Maria Walker OD, PhD

Maria Walker OD, MS, PhD is a clinician scientist with a focus on keratoconus, childhood myopia, and specialty contact lenses. She graduated with an OD/MS from The New England College of Optometry in Boston, MA, USA in 2013 and then completed a one-year Cornea & Contact Lens Residency at Pacific University in Portland, OR. She joined the faculty at University of Houston College of Optometry (UHCO) in 2014 and went on to complete a PhD on the impact of a scleral lens on the eye in 2021. Dr. Walker is currently an Assistant Professor at UHCO and runs a research lab studying keratoconus, the tear film, and the effects of scleral lenses. She is also an investigator on the BLINK study to evaluate the use of soft multifocal contact lenses in reducing myopic progression in children and provides specialty contact lens patient care two days per week. Dr. Walker is a Fellow in the American Academy of Optometry, a Past President of the Scleral Lens Education Society, and an advisory board member of the Gas Permeable Lens Institute.