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Sotiris Plainis is a co-owner of Optical House in Heraklion, Crete. He is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Vision and Optics (IVO) since 2002 and aHonourary Lecturer at the University of Manchester (School of Life Sciences) since 2006. His involvement in Optometry commenced in 1993, just after the completion of his undergraduate studies in Dispensing Optics (TEI Athens). He then moved to UMIST (Manchester, United Kingdom) where he completed his post-graduate (MSc and PhD) and post-doctoral studies in Optometry and Vision Sciences.

He is currently employed as a Research Fellow at IVO accomplishing research, teaching and clinical work, providing a regional visual psychophysics and electrodiagnostic service. He is a Faculty member / module leader of two postgraduate courses at the University of Crete: (i) the postgraduate multidisciplinary program "Optics & Vision" (since its beginning, 2003) and (ii) the interdisciplinary graduate program “Brain and Mind” Sciences (since 2004).He has published 30 manuscripts in peer-reviewed Journals (see http://www.ivo.gr/plainis).

He is a member of the organizing committee of the “Aegean Summer School in Visual Optics” and, since 2004, a faculty member of the “Visual Optics” Workshop, organized by the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ESCRS). He is also a Fellow of the International Society for Contact Lens Research (ISCLR). Since July 2010 he forms a member of the Educational Committee of the European Academy in Optics and Optometry (EAOO).

In parallel with his work, he has devoted his energies to improve Optometry services in Greece, through promotion of relevant literature, and research. Furthermore, he regularly posts to his personal blogspot news and opinions on educational and professional issues in Greece.

Orestis is the owner of Optical House in Rhodes since 1996. He graduated (1992) from the Optics departmentat TEI, Athens. In 1993 he attended a series of courses in Optometry at UMIST (Manchester, United Kingdom) to upgrade his diploma as an Optometrist. At the same university he completed his postgraduate studies: in July 1995 he received his degree of Master for his work entitled "Factors that influence the perception of depth of field." He has worked as an Optometrist in Cyprus, and is an experienced fitter in therapeutic contact lenses and keratoconus. In January 2000 he was awarded the Business Excellence Award from the Chamber of the Dodecanese as a reward for the business policy pursued for the creation and development of his company.

He participates regularly in international conferences and workshops on the subject of Optics and Optometry and Contact Lenses, while he visitsin an annual basis the international exhibitions in Paris (Silmo) and Milan (Mido) to provide innovative products.

Maria is a graduate (2007) of the faculty of “Optics & Optometry” ATEI of Athens. At 2009 she joined the Master study program "Optics & Vision" at the University of Crete. Her thesis describes the use of Greek reading chartsin assessing visual performance of presbyopes. She has worked (2006) in Athens as a Store Manager and she was in charge of contact lenses fitting. She is interestedin the field of material development in ophthalmic lenses. She joined the team of Optical House in Heraklion in October 2011.

Eleniqualified in 2005 from the Department of Optics and Optometry of Athens and since then she has been working as a Dispensing Opticianand Contact lens fitter. In 2009, she completed the Master of Science in “Optics and Vision” at the Institute of Vision & Optics (IVO), University of Crete. Her study concerned the effects of defocus on Visual Acuity in emmetropes and myopes andthe improvement that is observedafter prolonged exposure to defocus  (known as blur adaptation). She is a member of the European Academy of Optometry and Optics (EAOO) participating actively in recent conferences.Eleni is a member of the Optical House team since 2007.