Research
Our research is organised around a unifying vision of precision ophthalmology research and includes five strategic pillars and five crosscutting themes.
Research Pillars
Damage, Repair and Regeneration
Damage, Repair and Regeneration
Damage caused by mitochondrial stress in inflammatory and degenerative ocular disease
Lead: Dr Jose Romero Hombrebueno
Drivers and targets of progressive ocular surface scarring
Lead: Professor Saaeha Rauz
Inner retinal neuroprotection and regeneration
Leads: Dr Jose Romero Hombrebueno and Dr Graham Wallace
Ocular effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI)
Lead: Lt Col Professor Richard Blanch
Diagnosis, prognostication and treatment of intracranial hypertension
Genomics, Epigenomics and Metagenomics
Genomics, Epigenomics and Metagenomics
Metagenomic sequencing of the resident ocular microbiome in health and disease
Lead: Dr Liying Low
Genetic determinants of immune-mediated ocular inflammatory disease
Lead: Dr Graham Wallace
Gut microbiota dysbiosis as drivers of ocular inflammatory disease
Leads: Professor Saaeha Rauz and Dr Liying Low
Metabolism and Oxidative Stress
Metabolism and Oxidative Stress
Mitochondrial quality control and stem cell exhaustion in the biology of the eye
Lead: Dr Jose Romero Hombrebueno
Damaging impact of abnormal intraocular pressure homeostasis
Leads: Mr Imran Masood and Dr Lisa Hill
Inflammatory drivers of retinal ageing
Immunity, Inflammation and Infection
Immunity, Inflammation and Infection
Cellular drivers and engineered immune cells for rescuing chronic inflammatory ocular disorders and promoting scarless healing
Leads: Professor Saaeha Rauz and Dr Jose Romero Hombrebueno
Fast identification of destructive ocular pathogens and microbial resistance
Leads: Professor Saaeha Rauz and Dr Liying Low
Deeply phenotyped disease cohorts recruiting to clinical trials in inflammatory eye disease
Lead: Professor Saaeha Rauz
Data Science, Imaging and Digital Health
Data Science, Imaging and Digital Health
Development of an expanded Human Ocular and Periocular microbiome databank
Leads: Professor Saaeha Rauz and Dr Liying Low
Evaluation and regulation of artificial intelligence as a medical device and other digital health technologies, focussed on effectiveness, safety and equity
Leads: Professor Alastair Denniston and Dr Xiaoxuan Liu
Imaging and automating quantitative outcomes for tear film stability and corneal scars
Leads: Dr Darren Ting and Dr Alberto Recchioni
Retinal imaging and angiography as biomarkers for TBI and sepsis
Crosscutting Themes
Discovery Science and Translational Ophthalmology
Discovery Science and Translational Ophthalmology
- Translational readiness level (TRL) 1 – 7 studies
- Early-phase clinical trials
Therapeutics and Drug Delivery
Therapeutics and Drug Delivery
- Translating technologies that modify biological processes to the patient
- Novel modes of drug delivery and freedom from injections
- Emmetropia, ametropia and refractive correction of vision
- Vision-modifying or lifestyle-restoring surgical devices
Outcomes, Endpoints and Evidence Synthesis
Outcomes, Endpoints and Evidence Synthesis
- Evidence synthesis and systematic reviews
- Activity and damage indices and core outcomes for regulatory licensing and clinical benefit
- Group concept-mapping and patient-reported outcome measurements
Education and Training
Education and Training
- Undergraduate: MBChB, BMedSc; Postgraduate: including Masters’ Programmes, MD, PhD (clinical and non-clinical)
- NIHR Academic Clinical Fellows and Clinical Lecturers
- Patient and public education
Patient and Public Partnerships
Patient and Public Partnerships
With excellent, established patient involvement groups that drive our research, patients and the public form an integral part of strategic and operational decision-making for providing excellence in research and personalised patient care.