; its four-year professional degree program and residency programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education of the American Optometric Association. All classrooms, research facilities, and the University Eye Center, which is one of the largest optometric outpatient facilities in the nation, are located on 42nd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues in midtown Manhattan. To learn more about SUNY Optometry, visit www.sunyopt.edu.
Contact: Rob Rosiello, communications@sunyopt.edu