Dr. Julie DeKinder, a clinical professor of optometry, director of residency programs and associate dean of academic programs in UMSL’s College of Optometry, was named the 2026 Thomas J. “Tommy” Pham GPLI-NKCF Keratoconus Practitioner of the Year. She accepted the award alongside Pham. (Photo courtesy of Julie DeKinder)
Dr. Julie DeKinder has dedicated her clinical career to helping restore vision for patients through the application of specialty contact lenses.
As a clinical professor of optometry, director of residency programs and associate dean of academic programs at the University of Missouri–St. Louis College of Optometry, she’s also the course coordinator for the college’s Specialty Contact Lens Course. Through two didactic courses and hands-on experience with laboratories, workshops, and clinic experience, optometry students learn about the fitting of specialty lens designs for conditions such as keratoconus (in which the cornea thins and bulges into a cone shape, causing blurred, distorted vision).
With so much of her career focused on specialty contact lenses, it was incredibly meaningful for DeKinder to be named the 2026 Thomas J. “Tommy” Pham GPLI-NKCF Keratoconus Practitioner of the Year last month. Named for former Cardinals outfielder Tommy Pham, who worked with longtime UMSL faculty member and optometrist Dr. Ed Bennett to manage his keratoconus, the award from the GP Lens Institute recognizes “exceptional expertise in keratoconus education and management.”
“I am incredibly honored to receive this award,” DeKinder said. “I am proud to be able to share my knowledge with other doctors and students, as I know it will only improve the care for all patients with keratoconus.”
Specialty gas permeable contact lenses can be a game-changer for patients with keratoconus, as standard spectacle correction alone does not provide adequate visual acuity. DeKinder has numerous patients who travel two or more hours for a contact lens fitting, so she’s well aware of the importance of furthering keratoconus education and management to enable early detection, prevent serious vision loss and improve quality of life.
“Providing education on how to diagnose and manage keratoconus is valuable to all optometrists,” she said. “The more education I can provide to more doctors will allow those patients to receive the type of care they deserve closer to home.”
DeKinder was honored to be recognized for her work in keratoconus education and management, and she was especially excited to receive the award alongside Bennett, her longtime mentor and a founder of UMSL’s nationally renowned contact lens program.
“It was a great honor to receive the award named for a person that has overcome visual disabilities to perform at the highest level in his sport,” DeKinder said. “I am lucky enough to call Dr. Bennett a mentor and having both him and Tommy at the award ceremony made it extra rewarding.”
