James Vernon Odom

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.

Affiliations

• Department of Ophthalmology
• Department of Neuroscience
• Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute

Graduate Training

• University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Fellowships

• Case Western Reserve University School of Optometry
• University of California at Berkeley
• University of Florida
• Netherlands Ophthalmic Research Institute

Research Interests

My basic research interest is in the assessment of visual function, primarily in humans. I have been particularly interested in higher order visual processes, including binocular vision and optic flow. I use a range of techniques including electrophysiology (electroretinography and visually evoked potientials), psychophysics, and questionnaires. Being in a clinical department, I frequently use my knowledge of visual function either to perform special testing of clinical patients or to evaluate systemic disease effects on the eye.
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?

Publications in Peer Reviewed Journals

• 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