Dr. Shirley Blanc

Neuro-Optometrist

Dr. Shirley Blanc earned her Honours Bachelor of Science and her Doctorate of Optometry designation from the University of Waterloo in 2001. Over the years, she has worked in various clinical settings, including laser eye surgery centers conducting pre- and post-surgery assessments. In addition to providing general eye care and contact lens services, she dedicates a significant portion of her practice to assessing and treating patients with visual problems due to acquired and traumatic brain injury, and also has an interest in high-performance sports vision. She is a Fellow and Advisory Board Member of the Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation Association (NORA), an international multi-disciplinary organization, and is a member of the International Sports Vision Association. She is an Advisory Board Member and course contributor for Complete Concussions.

Dr. Blanc has provided vision rehabilitation and high-performance vision services for athletes at all levels, including varsity, national, Olympic, and professional. Her unique expertise in both rehabilitative and high-performance vision has enabled her to customize solutions for her patients and athletes in determining areas of dysfunction, but also how to maximize one’s vision potential for the task that needs to be performed. She worked in the village polyclinic at the 2015 Toronto Pan Am games as part of an Optometric team, conducting eye examinations for international athletes and support staff.

Dr. Blanc has conducted many speaking engagements for organizations including: Brain Injury Canada, Sports Physiotherapists of Canada, Ontario Association of Optometrists, Professional Hockey Athletic Trainer’s Association, and the University of Toronto. She served as Conference Chair for NORA in 2019, and has contributed to NORA website educational content for patients and professionals. Dr. Blanc is an external vision consultant and a co-investigator with the University of Toronto David L. Macintosh Sports Medicine Clinic, with projects such as visual components of baseline pre-season testing protocols for athletes of all sports, and research dealing with visual manifestations of sport related concussion. She is an author/co-author of literature articles on the topic of vision and concussion, and hopes to contribute to further research on this topic.