‘Taking part in Force has pushed me further and will help me a lot,’ said Polish optometry student Izabela Garaszczuk on winning CooperVision Force Student of the Year 2016. But few would have predicted the success she has since achieved in her career.
Just one year on, Izabela has joined the European Dry Eye Network, a platform for the training and career development of young researchers in vision sciences. She has begun her PhD studies and learned a new language. And in April this year she published her first paper in a peer-reviewed journal.
Not only that but Garaszczuk has also presented her research at the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society International Conference in France, travelled to the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in the US, and taken to the stage at the 40th British Contact Lens Association Clinical Conference.
‘I found my way this year,’ was how she summed up her experiences since winning.
So who will be following in Garaszczuk’s footsteps and what can the 2017 finalists expect to achieve after taking part in this year’s competition?
Changing lives
CooperVision’s Force (Future Ocular Research Creativity Event) is an annual competition in the field of contact lenses, pitching the very best students from colleges and universities across Europe against each other to develop, conduct and disseminate cutting-edge research.
The winners of the national competitions come together for the Force final at CooperVision’s Centre of Innovation in Budapest, Hungary, to see innovative manufacturing, network with colleagues from across Europe and to compete to be the Student of the Year.
Chair of the judging panel Professor James Wolffsohn explained the benefits for those taking part and for optometry: ‘Evidence-based practice is at the core of the optometric profession and Force is unique in giving an opportunity to students from every contact lens teaching university to further their career as key opinion leaders and profession shapers of the future.
‘This is a life-changing opportunity for students to enhance their career and is great publicity for contact lens teaching universities – I would strongly encourage them all to take part and to give their students this great prospect.
‘For example, last year’s winner Izabela Garaszczuk is now doing a dual PhD with the University of Valencia Spain and Wroclaw University of Science and Technology Poland, as part of the EU-funded European Dry Eye Network, with a bright future ahead of her.’
Opening opportunities
Entries to the competition are invited for clinical trials, clinical review papers and case reports, and are judged for the evidence for and importance of the project, and the quality and clarity of presentation. This year, for the first time, finalists could choose to present in their native language. And each presenter was interviewed on camera about their experiences of taking part and their future careers.
Topics for the fifth Force final were more diverse than ever, ranging from laboratory studies using sophisticated equipment to a simple but effective online compliance survey.
Overall winners were Alessandra Rossi and Sara Picarazzi, students from the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy. Supervised by Silvia Tavazzi, this team had evaluated the absorption of eyeshadow in soft contact lenses (see panel).
Specially commended for their studies were Malgorzata Hadzicka from Poland, and Czech Republic team Marie Kodetová and Barbora Hráčková.
Representing the UK
UK finalist Ambreen Hussain, a student from Glasgow Caledonian University supervised by Dr Louise Madden, presented the results of her study into the effect of contact lens material on in vitro wettability in adverse environmental conditions. Like Garaszczuk, Hussain has already gone on to present her findings at the BCLA Clinical Conference.
Prompted by a 24-year-old patient working as a flight attendant who experienced dry, gritty eyes in the low-humidity conditions of the aircraft cabin, Hussain used
a controlled environment to compare breakup time and drying duration for two silicone hydrogel (SiHy) and two hydrogel lenses under high (45%) and low (5%) relative humidity conditions at 23ºC.
The SiHy lenses tested performed significantly better than the hydrogels at low humidity levels. Although her research was in vitro and clinical studies were required, the findings suggest low modulus, low silicone materials might be ideal for patients experiencing problems in this common environment – valuable information for practitioners, she said.
‘Taking part in Force has definitely opened up the opportunity to do research,’ commented Hussain. ‘Now I have an idea what it consists of that’s different from a nine-to-five job. It was really good to be able to meet with students from other countries and universities, to see how their courses differ from the UK, and to see contact lenses being made at Cooper-Vision’s manufacturing site.’
