Faculty

Optometry Faculty 

Aubrey Breithaupt, O.D.
Michigan College of Optometry
Clinic Care Lead and Associate Professor

Shannon Carmo, O.D.
Illinois College of Optometry 
Assistant Professor

Arijit Chakraborty, MPhil, Ph.D., FAAO
The University of Auckland, New Zealand 
Assistant Director of Research and Associate Professor

Frederick Collison, O.D., FAAO 
Illinois College of Optometry 
Professor   

Jessica Conroy, O.D., FAAO 
University of Missouri - St. Louis College of Optometry
Associate Professor 

Daniel Deligio, O.D., FAAO 
Midwestern University Arizona College of Optometry
Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs and Associate Professor

John Gialousakis, O.D., Ed.M., FAAO (Dipl AAO)
State University of New York College of Optometry
Director of Student Achievement and Associate Professor

Jenny Geevarghese, O.D., FAAO
Midwestern University Arizona College of Optometry
Associate Professor

Brianne Hobbs, O.D., Ph.D., FAAO
University of Missouri - St. Louis College of Optometry
Dean and Professor

Konstantina Kalas, O.D., FAAO 
Illinois College of Optometry 
Associate Professor

Jenny Lau, O.D.
Illinois College of Optometry 
Assistant Professor

Vakishan Nadarajah, O.D., FAAO 
Illinois College of Optometry 
Clinic Care Lead and Associate Professor  

Clinton Prestwich, O.D., FAAO 
Southern College of Optometry
Assistant Director of Rotations and Associate Professor

Dana Rhea, O.D., FAAO 
Arizona College of Optometry
Assistant Professor

Samantha Rice, O.D., FAAO 
Illinois College of Optometry 
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Associate Professor

Suraj Upadhyaya, Ph.D., FAAO 
Southwestern University College of Optometry, Ph.D. University of Houston 
Associate Professor 

Margaret Wilczek, O.D. 
Illinois College of Optometry
Director of Residencies and Associate Professor

Jenna Williams, O.D., FAAO 
Illinois College of Optometry 
Director of Clinical Operations and Associate Professor

Parres Wright, O.D., FAAO 
Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry
Clinic Care Lead and Associate Professor

Hye Seon Yoo, O.D. 
Illinois College of Optometry 
Associate Professor 

College of Graduate Studies Faculty with Joint Appointments 

Milad Alasady, Ph.D. 
University of Baltimore 
Assistant Professor

Bryan C. Bjork, Ph.D. 
University of Iowa  
Professor

Joshua Edwards, Ph.D.
Michigan State University 
Professor

Jeremy Ellermeier, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Associate Professor

Matthew Fardoux, M.S.
Northern Illinois University
Instructor

Eric Gorscak, Ph.D.
Ohio University
Associate Professor

Phillip G. Kopf, Ph.D. 
University of New Mexico 
Chair Pharmacology and Professor

Jeffrey Kurkewich, Ph.D.
University of Notre Dame
Assistant Professor

Jonathan Lerner, Ph.D.
Paris Descartes University, France
Assistant Professor

Isabel Martinez-Peña y Valenzuela, Ph.D.
University of La Laguna, Spain
Assistant Professor

Candice Mazewski, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Assistant Professor

Rafael Mejía-Alvarez, M.D., Ph.D.
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
CINVESTAV/Baylor College of Medicine
Chair Physiology and Professor

Marsha Louise Pierce, Ph.D.
Creighton University
Associate Professor

Maura Porta, Ph.D.
Loyola University Chicago
Assistant Professor

Prasanth Puthanveetil, Ph.D.
University of British Colombia, Canada
Associate Professor

Cai Roberts, Ph.D.
City of Hope, Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences
Assistant Professor

Alexander J. Rosenberg, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Chicago
Assistant Professor

Ira Sigar, Ph.D.
Illinois Institute of Technology
Associate Professor

Erin Stephenson, Ph.D.
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia
Associate Professor

Luigi Strizzi, Ph.D.
Gabriele D’Annunzio University
Associate Professor

Sinju Sundaresan, Ph.D.
Texas Woman’s University
Assistant Professor


Michelle Swanson-Mungerson, Ph.D.
Loyola University Chicago
Professor

Julie A. Swartzendruber, Ph.D.
Northwestern University
Associate Professor

Martin Szul, Ph.D.
University of Tennessee
Instructor

Joseph Terranova, Ph.D.
Georgia State University
Assistant Professor

Vaibhav Tiwari, Ph.D.
Banaras Hindu University, India
Associate Professor

Maria Traka, Ph.D.
University of Crete, Greece
Associate Professor

Renier Velez-Cruz, Ph.D.
Vanderbilt University
Associate Professor

Susan Viselli, Ph.D.
Pennsylvania State University
Chair Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics and Professor

Michael V. Volin, Ph.D.
The University of Chicago
Chair Microbiology and Immunology and Professor

Deming Yang, Ph.D.
Stony Brook University
Assistant Professor