Nicky Lai

I earned a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from the University of California, Los Angeles (1998) and a Doctor of Optometry degree with a concurrent Master of Science degree in Vision Science from The Ohio State University (2003). I completed a Clinical Residency in Contact Lens at The Ohio State University College of Optometry in 2004 to gain more expertise in my clinical area of interest.  During optometry school I discovered my interest in clinical teaching and was fortunate to find a position as an auxillary clinical faculty member where I precepted optometry interns in the Contact Lens Service, Primary Care Service, and Pediatric Service. As I gained more clinical teaching experience, I was appointed as servcie chief of the OSU Wilce Student Health Center Optometry Service then to my current position as the service chief of the Contact Lens Service at the OSU College of Optometry Main Clinic. I have been in my current position as Associate Professor of Clinical Optometry since 2012. 

Along with my clinical responsbilities, I am also the course and primary lab instructor for Optom 6770 Advance Optometric Procedures and Optom 7510 Contact Lens I Lab. I am the course instructor for 7520 Advance Contact Lens. My main objective in teaching is to translate classroom knoweldge into clinical practice. In the laboratroy courses, I emphasize procedural skills beyond repetative practice to include interpretation of findings and understaning techniques so students know how to troubleshoot during complex or difficult cases. In my lecture based contact lens course, I summarize presented materials in case based format to help students apply knowledge. I also use clinical cases to approach course content and demonstrate concepts to patient care.   

As co-chair of the Admissions Committee, I understand the importance of a diverse and well prepared student body. We use a holistic approach to our selection process where we consider the candidate's academic success as well as leadership potential, communication skills, ability to show empathy and personal uniquness. We are looking for students with the desire to be excellent optometric clinicians but also want to be leaders in their profession, to develop their professional idenity and find their niche. We want our alumni to contribute beyond the immediate impact of each patient toward changing their community in their own unique ways.