Lt Col Lyndsey M. Ferris is the Chief of the Optical Radiation Bioeffects Branch (711 HPW/RHDO) at JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, TX. A part of AFRL's Human Performance Wing Airman Systems Directorate, RHDO serves as the belly button to all DoD research on the biological effects of optical radiation, including visible and near-infra-red light. As branch chief, Lt Col Ferris leads a group of 7 military, 21 civilians, and 42 contractors and directs critical research with an annual budget of $7.3M annually. In addition, Lt Col Ferris serves as the Chief of Education & Training for the Air Force Optometry's Research and Education Division and represents the Air Force on DHA working groups as the lead SME for the Air Force in visual dysfunction from TBI. In these roles, Lt Col Ferris coordinates educational and research collaborations between the Air Force, sister services, VA, DHA, and civilian partners. She also serves as an advisor and contributor to DoD and DHA-related policies on vision and TBI evaluations and management and maintains her clinical skills as an affiliate provider at the 59^th Medical Wing at JBSA-Lackland, TX. 

Lt Col Ferris obtained her PhD in Vision Science from Indiana University in 2021, with a dissertation on the Vestibular/Ocular-Motor Screening for Acute Concussion Detection in Collegiate Athletes. With a focus on concussion and sports vision/visual performance, Lt Col Ferris has initiated studies related to eye movements and retinal thickness profiles in concussions. She contributes as a neuro-optometric consultant for the DoD’s Vision Center of Excellence and serves as a collaborator for the $64M NCAA-DoD Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium, the largest concussion study in history. Previously, Lt Col Ferris served as Chief, Optometry Operations, 559^th Trainee Health Squadron, JBSA Lackland, where she directed the Air Force’s sole Medical Specialty Contact Lens and Vision Rehabilitation Clinics, providing $250,000 in medical optical devices to patients annually. In addition, she directly supervised and managed the flight’s $500,000 clinical externship program and served as a clinical proctor for the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium, ensuring Ophthalmology and Optometry residents received over 2,000 annual hours of clinical experience. She completed an Air Force Institute of Technology Residency in Ocular Disease and Low Vision at the Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs medical center in July 2015. Lt Col Ferris served as the 82d Training Wing Executive Officer where she directly assisted the instillation commander in in administering base programs across the largest Air Education and Training Command technical training wing. She also led as the 82d Aerospace Medicine Squadron Optometry Flight Commander, directing $686K critical eye programs, ensuring proper eyesight for warriors and pilots at the Air Force’s second-busiest flight line. Lt Col Ferris has served in support of Operation ARTIC CARE by functioning as the sole optometrist on a team with Army, Navy, and Air Force health care professionals, providing $50K in direct care at two remote Alaskan villages. She also served in the 2022 Innovative Readiness Training mission Birchwood CARES, leading a team of 4 joint optometrists and technicians to provide $153K in eye care services to 832 patients over 15 days.

Lt Col Ferris is a native of Portland, Michigan where she commissioned in 2009 as part of the Health Professions Scholarship Program. She graduated from the Michigan College of Optometry in 2011 with High Distinction. Lt Col Ferris continued to hone her skills and education and joined the top 1% of Optometrists in the United States when she became a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry in 2013, and became board certified in Advanced Competency in Medical Optometry in 2016. She selected as the Armed Forces Optometric Society Young Optometrist of the Year for the Air Force in 2017 and for all services in 2020. In 2021, she was selected as an international Ezell Fellow by the American Academy of Optometry, one of the highest honors awarded to young vision science researchers and was also selected as the Air Force Materiel Command’s Biomedical Science Clinician Researcher of the year.

