Safal Khanal, OD, PhD, assistant professor at the UAB School of Optometry, has received the 2022 Career Development Award from the American Academy of Optometry. Khanal is the first UAB faculty member to receive this honor since its inception in 2015.

This national award is designed for educators and scientists and provides funding for innovative investigator-driven projects. Through this award, Khanal will receive $200,000 in grant funds over two years to pursue a clinical research project that investigates why myopia, commonly known as nearsightedness, develops and progresses in humans.

Over two billion people worldwide suffer from myopia and are at risk of losing sight due to myopia-related complications. “Without a mass implementation of preventive and curative strategies, myopia will soon become the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment worldwide,” Khanal said. “I hope that our research will contribute to the development of effective myopia control strategies.