24 Passion Drives Dr. Alexandra Benavente-Pérez to Advocate for the Vision Science Community “We need to stand up for science and defend the institutions that support us, like the National Institutes of Health and National Eye Institute.” As many stories do, the tale of how Dr. Alexandra Benavente-Pérez came to be a member of the SUNY Optometry family starts long ago. “Being quite nearsighted, as a kid I spent many hours at my local optometrist in Spain. I initially wanted to become a chemist, but when I found out that there was a new university degree in my hometown to become an eye doctor, I didn’t think twice,” she explains. She went on to earn her BS in optometry and optics from University of Valladolid in her hometown in Spain, her MS in investigative ophthalmology and vision sciences at University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, and her PhD in vision sciences at Aston University in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Her research focuses on myopia development, visual control of eye growth and the ocular haemodynamics in health and disease. “From experimental studies, we know that eyes use visual information to adjust their growth and how they are focused. My main research interest is to understand the visual signals that trigger these eye growth changes that eventually lead to nearsightedness,” she explains. Dr. Benavente-Pérez began her SUNY journey in 2009 as a post-doctoral research associate and adjunct assistant professor after meeting vice president and dean for academic affairs Dr. David Troilo. She moved into the role of assistant clinical professor and member of the faculty at the Clinical Vision Research Center in 2012, and she was promoted to associate clinical professor earlier this year. She also serves as the instructor of record for the elective course Spanish for Optometrists. In September, Dr. Benavente-Pérez delivered the Josh Wallman Memorial Lecture and received the ZEISS Young Investigator Award during the International Myopia Conference in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She is passionate about advocacy work and serves as an elected member of the annual meeting planning committee of The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. “This year more than ever, I felt the need to fight for research. As a female, Hispanic, clinician, scientist and immigrant, I cannot sit back and watch how our work is misinterpreted, disavowed or misused,” she says. Dr. Alexandra Benavente-Pérez
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