J. Vernon Odom, PhD

Graduate Training: University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC Postgraduate Training: Psych. Dept., Case Western Reserve University; School of Optometry, University of California at Berkeley; Ophthalmology Dept., University of Florida, ...

Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Classification:

Faculty

Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Department of Neuroscience

Classification:

Faculty

Professor

Organization:

West Virginia University School of Medicine

Department:

Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute (SOM)

Classification:

Faculty

• PhD, University of North Carolina

Publications in Peer Reviewed Journals (selected from 85)

• Ortiz G, Odom JV, Passaglia CL, Tzekov RT (2017). Efferent influences on the bioelectrical activity of the retina in primates. Doc Ophthalmol, 134(1):57-73.
• Odom JV, Bach M, Brigell M, Holder GE, McCulloch DL, Mizota A, Tormene AP, International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (2016). ISCEV standard for clinical visual evoked potentials: (2016 update). Doc Ophthalmol, 133(1):1-9.
• Teoli DA, Smith MD, Leys MJ, Jain P, Odom JV (2016). Visual function affects prosocial behaviors in older adults. Int Ophthalmol, 36(1):45-54.
• Halfeld Furtado de Mendonça, R, Abbruzzese S,  Bagolini B,  Italo Nofroni I,  Ferreira EL, Odom JV (2013). Visual evoked potential importance in the complex mechanism of amblyopia. Int Ophthalmol, 33(5):515-9. PMCID: PMC3782652
• Takaaki K, Tillman WT, Schwartz TL, Linberg JV, Odom JV (2013).  Health-related quality of life after surgical removal of an eye.Ophthal Plast Reconstrr Surg, 29(1), 51-6. PMCID: PMC3541504
• Wiley L, McAllister M, Wiley LA, Elliott T, Bridge D, Odom JV, Olson J (2012).Bacterial biofilm diversity in contact lens-related disease: emerging role ofAchromobacter , Stenotrophomonas , and Delftia .  I nvest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 53(7):3896-3905; doi:10.1167/iovs.11-8762 
• Wu F, Yang Y, Li H,. Odom JV (2011). Relationship of chromatic visual-evoked potentials and the changes of foveal photoreceptor layer in central serous chorioretinopathy patients. Ophthalmic Physiol Opt, 31(4), 381-388 

More publications

Recent: Book Chapters, Proceedings and Editorials (selected from 47) 

• Brodie, S., Odom, J.V., and Leys, M.J.J.  Clinical Visual Electrophysiology.  In W. Tasman and E.A. Jaeger (eds.).  Duane's Clinical Ophthalmology. Vol. 3. Chapter 5, Philadelphia, PA:  J.B. Lippincott Co., 2011. 
• Odom, J. V. and Green M.  Visual Aging and Driving. Marc Green, Merrill J. Allen, Bernard S. Abrams, Leslie Weintraub and J. Vernon Odom. Forensic Vision: With Application to Highway Safety.  3rd ed.  Tucson, Az: Lawyers & Judges Publishing, 2008. 
• Odom, J.V. Amplifiers and special purpose data acquisition systems. In Heckenlively J, Arden G, eds. Handbook of Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision Testing, 2nd Ed. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA (2006). 
• Odom, J.V. Kernel analysis.In Heckenlively J, Arden G, eds. Handbook of Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision Testing, 2nd Ed. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA (2006). 
• Walter, C., Humble, H, Althouse ,R, Odom, J.V. A comparison of low-vision patients from a clinic and a random sample of West Virginians: demographics, treatment patterns, vision problems, and activities of daily living. In Jones S, Rubin G, Hamlin D, eds. Vision 2005— Proceedings of the International Congress held between 4–7 A pril 2005 in London, UK, International Congress Series (2006), 1282:462-465. 

1989    Visiting Fellow, The Netherlands Ophthalmic Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

1996    Foreign Interuniversity Francqui Chair in Biomedical Sciences.  Francqui Fund.  Brussels, Belgium.

1996    Visiting Scientist Award.  Région Nord-Pas de Calais and Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM). Lille, France. 

2010    Gold Fellow, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

2011    Board of Directors, Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, San Francisco, CA

2012    Selection Committee, Pisart Award

Patents Awarded:

Non-invasive ocular dynamic monitoring assessment method and associated apparatus.  Patent Number: 6,626,537.   Awarded September 30, 2003.  Inventors: James Vernon Odom, James Smith, Robert Craven and Ahmed El-Sherbeeny. 

