41 Dr. Sherry J. Bass was named 2016 Alumna of the Year by the SUNY College of Optometry Alumni Association. She was celebrated during the Envision New York alumni reception at the Princeton Club on Saturday, October 22. Dr. Bass has served on the SUNY Optometry faculty for 36 years. Her research focuses on hereditary retinal disorders and the use of imaging technology to understand the pathophysiology of retinal disorders. She is also an attending in the retina clinic of the University Eye Center and supervises residents with ocular disease concentrations. In addition to her full-time responsibilities at the College, Dr. Bass has maintained a private practice in Woodmere, N.Y. since 1981. You obviously love optometry—you practice, you teach, you serve on many boards, and you have published extensively. How did you discover and choose optometry as your career? I was actually a high school biology teacher when I mentioned to the school’s guidance counselor that I wanted to pursue a career in health care. Her son’s girlfriend attended a new state school – the SUNY College of Optometry – and she thought optometry would be a great choice for me, too. She provided additional information from other sources, including the American Optometric Association, and I learned more about the field and decided to apply. Interesting that a high school guidance counselor also helped guide a colleague’s career! Tell us about your research interest in retinal disorders. I have always had an interest in hereditary retinal diseases and new technologies to help us understand the structural integrity and functional role of the retina. I recently published a manuscript in Optometry and Vision Science on optical coherence tomography (OCT) in a myelinated nerve fiber layer syndrome with reduced vision. I am co-authoring a chapter on early detection of retinal abnormalities with spectral-domain OCT and ultra-wide field autofluorescence for Advances in Ophthalmology and Optometry with Dr. Jerome Sherman. I am also a co-investigator on a research project studying Stargardt disease, a hereditary macular disease that causes vision loss with its onset at a young age. You’ve taught at SUNY Optometry since you graduated in 1980. What do you enjoy most about teaching students and managing residents? How do you advise them? Teaching students and residents keeps me fresh. I am so motivated when I see the expressions on their faces as they take notes. Many are like sponges – so excited to absorb knowledge that I sometimes take for granted. I advise our students and residents to go beyond what is expected to advance in the professional world. Our residents are expected to provide excellent patient care, but they also receive outstanding writing and lecturing experience. I encourage them to continue these activities after they complete their residencies and many have had very successful careers as a result. Sherry Bass, OD ’80 2016 Alumna of the Year Distinguished Teaching Professor
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