Alumni Focus on Rebecca Deffler (OD, MS'19, PhD'24)

DR. DEFFLER'S STORY

Hometown

South Plainfield, NJ

Which institution did you attend for your undergraduate degree? What was your major?

I attended Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, where I was biology major. My OD is from New England College of Optometry in Boston.

Which degree(s), related to optometry, did you earn at Ohio State?

I earned my MS in 2019 while completing an Advanced Practice Fellowship in Low Vision Rehabilitation, and I graduated in May 2024 with my PhD in Vision Science.

Who were your mentors at the College of Optometry? Who had a positive effect on your education?

My clinical mentor in low vision has been Dr. Roanne Flom. Both of my graduate degrees were advised by Dr. Bradley Dougherty. I’ve been really lucky to be guided by a lot of wonderful folks here at the College of Optometry – everyone is always willing to discuss, offer advice, and brainstorm.

DR. DEFFLER'S CAREER IN OPTOMETRY

Name of your employer(s) and title, including location.

I’m very excited to be a new Assistant Professor here at The Ohio State University College of Optometry!

Give us a glimpse of your typical day as an optometrist.

My job at the College means a lot of variety in my day, which I love! Throughout the summer, I worked on a little bit of everything – preparing manuscripts from my dissertation data, writing a grant application, seeing patients and supervising fourth years in the Low Vision Clinic, and preparing to teach Geometric Optics to our first-year students this fall.

Which optometric issues concern you the most?

I’m really motivated to encourage and educate the public on the importance of eye care. While everyone values their vision, it’s easy to skip your eye exams. Optometrists are important players on the healthcare team – and I think we can work hard to let people know about the services we provide.

Why did you choose a career in optometry?

I was excited about healthcare, and I was motivated to connect with my patients. After some shadowing in college, I certainly think I found the right fit. I didn’t expect to provide low vision rehabilitation care, but a clinical rotation at the Perkins School for the Blind really changed my career path. Then, the research I was able to participate in during my Advanced Practice Fellowship set the stage for a PhD and the rest of my career.

Where do you hope to see your optometric career in five years?

I hope to expand my research to new questions, projects, and ideas. I plan to keep seeing patients in the Low Vision clinic, also, because I enjoy patient care and it’s exciting to work with our students. And, while I’ll never fill Dr. Tom Raasch’s Geometric Optics shoes, I’m hoping to have some success in the classroom arena also.

What is one piece of advice you can give OPT-IV students as they prepare to graduate and begin their optometric careers?

Keeping an open mind about the type of optometry you will practice is key!

What does eye health, and eye care, mean for you?

Eye care involves much more than the actual eye. I’ve come to love low vision rehabilitation because of the ways in which we connect with our patients and work to meet their specific, need-driven goals.

DR. DEFFLER'S OHIO STATE EXPERIENCE

What were your most memorable moments at Ohio State?

Right now, I think the most memorable is when I received my PhD and President Carter remarked on how loud the graduates from Optometry cheered for me! I just received a nice photo from the University of this exact moment, actually.

What do Ohio State and the College of Optometry mean to you and your family?

We love Ohio State! My husband and I were introduced by optometry alumni Drs. Kim (2018) and Bill (2013) Patton. We love being connected to and meeting folks from across the University.

DR. DEFFLER'S FUN FACTS

What are your current hobbies, volunteer work and interests?

My husband and I really enjoy being outdoors – including hiking and kayaking. I love to run. We volunteer to represent WCBE at concerts in town. I read a fair bit, also – so send me your book recommendations!

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I’m not really all that fun, so I’m not sure about a fun fact. But, a random eye-related fact is that our dog Cosmos has iris heterochromia.

What’s the best eye pun you’ve ever heard?

Sorry, I can’t tutor anyone else on eyeball jokes. I already have two pupils.

If not an optometrist, I would be …

Recently, I decided on ranger for the National Parks System. Before that, I probably would have said a librarian!