All winners
Presenting the awards on behalf of the judges, Professor Wolffsohn congratulated all the teams on reaching the final: ‘It really wasn’t evident that any of you were nervous. You’re all winners. You’re all here. And you all deserve special commendation for making it this far, winning your regional events and interacting so well. You made our job really hard,’ he said.
Awarding the overall prize to Picarazzi on behalf of her team, he added: ‘This project was original, interesting and an important topic, with an informative and evidence-based introduction.’
On winning, Picarazzi commented: ‘I’m really happy – I didn’t expect to win. It shows the important work our university can do and gives us the chance to publish our project. Force opens up a great opportunity for study. It’s really important for young researchers starting out on their careers.
‘I’m very grateful for the chance to take part in the competition. I’ve learned a lot from this experience – it’s been wonderful. From the future perspective, my aim is to continue my studies and research in contact lenses.’
The winning project
Previous studies have investigated the effect of eye cosmetics on contact lenses. Sara Picarazzi, pictured, and Alessandra Rossi’s in vitro study looked at one type of cosmetic – loose powder eye shadow, pictured below on Picarazzi’s eye – and its interaction with soft lens polymer.
Using a spectrophotometer, they measured the interaction of eyeshadow with soft lenses of five different materials (filcon IV, hilafilcon B, nelfilcon A, comfilcon A and enfilcon A). To test the efficacy of solutions in removing the cosmetic, lenses were rinsed with multipurpose solution, saline and 3% hydrogen peroxide. Confocal laser scanning fluorescence microscopy measured the penetration depth of the cosmetic.
For all lenses, cosmetic absorption was much larger than the expected absorbed mass. Different lenses incorporated different amounts of cosmetic and the time taken to reach maximum absorption varied. Type of polymer – its porosity and mesh size – was the main determining factor rather than ionic charge. Removal of the cosmetic also depended on material type and was attributed to porous structure and polymer-cosmetic interaction.
Teams and topics
- Andrea Alcaraz Cáceres, University of Alicante, Spain.
Supervisors: Dr María del Mar Seguí Crespo and David Piñero Llorens.
Evaluation of quality of life and its relationship with vision function in the presbyopic patient wearing multifocal contact lenses.
- Małgorzata Hadzicka, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland.
Supervisor: Dr Magdalena Grajek.
Influence of a contact lens on the measurement results by ultrasonography of the eye.
- Ambreen Saira Hussain, Glasgow Caledonian University, UK.
Supervisor: Dr Louise Madden.
The effect of contact lens material on in vitro wettability in adverse environmental conditions.
- Kinga Istvánfi and Tímea Gulyás, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.
Supervisor: Dr Beáta Tapasztó.
Contact lens related dry eye.
- Marie Kodetová (presenter) and Barbora Hráčková, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Supervisor: Dr Pavel Beneš.
Soft contact lens wearers: are they doing everything the right way?
- Alessandra Rossi and Sara Picarazzi (presenter), University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy.
Supervisor: Silvia Tavazzi.
Eyeshadow-polymer interaction in soft contact lenses: a comparative study.
- Linda van Hees and Jennifer Meerding, Hogeschool Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Supervisor: Jeroen Mulder.
Dry eye syndrome and asthenopia related to modern digital lifestyle.
- Julie Vaulot, CFA La Noue, Dijon, France.
- Johan von Unge and Sebastian Moghaied, Karolinska Institute Stockholm, Sweden.
Supervisor: Bérenger Roca.
Influence of corneal eccentricity on the measurement of corneo-scleral profile.
Supervisor: Dr Anna Lindskoog-Pettersson.
Corneal apex, visual axis and pupil centre: the influence of these parameters for the importance of decentred contact lenses.
Judges
- Professor James Wolffsohn (UK)
- Elena Garcia Rubio (Spain)
- Pascale Dauthuile (France)
- Dr Eef van der Worp (Netherlands)
For more on CooperVision Force and how to enter, contact CooperVision professional services and visit coopervision-force.com.