Dr. Deborah Orel Bixler

Biography

Deborah Orel-Bixler is a Professor of Clinical Optometry at the University of California, Berkeley, in the School of Optometry. With a focus on vision science, her research interests include assessing visual abilities in infants, children, and special needs populations, particularly through the use of visual evoked potentials and vision screening techniques. She serves as the Chief of the Infant Toddler Clinic and the SVACH Clinic, and is the Director of the Vision Preschoolers (VIP) Study, a multi-phase, interdisciplinary clinical study aimed at evaluating screening tests for preschool-aged children for the early detection of vision disorders. Orel-Bixler is also committed to teaching, offering courses on topics such as sensory/motor anomalies, infant vision development, and specialty clinics' procedures. Her published work spans over several decades and provides crucial insights into visual assessments and interventions for children. Notably, she has contributed to guidelines for vision testing in preschoolers and has authored multiple educational resources addressing visual impairments and their implications for early intervention.

Research Interests