Angel PerezAfter Angel Perez earned her master’s degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s School of Optometry, she knew she wanted to come back to the Magic City when she decided to take the next step in her education career.
Thanks to the recommendation of Mary Jean Sanspree, Ph.D., a retired School of Optometry professor, Perez applied for, and was awarded, a scholarship from the National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities. Winning this award opened the door for her to start the journey to her Ph.D.
“UAB was already home to me, and I knew I wanted to study vision, so to me, it was a no‑brainer,” Perez said. “I knew I wanted to return to UAB to pursue my doctorate.”
She began the Vision Science Graduate Program in August 2011, and upon completion of her class work and lab rotations, Perez moved to New Jersey, where she was an adjunct teacher and continued her research in vision disorders.
In January 2021, Perez moved to the University of Florida, where she became the assistant director of the FAVI Deaf-Blind Collaborative program. In this position, Perez leads research of students ranging in ages from infant to 22, who have a combination vision/hearing loss.
Perez has been studying the impact of color vision deficiency on people’s educations and lives, seeking in particular a more efficient screening test for those with color vision problems. If these issues can be recognized early in life, better educational and occupational pathways can be planned. Perez hopes this will help find cures for color vision disorders in children.
When thinking about her research, Perez says, her driving force is the patients she works with.
“Every day, I meet children who have a vision impairment — either from a genetic disorder or an accident,” Perez said. “They are the reason I continue to dig into the research and why I love what I do.”
Now, the two-time UAB alumna hopes to use the knowledge and skills she has learned to teach the next generation of vision scientists.
“I taught in master’s programs in the past, and I really loved it,” she said. “My goal is to use my degrees from UAB to teach and also continue with my research.”
When asked what advice she would give to the next generation of students, Perez said, “Go to UAB. If you are interested in the medical field, UAB is where you need to go.”
Perez plans to celebrate the completion of her Ph.D. with UAB through the virtual commencement Aug. 13. Two-time UAB alumna Angel Perez hopes to use the knowledge and skills she has learned to teach the next generation of vision scientists.