Non-invasive ocular assessment method and associated apparatus.  Patent Number: 6,631,989.   Awarded October 14, 2003.  Inventors: James Vernon Odom, James Smith, and Robert Craven.  International Patent EU PCT/02768579.1 Published.  February 27, 2003.  Canadian Patent CIPO 2,456,181   Filed:  August 15, 2002.

Apparatus, Methods and Systems for Non-Invasive Ocular Assessment of Neurological Function. Patent Number: 7,854,511. Awarded: December 21, 2010. Inventors: Lance Molnar, John V. Linberg, and J. Vernon Odom

Noninvasive method for determining the presence of systemic hypertension in a subject.  Patent Number:  8,613,710.  Awarded:  December 24, 2013. Inventors: Chris Kolanko, Lance Molnar, J. Vernon Odom, & James Smith.

J. Vernon Odom, Ph.D., FARVO is Professor of Ophthalmology, jointly appointed as Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology, and Adjunct Professor of Psychology at West Virginia University where he heads the West Virginia Lions Visual Function Laboratory.  Dr. Odom has authored more than numerous articles, book chapters, and published abstracts.  His research has centered on assessment of visual function using electrophysiology and psychophysics in normal and abnormal vision. His current research investigates higher order visual perception in older patients with low vision.  His specific interest is in optic flow as a means of controlling locomotion and navigation in patients with reduced visual abilities.  Related topics which are actively being pursued in his laboratory include: a) strategies to assess quality of life in patients with reduced vision and b) development of strategies to noninvasively assess traumatic brain injury, systemic diseases and toxic exposures. 

Dr. Odom’s research has been supported by grants from several governmental agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Social Security Administration. He was awarded the Francqui International Interuniversity Chair in 1996 by Belgium’s Franqui Foundation.  Dr. Odom holds three patents with several others pending. 

Dr. Odom has served in a number of leadership roles within WVU and the WVU Eye Institute. He directed the Center for Vision Enhancement Technology and served as Director of Research at the WVU Eye Institute.  Dr. Odom is a past editor-in-chief of Documenta Ophthalmologica, has served as editor for special issues in Documenta Ophthalmologica, International Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Visual Impairment Research, The Journal of Modern Optics, and Insight.  He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV), and has twice chaired the ISCEV VEP Standardization Committee. He has served the Association for Vision and Ophthalmology on its program committee and on its long range planning committee. For his service to ARVO he was recognized as a Gold Fellow. He has served on the Low Vision Research Group’s planning committee serving on its rotating committee of officers.

Currently, he serves regularly on National Institutes of Health grant review panels related to Low Vision. He currently serves as a Board Member of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute in San Francisco, the world’s only translational research institute devoted to diseases affecting binocular vision and to the rehabilitation of low vision and blindness. He also serves on the selection committee of the Pisart Award, awarded annually by the Lighthouse International of New York City.

Recent Invited Presentations and Courses

2012

Does Improving Vision Reduce the Risk of Falls? (with Christine Odom & Monique Leys).  Grand Rounds.  California Pacific Medical Center. San Francisco, CA.  February 2012.

Visual Requirements for the Performance of Activities of Daily Living.  Resident Lecture. California Pacific Medical Center. San Francisco, CA.  February 2012.

Going with the Flow.  Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute.  San Francisco, CA.  February 2012.

Does Improving Vision Reduce the Risk of Falls? (with Christine Odom & Monique Leys).  Envision.  Witchita, KS.  July 2012

Visual Requirements for the Performance of Activities of Daily Living.  Envision.  Witchita, KS.  July 2012

Coping with Chaos: Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Techniques and Their Application in a Clinical and Team Setting.  CE Conference. Envision.  Witchita, KS.  July 2012

Etiology and Natural History of Visual effects of Brain Injury and the Neural Mechanisms of Recovery (with William Park, OD). Witchita, KS.  July 2012

What Can the Visual Evoked Potential Test (VEP) Tell Us for Rehabilitation. Witchita, KS.  July 2012

Treatment and Management by the Interdisciplinary Team: Case Presentations (with William Park, OD and Karen Kendrick, OTR/L, CLVT) Witchita, KS.  July 2012

2011

Higher Order Visual Functions in Low Vision. Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute.  San Francisco, CA.  March 2011.

