Gillian has over 20 years' experience in a wide range of optometry, including primary and secondary care and academia, and currently practices as a consultant optometrist and clinical lead at Wirral University Teaching Hospitals.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Kyla graduated from Aston University in 1996 and completed her Pre Reg year with Dollond & Aitchison in 1997. She has worked for both Dollond and Aitchison, and since the merger, Boots Opticians for 22 years. In this time she has supported and supervised a number of pre-reg optometrists and student dispensing opticians.

Lucy graduated from City University in 2006 and completed her pre-reg placement with Dollond and Aitchison. Lucy is currently an Independent Practice Owner, having previously worked in Multiples as a Lead Optometrist and also in Refractive Surgery settings.

Lay Advisory Panel Member

Andrea has extensive experience in governance and regulation and has worked within the legal and medical professions with responsibilities for professional training, standards, compliance and continuing education.  She is skilled in modernising product ranges and service approaches, notably through an emphasis on blended learning.  Andrea is passionate about giving individuals the right training at all stages of their careers, in order to ensure they have the proper skills and experience to deal confidently and professionally with challenges as they arise.

Lewes has been an Optometrist since 2004. He began his career in the multiple sector, before working for a decade in independent practice, including a number of years as a sole practitioner. He has spent time in the Hospital Eye Service and provided domiciliary care, and now works in a multiple practice as part of a large Optometric team.

Matt is a Specialist Optometrist working within the Liverpool Hospital Foundation Trust, UK. He specialises predominantly in glaucoma as well as acute ophthalmology. Matt currently holds the College of Optometrists' IP and Higher Certificate in Glaucoma whilst being in the final stages of the Diploma Glaucoma qualification. Matt is also a visiting lecturer and examiner at the University of Hertfordshire for the College of Optometrists' Higher Qualifications in Glaucoma and Independent Prescribing for post-graduate Optometrists.

Hassnain graduated from Aston University in 2016 and completed his pre-reg with Specsavers in 2017. Currently, he practices as a locum optometrist in a variety of multiple and independent practices. He was the inaugural LOCSU Student ambassador in 2016 and remains an active committee member of the Leicestershire and Rutland LOC since 2019.

Meera qualified in 2007 from Anglia Ruskin University with a first class honours degree. In her final year she was awarded the AOP prize for the best overall performance in the Legal and Business aspects of Optometry Module. 

Kiki is head of optometry development for Specsavers, a visiting lecturer to University of Hertfordshire for postgraduate courses and an honorary associate professor at Plymouth University. Within Specsavers, Kiki leads the development of optometrists across the four nations of the UK and Ireland and helps ensure the support provided is inclusive and tailored to professional and patient needs.

Jay graduated from the University of Wales, College of Cardiff and qualified as an optometrist in 2001 after completing her pre-registration year in independent practice.  After a period in working within the multiple sector, she joined a specialist independent practice in 2003 and was involved in diabetic shared care, community minor injury schemes, myopia control and orthokeratology clinics as well as carrying out regular eye examinations and contact lens consultations, which she continued until 2018.

Barbara has been an optometrist for more than 30 years and has worked throughout West Yorkshire in independent practice, multiple practice, as a locum and for local hospitals. She was one of the first members of the College to gain her Fellowship by examination and also holds the College Diploma in Contact Lens Practice.

E: barbara.watson@college-optometrists.org

Rupal is the Academic Lead for Vision Sciences at the University of Central Lancashire. She is also a Practising High Street Optometrist. She is the Chair of the East Anglia Local Eye Health Network and the Optometry Adviser for NHS England and NHS Improvement East of England Region.

Colin currently works part-time for the University of Hertfordshire where he is programme lead for independent prescribing. He also works in independent practice in East Sussex, and at Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton where he works in both A&E and uveitis clinics. He is a senior assessor for the College and an OSCE chief examiner. He is a former member of East Sussex LOC and a current member of the education faculty at the Johnson and Johnson Institute.

Colin currently works part-time for the University of Hertfordshire where he is programme lead for independent prescribing. He also works in independent practice in East Sussex, and at Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton where he works in both A&E and uveitis clinics. He is a senior assessor for the College and an OSCE chief examiner. He is a former member of East Sussex LOC and a current member of the education faculty at the Johnson and Johnson Institute.

