Newmedica Surgical Centre - Grimsby

I currently sit as President of The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, and practice as a consultant ophthalmic surgeon specialising in oculoplastics, lacrimal and orbital surgery.

Before being elected President, I served as a council member of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists for five years. I was also an elected member of the Ophthalmic Group Committee of the British Medical Association and a member of the National Ocular Oncology Group. I am on the Joint Committee on Surgical Training, serving on the interface Group on Cosmetic Surgery. I have also published academic papers in international journals and co-authored a medical textbook.

I have been a consultant ophthalmologist in Leeds since 2009, specialising in medical and surgical diseases of the retina, vitreous and macula.

I trained as an undergraduate at the University of Bristol and obtained higher surgical training in ophthalmology on the South Thames rotation of the London Deanery from 2001. From 2004 to 2005 I received advanced subspecialty training in medical retina at Moorfields at St George's Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital. I then undertook fellowship training in vitreoretinal surgery at the Sussex Eye Hospital followed by a further fellowship at St Thomas' Hospital in London gaining experience in the management of complex vitreoretinal conditions.

The medical retina aspects of my practice include the management of retinal conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and its complications and retinal vein occlusions.

The vitreoretinal practice includes conventional and vitrectomy management of retinal detachment as well as epiretinal membranes and traction, macular holes, flashers and floaters and the complications of cataract surgery. I also undertake routine and complex cataract surgery using modern techniques and lenses.

I have been a Consultant Ophthalmologist since 2002, specialising in advanced refractive phacoemulsification, multifocal lens implants, corneal reconstruction with modern lamellar corneal graft techniques such as DALK and DSEK, and corneal collagen cross-linking.

I graduated from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne with an undergraduate degree in Medicine in 1993 and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in 1997. Previously, I have taken a keen interest in training the future generation of Ophthalmologists by being Trainee Programme Director (TPD) for Ophthalmology in Yorkshire (North, East & West). I have also been successful in obtaining a post-graduate diploma in cataract and refractive surgery (PG Dip CRS) with distinction from Ulster University.

I have been a consultant medical ophthalmologist since 1997 and have pursued training in Yorkshire, Cambridge, Moorfields Eye Hospital, and Boston, MA, USA.

I took up a post in 2008 with leadership in inflammatory eye disease and development of medical retina services and have also been awarded ‘Best Clinical Service’ by the Macular Society.

I currently sit as president of the Medical Ophthalmology Society UK and have previously chaired the Specialist Advisory Committee for Medical Ophthalmology at the Joint Royal Colleges of Physicians Training Board and the National Annual Review of Competence Progression Panel. I also sit as an honorary senior clinical lecturer at Hull and York Medical School.

My research interests are in the fields of inflammatory eye disease and medical disorders of the retina. I have an honorary chair at the Department of Health Sciences at the University of York and have developed and led the Ophthalmology Research Unit.

In 2017, I was awarded ‘Researcher of the Year’ by the National Institute for Health Research/RCOphth and have been the chief or principal investigator in around 30 research studies.

I have published numerous scientific papers and book chapters and am a joint ophthalmology specialty lead for Yorkshire and Humberside Local Research Network. I also currently hold the deputy chair for the National Ophthalmology Specialty Group (Northern).