Alumnus Eyes Innovations, Joins Family Practice
By William Newton
June 6, 2023
Nathan Kuykendall ’19 studied business finance and earned minors in biology and chemistry at JBU. He was also a member of the men’s tennis team, helped lead worship in chapel bands and was a new student orientation director. Fortunately, Kuykendall’s ability to juggle multiple obligations at JBU translated to his life after graduation.
Kuykendall is currently finishing his Doctor of Optometry degree at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma – a four-year program that allowed him to bypass a master’s degree. Kuykendall credits JBU’s Pre-Health Professions Program, a program for students interested in attending medical school, for giving him the necessary experience to pursue his doctorate, especially with an undergraduate degree outside of the sciences. The program advised him in critical areas such as resumé-building, acquiring shadowing hours with an optometry practice, developing his personal statement for graduate school applications and strategically selecting classes to prepare him for his future degree.
“[The Pre-Health Professions Program] provided me with all the tools that I needed to give me a competitive application for my doctoral program,” Kuykendall said. “It was probably the single most beneficial tool within the science program, along with the classes. The professors were also very helpful and flexible, as I was in a unique situation of studying business and science. They were accommodating to enable me take the classes I needed to graduate on time.”
Since being in the doctoral program, Kuykendall has kept himself busy – he recently got married and has started a family; served as the vice president of the American Optometric Association (AMO), the largest optometric student association in the country, and launched Eyedeal Innovations, an optometrical technology company.
“A team and I started a technology company that is basically an artificial intelligence program [called MAXWELL: Retinal Assessment] that identifies pathology in retinal fundus photos, which are photos of the back of the eye,” Kuykendall said. “It’s been very exciting, and we are looking forward to seeing what comes of it.”
Although Eyedeal Innovations officially started in 2023, the idea was created and presented a year prior at the 2022 AMO’s Bright Eyes Pitch Competition, an international business competition in San Diego, California, where the concept was a top 5 finalist.
In the midst of all of his responsibilities, Kuykendall has very clear plans for his future. After he concludes his externship and graduates from NSU, Kuykendall will become a full-time optometrist with Eye Care of Claremore, a family-owned practice.
“I’m going into practice with my dad, who is also an optometrist, and we have some hopes of growing his clinic to offer neighboring communities easier access vision care,” he said. “I also love technology, so I would love to see the company that we are starting continue to blossom and generate traction in these next few years.”
Overall, Kuykendall finds the most rewarding aspect of his work to be his ability to serve others, rather than in an optometry office or through his technology company.
“I just want to help patients make the most of their vision so they can make the most of their lives.”