How to Submit Manuscripts to Scientific Journals. Envision Conference 2011. St. Louis, MO.  September 2011.

Does Improving Vision Reduce Falls in Low Vision Patients?  Envision Conference 2011. St. Louis, MO.  September 2011.

2009

The New VEP Standards.  Annual Western Hemisphere Meeting. International Society of Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision.  Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  May, 2009.

The New VEP Standards.  International Society of Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision.  Padova - Abano Terme, Italy.  July, 2009.

2008

Higher Order Visual Perception in Aging and Age-Related Macular Degeneration.  School of Optometry, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, January, 2008.

Genealogy of Electrophysiology at WVU Eye Institute: Continuing a Tradition. International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision.  Morgantown, WV.  July, 2008 with Monique Leys.

Through a Glass Darkly: A Glimpse at Emerging Technologies in Low Vision. Envision 2008, San Antonio, TX.  September, 2008.

2007

Eye Disease and Eye Care Needs of West Virginia: Results of the WV Eye Health Survey.  12th Congress of the Chinese Ophthalmological Society, Zhengzhou, Henan, China. September, 2007.

Cortical Visual Function is Impaired in Glaucoma. Southwest Eye Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. September, 2007.

How to Submit Manuscripts to Scientific Journals. Southwest Eye Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. September, 2007.

Cortical Visual Function is Impaired in Glaucoma. Eye Institute, Second Affiliated Teaching Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. September, 2007.

How to Submit Manuscripts to Scientific Journals.  Eye Institute, Second Affiliated Teaching Hospital of Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. September, 2007.

Visual Function Assessment.  Workshop on Guidelines for Evaluation of Visual Prostheses

            San Francisco, CA. October, 2007.

Visual Evoked Potentials as Outcome Measures.  Alcon Visual Performance Symposium 2007. ALCON Research, Ltd., Fort Worth, TX. November, 2007.

Opthamology, Neuroscience

Low Vision and Orientation, Mobility, and Action

One of the major issues in low vision is the ability of patients with low vision to maintain their independence and to avoid accidents. Stated in another way we may ask: how does reducing visual input alter people's ability to navigate and perform visually guided motor tasks, such as pouring a cup of coffee or other activities of daily living? Does the type of impairment, loss of central field, loss of peripheral field, or patchy loss have distinctive effects? What roles do changes in sensitivity to specific visual cues and knowledge (familiarity) with their environment play in people's ability to be mobile and active?

Understanding the relationship between low vision, sensitivity to optic flow, and mobility also has important implications for low vision rehabilitation. Are the compensatory strategies that have been developed for rehabilitating low vision patients optimal? Frequently low vision rehabilitation involves prescribing optical devices. Do optical devices compensate for or exacerbate a way of overcoming difficulties?

Optic Flow and Mobility

One of the major clues for determining one's visual direction or heading is optic flow, i.e., the relative change in positions of objects at different places in the visual field as one moves. In an optic flow field there is a point from which all of the changes flow. As one moves forward, this point does not change. This stationary point of expansion (POE) is the point toward which the person is heading. To the best of our knowledge there are no studies that determine the sensitivity of low vision patients to optic flow information or compare their sensitivity to that of age-matched controls. These simple demonstrations will be the initial step in our research program. They will be followed by studies, which determine the relationship between an individual patient's ability to detect optic flow information and their ability to perform simple mobility tasks.

Understanding Binocular Vision

Understanding binocular vision and the influence of parallel visual processing is a continuing research interest. We have developed a model of binocular luminance interaction based on evoked potential and psychophysical studies in humans and nonhuman primates (see figure). Currently we are exploring possible ways to determine the relevance of the model to abnormal binocular vision as seen in patients with amblyopia or low vision.

Research Support (Selected from 34 grants and contracts)

Active:  None

National Eye Institute Support

$130,000.  PI:  J. Vernon Odom, Ph.D. September 1981- August 1985. Normal and Abnormal Development of Binocularity,  R01 EY03781, EY04806    

$300,000   PI:  J. Vernon Odom, Ph.D.    September 2003- August 2008. Higher Order Visual Perception: Effects of Low Vision in Elderly Patients. RO3 EY 14841      

$440,367   PI:  Janine Mendola., Ph.D.              March 2006 – February 2008   Functional Brain Imaging of Human Amblyopia.  RO1 EY015219, Role: Co-Investigator,