Tony left Aston University in 2003 with a 1st Class Honours degree and qualified in 2004. He then returned to Aston University in 2005 to study for a PhD which he gained in 2008. Tony currently works in independent practice in Darlington. He is a committee member of the Durham LOC. 

E: tony.gibson@college-optometrists.org

Mike is a Consultant Optometrist in Medical Retina at Sussex Eye Hospital, Brighton and a College Assessor. He has previously held posts at City University, University of Auckland, and Moorfields/UCL Post graduate education team.

Mike lived in New Zealand, where he gained an IP qualification in 2006, practicing in community and university.

John started his career as a manufacturer then qualified as a Dispensing Optician before graduating as an Optometrist at Bradford University in 2000. Over the years he has practiced in multiples, owned his own independent group and now currently works in an independent setting and Addenbrookes hospital.

Mary-Ann is Clinical Lead for Optometry at the University of the West of England, and part of the multidisciplinary team at Bristol Eye Hospital. A NICE Centre for Guidelines Expert Advisor on Serious Eye Disorders, she represented the College on Optometry Wales for six years, becoming their Clinical Advisor during the formalisation of the Eye Care Plan for Wales. A College representative on the Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning, Mary-Ann is also a past President of the College.

E: mary-ann.sherratt@college-optometrists.org

Jagdeep graduated with Master’s degree in Optometry from Aston University in 2015 and completed his pre-reg year with Specsavers in 2016. He currently works a Specialist Optometrist at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital working in medical retina, urgent eye, diabetic screening and injection clinics. Jagdeep is an Independent Prescribing Optometrist with a Professional Certificate in Glaucoma and Professional Certificate in Medical Retina. He is currently studying towards his Professional Certificate in Low Vision. He also works as an AMD Optometrist for SpaMedica, across various sites in the UK.

Amarpal is a graduate from City University London having read Business Law. He started his legal career at a leading international law firm focusing on company and corporate law and then moved to the banking and finance sector. He is currently Head of Legal of Capital Markets for a leading UK bank.

Kathryn qualified from Glasgow Caledonian University in 1999 and has worked in Grampian in North East Scotland ever since for both multiple and independent practices. She has supervised pre-registration optometrists in her early career and moved to Professional Services Manager of a large independent group where she mentors and supports optometrists and dispensing opticians at all stages of their career. In this role she has been involved in service development in the practices as well as locally with the Grampian Eye Health Network, where optometry has been the first port of call for all patients with acute eye problems since 2007. She is past Vice-Chair of Grampian AOC, and is an active member of Optometry Scotland which has recently negotiated a new GOS contract for Scotland. She achieved Independent Prescribing status in 2013.

Mark’s career to date has been in health policy, management and sector development. Following a variety of roles in membership organisations and the NHS, Mark currently is head of system partnerships at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. 

David is Emeritus Professor of Physics at Imperial College London, where he has spent most of his scientific career. He maintains an international research activity in electronic materials, particularly magnetic and superconducting compounds; in the past, he has had some interests in the optical properties of materials. He has extensive experience of appraisal and review of research programmes, both nationally and internationally, and  has published about 300 research papers. 

Andrea has extensive experience in governance and regulation and has worked within the legal and medical professions with responsibilities for professional training, standards, compliance and continuing education.  She is skilled in modernising product ranges and service approaches, notably through an emphasis on blended learning.  Andrea is passionate about giving individuals the right training at all stages of their careers, in order to ensure they have the proper skills and experience to deal confidently and professionally with challenges as they arise.

Tony is a physics graduate from the University of Southampton and has worked his entire career in scientific research and development (R&D).  He started his career as semiconductor process engineer with Phillips and then became an R&D manager at the IBM UK Development Laboratories, developing magnetic disc drives. He was involved in a management buy out  at IBM and became Technical Director for ADFlex, before completing his career as Technical Director for City Technology (electrochemical & optical gas sensors).

After graduating, Katie worked as a solicitor in private practice and in-house. In 2009 she moved into the regulation of the legal profession, working for the Law Society's Legal Complaints Service and then the Legal Ombudsman. She is currently an adjudicator for an ombudsman scheme and enjoys the variety and challenge that the work brings.

