The University of Alabama at Birmingham has named Kelly K. Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, as dean of its School of Optometry, following the retirement of Dean Rod W. Nowakowski, OD, PhD. “It is an honor and a privilege to be selected as dean of the UAB School of Optometry,” Dr. Nichols said. “I look forward to working together with Provost [Linda] Lucas and the talented and dedicated faculty to continue the tradition of clinical and research excellence.” Dr. Nichols takes office on June 25.

Dua’s layer, discovered last year, is a 15μm layer of the cornea located between the corneal stroma and Descemet’s membrane. The researchers who found it now report online in British Journal of Ophthalmology that Dua’s layer is also linked to the trabecular meshwork. They determined that the collagen fibers of Dua’s layer branch out to form a meshwork such that the trabecular meshwork’s collagen core is actually an extension of Dua’s layer. “This finding … has the potential to impact future research into the TM and glaucoma,” they concluded.

The world’s largest manufacturer of prescription eyeglass lenses, Essilor International, has agreed to buy the world’s second largest supplier of contact lenses, Coastal Contacts Inc., for $387 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014.

The distinction between normal tissue and cancerous tissue is not always clear to the naked eye. But new high-tech glasses developed at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis will bring cancer cells to new light. When viewed through the newly developed eyewear, cancer cells glow blue, helping to ensure that no stray tumor cells are left behind in surgery. These glasses could reduce the need for follow-up surgeries intended to remove previously unseen cancer cells, investigators say.