Daniel M. Laby

Daniel M. Laby is an ophthalmologist and professor known for his contributions to the field of sports vision. He recently held the position of Clinical Professor and director of the Sports and Performance Vision Center at the State University of New York College of Optometry and has previously served as a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School. He has served as an sports ophthalmologist for Major League Baseball teams including Boston Red Sox and for athletes like Manny Ramirez and Trent Alexander-Arnold.

Education and career
He received his medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine in 1987.

His career began in the early 1990s when he was a fellow at UCLA, conducting research in pediatric ophthalmology, following a disappointing 1992 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers enlisted Laby to assist with a sports performance project they were developing.

He has also worked with other Major League Baseball teams, including the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Houston Astros, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago Cubs.

He has served as a staff ophthalmologist for three NBA teams, an NHL team, and international teams from Korea and the Middle East.

He has been the staff ophthalmologist for the USA Olympic team, attending the Beijing Summer Olympics, and assisted the international baseball team that first qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics. He also worked with English Premier League player and consulted with an NFL team regarding a player's on-field performance.

Laby's research centers on the visual requirements of sports and the ways in which training can enhance athletes' performance. He has developed specialized visual tests and training protocols to improve visual acuity and reaction times in athletes.

He co-authored a meta-analysis with Greg Applebaum to establish an evidence-based framework for sports vision research. His research has shown a strong relationship between visual function and athletic performance, particularly in baseball. He has published studies demonstrating the impact of visual training on metrics such as plate discipline in baseball players.

He is also known for developing OptimEYEs, an iPad-administered visual test used to assess and improve athletes' visual function.