Andrew graduated from Bradford University in 1990 as a mature student, having spent seven years as an army officer. He has run an independent high street optometric practice with his wife in Ashington, Northumberland since 1991. During this time he has also been employed an optometric adviser for NHS North of Tyne and was appointed to the Professional Executive Committee of NHS North of Tyne as an optometry professional between 2007 and 2011. He is a trained College facilitator.

Lay Advisory Panel - Optometrist not on Council

After completing her undergraduate law degree at University College London and a Master’s degree in Medical Ethics and Law at King’s College London, Rekha was Called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in 2007.  Following extensive experience working as a legal assistant in healthcare and non-healthcare disciplinary prosecution work, she cross-qualified as a solicitor in 2012.

Amarpal is a graduate from City University London having read Business Law. He started his legal career at a leading international law firm focusing on company and corporate law and then moved to the banking and finance sector. He is currently Head of Legal of Capital Markets for a leading UK bank.

Johnathan qualified from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2000 and undertook his pre-reg in the hospital eye service at St. Paul's Eye Unit, Liverpool. He then worked as a locum across the UK before working with ASDA Opticians for three years. Returning to the hospital sector in 2005, he was involved with Glaucoma and paediatric care, achieving IP status in 2010.

Lay Advisory Panel Member

Magdalena is Senior Cancer Analyst at Genomics England, a company set up by the Department of Health & Social Care, with the aim of delivering breakthrough genomic analysis to NHS patients, making UK the first country in the World to integrate genomics into standard-of-care. She has more than 15 years’ experience of working with genomics and stratified medicine projects, looking at a range of different genetic and epigenetic data, she has written statistic analysis and bioinformatic pipelines working at Institute of Cancer Research, Kings College London, Imperial College and Wellcome Sanger Institute. 

She has published high profile research papers, and extensively supported programmes for quality assurance, equality, diversity and career progression.

Colin currently works part-time for the University of Hertfordshire where he is programme lead for independent prescribing. He also works in independent practice in East Sussex, and at Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton where he works in both A&E and uveitis clinics. He is a senior assessor for the College and an OSCE chief examiner. He is a former member of East Sussex LOC and a current member of the education faculty at the Johnson and Johnson Institute.

Shane qualified in 2007 as a Dispensing Optician and then went on to qualify as a Contact Lens Optician in 2009. He studied Optometry at Bradford University in 2010. During his studies, he was awarded the Bausch & Lomb prize in 2009 for a consistently high standard in all theory and practical assessments and the AOP prize in 2011 for highest marks achieved. Shane is an Independent Prescribing Optometrist with the Higher Certificate in Glaucoma and is working towards his Diploma in Glaucoma. He is also studying for his Executive MBA at Aston University.

Shamina qualified from Aston University in 2004 with a First-class honours degree and having a having received the highest prize in elective studies. She is currently a self- employed optometrist having, worked for Boots Opticians for 12 years and is a tutor on the Boots Opticians pre-registration programme. She has supervised two pre-registration students.

Originally from Northern Ireland, Kyla graduated from Aston University in 1996 and completed her Pre Reg year with Dollond & Aitchison in 1997. She has worked for both Dollond and Aitchison, and since the merger, Boots Opticians for 22 years. In this time she has supported and supervised a number of pre-reg optometrists and student dispensing opticians.

After graduating, Katie worked as a solicitor in private practice and in-house. In 2009 she moved into the regulation of the legal profession, working for the Law Society's Legal Complaints Service and then the Legal Ombudsman. She is currently an adjudicator for an ombudsman scheme and enjoys the variety and challenge that the work brings.

Kathryn qualified from Glasgow Caledonian University in 1999 and has worked in Grampian in North East Scotland ever since for both multiple and independent practices. She has supervised pre-registration optometrists in her early career and moved to Professional Services Manager of a large independent group where she mentors and supports optometrists and dispensing opticians at all stages of their career. In this role she has been involved in service development in the practices as well as locally with the Grampian Eye Health Network, where optometry has been the first port of call for all patients with acute eye problems since 2007. She is past Vice-Chair of Grampian AOC, and is an active member of Optometry Scotland which has recently negotiated a new GOS contract for Scotland. She achieved Independent Prescribing status in 2013.

