editor’s perspective

A Meeting of the Contact Lens Minds

BY JASON J. NICHOLS, OD, MPH, PHD, FAAO

Presently, I am attending the 10th Annual Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS), a meeting brought about by its parent journal, Contact Lens Spectrum. This is the largest meeting we have held to date with close to 1,000 attendees and exhibitors present.

And while the attendance numbers are enviable, what I find truly amazing is that the meeting has not lost its core focus—the practice of contact lenses. It is true that much of the content covers so-called “specialty” aspects of contact lens practice, but it is important to note that there as many mainstream (i.e., “regular”) aspects of contact lenses that are covered as well.

The meeting has been a tremendous success, and I think the entire GSLS education committee should be recognized in this regard. This includes Edward S. Bennett, OD, MSEd, FAAO; Patrick J. Caroline, FAAO; Craig W. Norman, FCLSA; and Eef van der Worp, BSc, PhD, FAAO, FIACLE, FBCLA. As a member of this committee myself, I have witnessed the multitudes of hours and tremendous effort that they have put forth to ensure that this conference covers the topics that are most relevant to our attendees.

However, I would like to take a moment to especially recognize Craig Norman for his efforts these past 10 years in chairing the meeting. Under Craig’s leadership, the meeting has grown to be the premier contact lens meeting in North America. And, without question, it now rivals, if not now surpasses, a few other global meetings on contact lenses worldwide. With that, I would like to thank Craig for his tireless efforts, both in his leadership with the GSLS, but also relative to his contributions to Contact Lens Spectrum for many years. Thank you Craig!

Whether you were fortunate enough to attend the 2016 GSLS or not, you will still be able to benefit from all that was presented. During the next few months, Contact Lens Spectrum will feature various news stories, columns, and feature articles about the many seminars and posters presented. To start, check out the 2016 GSLS recap in the News section on page 2. In addition, the meeting’s website—www.gslsymposium.com—offers PDFs of the posters presented and handouts from many of the educational sessions.