Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D., MSPHCynthia Owsley, Ph.D., MSPH, director of the Clinical Research Unit in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and Nathan E. Miles Endowed Chair of Ophthalmology, has been inducted as a member of the inaugural class of UAB's chapter of the National Academy of Inventors. 

Dr. Owsley was chosen for this honor because of her exceptional commitment to research in the field of ophthalmology. Her research focuses on age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and eye disease with recent studies on the correlation between vision screening results and driving aptitude in the older population. Dr. Owsley is an inventor of a dark adaptometer, a method and apparatus for the detection of impaired dark adaptation, commonly used in the study of AMD. “I’m honored to be selected for this important honor as an inventor at UAB” Owsley says of her selection as an inaugural chapter member.

The National Academy of Inventors was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society. The NAI is a member organization comprising U.S. and international universities and governmental and non-profit research institutes.

Cynthia Owsley, Ph.D., MSPH, and Kathy Nugent, Ph.D. - Image courtesy of Amy JonesUAB has long been an NAI Member Institution but has not had a campus chapter until now. The UAB campus chapter is being established by the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship to recognize and encourage our community of inventors and their achievements. “We at the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship are excited to bring the NAI to our local community,” says Amy Jones, marketing manager at the Institute. As a member, Dr. Owsley will be joining a cohort of more than 4,000 individual inventor members and fellows spanning more than 250 institutions worldwide.

The induction ceremony was part of the Innovation Awards Breakfast hosted by the Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on Friday, October 21, 2022. The ceremony was opened bu UAB President, Ray Watts, MD, and featured guest speaker William Ho, founder of IN8bio.