Mark’s career to date has been in health policy, management and sector development. Following a variety of roles in membership organisations and the NHS, Mark currently is head of system partnerships at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. 

Andrea has extensive experience in governance and regulation and has worked within the legal and medical professions with responsibilities for professional training, standards, compliance and continuing education.  She is skilled in modernising product ranges and service approaches, notably through an emphasis on blended learning.  Andrea is passionate about giving individuals the right training at all stages of their careers, in order to ensure they have the proper skills and experience to deal confidently and professionally with challenges as they arise.

After graduating, Katie worked as a solicitor in private practice and in-house. In 2009 she moved into the regulation of the legal profession, working for the Law Society's Legal Complaints Service and then the Legal Ombudsman. She is currently an adjudicator for an ombudsman scheme and enjoys the variety and challenge that the work brings.

After completing her undergraduate law degree at University College London and a Master’s degree in Medical Ethics and Law at King’s College London, Rekha was Called to the Bar by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple in 2007.  Following extensive experience working as a legal assistant in healthcare and non-healthcare disciplinary prosecution work, she cross-qualified as a solicitor in 2012.

Barbara has been an optometrist for more than 30 years and has worked throughout West Yorkshire in independent practice, multiple practice, as a locum and for local hospitals. She was one of the first members of the College to gain her Fellowship by examination and also holds the College Diploma in Contact Lens Practice.

E: barbara.watson@college-optometrists.org

Ed graduated in optometry from Aston University in 1998, and completed a PhD at the same institution in 2003. He is now Head of the School of Optometry and Vision Science, and Professor of Physiological Optics at the University of Bradford. He also holds the position of Honorary Professor with the School of Health Professions, Plymouth University, and Visiting Professor at Aston University. Ed was appointed College President in March 2018.

Research Committee Co-optee

Dr Catey Bunce is a Consultant in Applied Medical Statistics with expertise in ophthalmology amassed from over 25 years working in research in Eyes and Vision. She has an honorary Associate Professorship at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is co-lead for the NIHR Statistics Group.

Catey established the Ophthalmic Statistics Group which has written a series of statistics notes for the British Journal of Ophthalmology. She sits on the Certificate for Vision Impairment Committee (CVIC) which oversees data collected in England and Wales during the certification process for visual impairment. She is also an Ambassador for the Royal Statistical Society championing the message that “better data = better research = better healthcare”.

David is Emeritus Professor of Physics at Imperial College London, where he has spent most of his scientific career. He maintains an international research activity in electronic materials, particularly magnetic and superconducting compounds; in the past, he has had some interests in the optical properties of materials. He has extensive experience of appraisal and review of research programmes, both nationally and internationally, and  has published about 300 research papers. 

Tony is a physics graduate from the University of Southampton and has worked his entire career in scientific research and development (R&D).  He started his career as semiconductor process engineer with Phillips and then became an R&D manager at the IBM UK Development Laboratories, developing magnetic disc drives. He was involved in a management buy out  at IBM and became Technical Director for ADFlex, before completing his career as Technical Director for City Technology (electrochemical & optical gas sensors).

Irene graduated from City University in 1994. She worked in high street community practice until 2007, mostly in Vision Express, Ilford and then the Oxford Street store. Irene then went on to hold a role as a specialist optometrist at Whipps Cross University Hospital until 2012. This included leading a fast-track age-related macular degeneration clinic; undertaking complex adult and paediatric eye examinations and conducting low vision and diabetic eye assessments.

Katie qualified as an optometrist from the University of Ulster, Coleraine in 2012. She completed her pre-registration year in Scotland and continued to work as a full-time optometrist until 2016, before returning to Northern Ireland to complete a Master’s in Public Health at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB). Katie has a keen interest in the optometry profession from a clinical and research perspective. She is passionate about strengthening partnerships between optometrists, ophthalmologists and other health care personnel to enhance patient care. She is also interested in early prevention strategies to reduce avoidable vision impairment and blindness for all age groups.

