Kwaku Osei, OD, Vision Science program doctoral student, has been accepted into the 2019 CCTS Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) Training Program. The CTS Training Program, part of the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), places UAB in an elite group of academic institutions that conducts broad-based clinical and translational research and provides educational programs for individuals starting careers in this type of research.

Jason Nichols, OD, MPH, PhD, FAAO, assistant vice president for industry research development at UAB and Champion Deivanayagam, PhD, UAB School of Medicine associate professor, said that Osei is a highly motivated individual, who has a steady approach in designing experiments and in the interpretation of results.  It is our hope that he would not only personally benefit from this training, but also contributes to the ocular surface scientific community at large. 

Osei is a joint graduate student in the laboratories of Nichols and Deivanayagam. Nichols' laboratory deals with the translational aspects of the dry eye disease and contact lens-related infections, and Deivanayagam’s lab deals with the basic science of bacterial adhesion and pathogenesis. 

He uniquely fits into the common interests of both these labs. Prior to attending graduate school, Osei had extensive clinical experience as an optometrist in Ghana. When he joined the graduate program, his intent was to develop skills for a future career in research beginning from the bench-side (lab) to the bedside (clinic).

The CCTS training program that he has been selected for aptly fits into his career goals. It is the hope of Nichols and Deivanayagam that he would not only personally benefit from this training, but also contribute to the ocular surface scientific community at large.