Dr. Pauline Kolker Buck
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I am a native Floridian. I grew up on Miami Beach where I attended Temple Menorah preschool, Biscayne Elementary School, and graduated high school from Miami Country Day School.
My undergraduate degree in genetics and zoology are from the University of Florida (GO GATORS!). Then I moved up to the cold north, Boston Massachusetts. Did you know that cotton sweaters do not work above the Mason Dixon line in the winter? Wow, the weather up there was a shocker for this Florida girl. I graduated in 1994 with a doctorate in optometry from the New England College of Optometry. |
I married my husband, Evan, the day after I took the National Boards for Optometry. I can't tell which I was more nervous about.
We are the proud parents of two children whom many of my patients have gotten to know over the years due to their constant presence in the office after school as they were growing up. Jacqueline will be attending Boston College in the fall to get her Master's of Social Work. Aaron is finishing up his AA degree at MDCC and is a car enthusiast.
In my spare time I love rowing, hiking and camping, biking, and reading books.
I became interested in developmental optometry after several years of private practice. I started studying and began attending meetings to better learn to diagnose and treat functional vision disorders. I received my fellowship for the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) and soon after was designated Florida State Coordinator for the COVD. I am, presently the chair for all the state coordinators in the country and co-chair of the membership committee. I am the organizer of the annual Florida COVD Study which meets each year in late July/early August.
In addition to my work I spend several weekends per year volunteering for the Florida Special Olympics. I am one of the Clinical Directors for the Special Olympics Lion's Club International Opening Eyes Program in South Florida. I look forward to spending time with the athletes and their families and providing for their eyecare needs at local and state games.
I have lectured on the topic of Vision and Visual Development around the country and internationally and enjoying hosting parents, teachers, colleagues, therapists in my office for workshops on a variety of visually related topics.
We are the proud parents of two children whom many of my patients have gotten to know over the years due to their constant presence in the office after school as they were growing up. Jacqueline will be attending Boston College in the fall to get her Master's of Social Work. Aaron is finishing up his AA degree at MDCC and is a car enthusiast.
In my spare time I love rowing, hiking and camping, biking, and reading books.
I became interested in developmental optometry after several years of private practice. I started studying and began attending meetings to better learn to diagnose and treat functional vision disorders. I received my fellowship for the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (COVD) and soon after was designated Florida State Coordinator for the COVD. I am, presently the chair for all the state coordinators in the country and co-chair of the membership committee. I am the organizer of the annual Florida COVD Study which meets each year in late July/early August.
In addition to my work I spend several weekends per year volunteering for the Florida Special Olympics. I am one of the Clinical Directors for the Special Olympics Lion's Club International Opening Eyes Program in South Florida. I look forward to spending time with the athletes and their families and providing for their eyecare needs at local and state games.
I have lectured on the topic of Vision and Visual Development around the country and internationally and enjoying hosting parents, teachers, colleagues, therapists in my office for workshops on a variety of visually related topics.
Dr. Rob Koenekoop
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Dr. Robert Koenekoop (Rob) was born in Stockholm Sweden but went to High school and the University of Utrecht in The Netherlands. After Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology, Vegetation Science and Population Biology, a Fulbright fellowship from Amsterdam brought him to the USA for a PhD in Molecular Biology. His wife then brought him to Quebec, Canada and Medical school studies at the University of Toronto and McGill University followed. He saw the light in the retina clinic and finished his residency in Ophthalmology at McGill and his Ocular Genetics and Paediatric Ophthalmology Fellowships at Johns Hopkins University. For the past 25 years he has devoted his research career to discovering new retinal genes for childhood blindness due to retinal degenerations, and more recently in testing the safety and efficacy of new therapies for these same diseases, with some very important early successes. He has a broad background in human clinical trials and drug development, molecular genetics, clinical and paediatric ophthalmology, retinal degenerations, childhood blindness research and data analyses.
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In the past few years, in international collaborations, he has been able to discover 15+ new genes for childhood blindness due to retinal degenerations. This work was supported by grants from NIH (NEI), CIHR, Fighting Blindness Canada, The MCH foundation, Telethon of stars, the FRSQ and Reseau de Vision. This led to the publication of 140+ peer-reviewed papers. He is now the principal investigator (PI) at McGill, the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the MUHC Center for Innovative Medicine (CIM) for 7 human clinical trials to test new drugs, new genes, new genetic methods and other modalities to combat blindness due to photoreceptor diseases. In his free time, he bikes 365 days per year and keeps a healthy diet.
CLINICAL PROFILE : In Canada, Dr. Koenekoop sees Paediatric and Inherited Retinal Degeneration patients 5 days per week, at the new Glen Eye clinic (MUHC), at the new Children’s Clinic and at the Mohawk Eye clinic. These are very high volume clinics, while supervising nurses, orthoptists and residents. In the US, he started a clinic with Dr. Pauline Buck in Miami to see children and adults.
CLINICAL PROFILE : In Canada, Dr. Koenekoop sees Paediatric and Inherited Retinal Degeneration patients 5 days per week, at the new Glen Eye clinic (MUHC), at the new Children’s Clinic and at the Mohawk Eye clinic. These are very high volume clinics, while supervising nurses, orthoptists and residents. In the US, he started a clinic with Dr. Pauline Buck in Miami to see children and adults.
Maricela Flores
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Maricela is the patient and angelic voice you will hear on the telephone. She is the assistant that everyone wants and I have the pleasure to have working with me.
She has been with me now more than 16 years. She is married to her high school sweetheart and together they have two children (who happen to be the same ages as mine) Please feel free to ask her any questions that you may have. If she doesn't know the answer she will be sure to ask me and get back to you with a prompt response. |
Student Externs
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Dr. Buck is an adjunct professor for
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