SUNY College of Optometry students Nicholas Premnauth (l) and Rebecca Treen recently had an article published on nutrition and glaucoma.

NEW YORK—SUNY College of Optometry has announced that two members of the Class of 2026 were recently part of a research team whose work was published in the Review of Optometry. Along with California-based ophthalmologist Steven Pratt, MD, FACS, ABIHM, students Nicholas Premnauth and Rebecca Treen worked on the article, “Nutrition and Lifestyle Choices for Neuroprotection in Glaucoma,” while also under the guidance of Neda Gioia, OD, CNS, FOWNS, ‘06, the college announced. Premnauth, ’26, is from Toms River, N.J., and earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences with minors in psychology and nutritional science from Rutgers University.

Treen, ’26, is from Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Canada, and earned a bachelor’s degree in life sciences with a minor in French studies from Queen’s University in Canada, the announcement stated.

“Being published is a meaningful milestone, as it allows me to contribute to the broader body of knowledge in the field and share findings that could impact patient care. Ongoing research is essential because it drives innovation, deepens our understanding and ultimately improves clinical outcomes. By continuously exploring new ideas, we can develop more effective treatments and better preventive strategies for our patients.”

Looking ahead to their next project, Treen and Premnauth designed an anonymous survey with Dr. Mark Rosenfield earlier this year that was distributed to SUNY students to analyze correlations between dry eye and lifestyle choices. According to the announcement, they will be presenting a poster of the results of this survey at the American Academy of Optometry meeting in Indianapolis next month.

“It was an absolute pleasure to work with Rebecca and Nick on this project evaluating the impact of lifestyle choices on symptoms of dry eye, a topic with significant clinical implications,” Dr. Rosenfield affirmed. “It is very impressive for two OD students in their third year to be presenting at a major international meeting such as the American Academy of Optometry.”

Both students are members of the Ocular Wellness and Nutrition Society.

“Ms. Treen and Mr. Premnauth were a real pleasure to work with on our article,” Dr. Pratt said. “Both are very enthusiastic, hard-working, very intelligent, and extremely reliable. They will be fantastic ODs.”

“Working with students is meaningful because it emphasizes the importance of prevention-based care early in their training,” Dr. Gioia added. “This publication highlights how vital it is for future eyecare professionals to integrate lifestyle and nutrition. Personally, I think including students will help us navigate better implementation ideas as it is one challenge for most healthcare professionals. I always consider myself as a forever student, so including their work was a pleasure.”