The William D. Reynolds Award - 2024: Megan E. Collins '98, '99, MD, MPH

Megan E. Collins '98, '99, MD, MPH

In recognition of her dedication to improving the health and well-being of children, Megan E. Collins ’98, ’99, MD, MPH is honored with this award 

After graduating from Notre Dame with bachelor’s degrees in philosophy and history in 1998 and in biology in 1999, Dr. Collins set off to specialize in vision care. She attended medical school at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, completed her residency in the University of Chicago Department of Ophthalmology, and spent a year pursuing a pediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus fellowship at the University of Toronto. In 2017, she earned her master’s in public health at Johns Hopkins, where she is now an associate professor of ophthalmology.

Dr. Collins dedicates her career to understanding and dismantling systemic barriers in access to pediatric eye care, developing school-based vision programs to mitigate health inequities. Since 2014, Dr. Collins has worked with students in Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS), one of the highest-poverty school districts in the country, to implement vision care resources using her research highlighting the correlation between vision care and academic achievement. In collaboration with John Hopkins University, Baltimore City Health Department, BCPS, Vision to Learn, and the eyewear retailer Warby Parker, Dr. Collins’ program has provided vision screenings, eye exams, and eyeglasses to each of the 150 Baltimore City elementary and middle schools. Since 2016, over 95,000 students have been screened and more than 15,000 students who failed screenings received eye exams and eyeglasses. 

Dr. Collins’ ongoing research has revealed the success of a school-based model to address unmet eye care needs in socioeconomically disadvantaged districts, which has been highlighted  in the nation’s leading medical journals and has inspired similar programs around the country. Dr. Collins has worked to establish these school-based vision programs in other cities, including New York and Chicago, to improve both the health and happiness of students.