EDUCATION

2021 Doctor of Philosophy, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

2009 Bachelor of Vision Science, Ferris State University, Big Rapids, MI

2011 Doctor of Optometry, Michigan College of Optometry, Big Rapids, MI

2011 Commissioned Officer Training, Maxwell AFB, Alabama

2013 Fellow, American Academy of Optometry, Seattle, WA

2014 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AF, Alabama

2015 Residency, Ocular Disease and Low Vision/TBI, Marshall B. Ketchum University, Fullerton, CA

2016 Board Certification, Advanced Competency in Medical Optometry

2016 Air Command and Staff College (Correspondence)

2022 Air War College (Correspondence)

ASSIGNMENTS

1. May 2011- October 2012, Optometrist, 82nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron, Sheppard AFB, TX
2.  October 2012 – November 2014, Optometry Flight Commander, 82nd Aerospace Medicine Squadron, Sheppard AFB, TX
3. November 2014 – June 2014, Executive Officer, 82nd Training Wing, Sheppard AFB, TX
4. June 2015-July 2015, Ocular Disease and Low Vision Resident, Southern Arizona VA Health Care System, Tucson, AZ
5. July 2015-November 2017, WHASC Optometry Element Chief, 559^th Trainee Health Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, TX
6. November 2017-July 2017, Optometry Flight Commander, 559^th Trainee Health Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, TX
7. July 2017-June 2018, Chief, Optometry Operations, 559^th Trainee Health Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, TX
8. August 2018-July 2021, AFIT PhD Candidate, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
9. August 2021-present, Chief, Optical Radiation Bioeffects Branch, JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, TX

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

Air Force Training Ribbon

National Defense Service Medal

Global War on Terrorism Service Medal

Air Force Achievement Medal
Air Force Commendation Medal

Air Force Outstanding Unit Award

Air Force Longevity Service

Air Force Meritorious Service Medal

PUBLICATIONS

VOMS for identifying acute concussion in collegiate athletes: Findings from the NCAA-DoD CARE consortium. Vision Res. 2022 Aug 1;200:108081. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2022.108081. PMID: 35926346.

Utility of VOMS, SCAT3, and ImPACT Baseline Evaluations for Acute Concussion Identification in Collegiate Athletes: Findings From the NCAA-DoD Concussion Assessment, Research and Education (CARE) Consortium. Am J Sports Med. 2022 Feb 18:3635465211072261. doi: 10.1177/03635465211072261. PMID: 35179972.

Minimum detectable change and false positive rates of the Vestibular/Ocular Motor Screening (VOMS) tool: an NCAA-DoD CARE Consortium analysis. Brain Inj; 2021 Nov 10: 35(12-13): 1563-1568.        

Discriminative Validity of Vestibular Ocular Motor Screening in Identifying Concussion Among Collegiate Athletes: A National Collegiate Athletic Association-Department of Defense Concussion Assessment, Research, and Education Consortium Study. Am J Sports Med. 2021 Jul;49(8):2211-2217. doi: 10.1177/03635465211012359. Epub 2021 May 12. PMID: 33979240.

Predictive Accuracy of the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 3 and Vestibular/Ocular-Motor Screening, Individually and In Combination: A National Collegiate Athletic Association-Department of Defense Concussion Assessment, Research and Education Consortium Analysis. Am J Sports Med. 2021 Mar; 49(4):1040-1048. doi: 10.1177/0363546520988098. Epub 2021 Feb 18. PMID: 33600216.  

Dynamic Vision Training Transfers Positively to Batting Practice Performance among Collegiate Baseball Batters. Psychology of Sport and Exercise; 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2020.101759.

Prevalence of Myopia in Newly Enlisted Airmen at Joint Base San Antonio. Clinical Ophthalmology; 2020. https://doi.org/10.2147/opth.s233048

Anoxic Brain Injury Secondary to Metabolic Encephalopathy. Optometry and Vision Science: Official Publication of the American Academy of Optometry 93 (10): 1319–27. 2016

EFFECTIVE DATE OF PROMOTION

Second Lieutenant 2009

Captain 2011
Major 2016

Lieutenant Colonel 2022