Research Committee Co-optee

Chris has been the Frost Professor of Ophthalmology at King’s College London and consultant at Guy's and St Thomas' since 2011. After Cambridge and Oxford Universities, he was a registrar at the Western Eye Hospital, a senior registrar at St Thomas’ and completed his paediatric ophthalmology and strabismus Fellowship at Moorfields Eye Hospital. He was appointed as consultant at Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust in 2000, and was awarded the prestigious NIHR Senior Research Fellowship in 2008 in recognition of his groundbreaking research.

Chris has previously been both training programme director and regional adviser for the London Deanery/RCOphth, and is the ophthalmology lead for the London (South) Comprehensive Local Research Network. In addition, he has a longstanding association with City University, previously as a Visiting Professor and currently external examiner to its Optometry MSc programme. His specialist interests include adult strabismus, children’s complex strabismus and refractive error (high myopia).

Professor Hammond is one of the leading international researchers into the genetic epidemiology of common eye diseases including glaucoma, cataract, myopia, dry eye disease and age-related macular degeneration. He has been published widely.

Chris has been awarded the NIHR Senior Research Fellowship, the International Glaucoma Association Fellowship, the Elizabeth Paice London Deanery Award for best teaching institution (St Thomas’ Eye Dept),. as well as grants from the Wellcome Foundation and the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers.

Robert Harper is an Optometrist Consultant at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, an Honorary Professor of Optometry in the School of Health Sciences at the University of Manchester and a Visiting Professor in Optometry at City, University of London.  His role encompasses clinical practice within the HES, research, undergraduate and post-graduate teaching, and training and continuing education for post-graduate optometrists.

David graduated from City University in 1996. Following a period with Boots Opticians, he joined Specsavers in Newmarket as a partner in 2003. He registered as an IP optometrist in 2014 and retains a close working relationship with the hospital eye service. David chaired Suffolk LOC until the end of 2020 and remains a member of the committee. Also, he works part-time as a clinic supervisor at Anglia Ruskin University and has supervised many pre-reg students.

E: david.hill@college-optometrists.org

Kez is an Associate Professor at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), where she has been a staff member since 2006. Her key interests are in low vision and assessment of visual function, and she was awarded the Neil Charman medal for excellence in optometric research in 2017. Kez trained at Aston University for her undergraduate degree (1990) and PhD (1995), and then continued there as a lecturer (1995-2000). She has worked in community practice throughout her career in both independent and multiple settings. With her current independent practice she is involved in glaucoma shared care schemes.

Research Committee Co-optee

Jenny Read is Professor of Vision Science at Newcastle University’s Institute of Neuroscience. She has a first class degree in physics (1994), a doctorate in theoretical physics (1997) and a Masters in neuroscience (1999), all from Oxford University, UK. From 1997-2001 she was a Wellcome Training Fellow in Mathematical Biology at Oxford University, then from 2001-2005 a postdoctoral fellow at the US National Eye Institute. She returned to the UK in 2005 with a University Research Fellowship from the Royal Society, Britain’s national science academy. Her lab works on many aspects of visual perception, especially stereoscopic or “3D” vision. Current projects include modelling how visual cortex encodes binocular information, developing a new stereo vision test for children, and uncovering how insects see in stereoscopic 3D. More information and all publications are available at www.jennyreadresearch.com.

Matt is a Specialist Optometrist working within the Liverpool Hospital Foundation Trust, UK. He specialises predominantly in glaucoma as well as acute ophthalmology. Matt currently holds the College of Optometrists' IP and Higher Certificate in Glaucoma whilst being in the final stages of the Diploma Glaucoma qualification. Matt is also a visiting lecturer and examiner at the University of Hertfordshire for the College of Optometrists' Higher Qualifications in Glaucoma and Independent Prescribing for post-graduate Optometrists.

Hassnain graduated from Aston University in 2016 and completed his pre-reg with Specsavers in 2017. Currently, he practices as a locum optometrist in a variety of multiple and independent practices. He was the inaugural LOCSU Student ambassador in 2016 and remains an active committee member of the Leicestershire and Rutland LOC since 2019.

Kathryn Saunders is a Professor of Optometry and Vision Science at Ulster University in Northern Ireland. Her research interests include the development of refractive error in infancy and childhood in typically developing children and in the presence of developmental disability.

Laura is originally from Glasgow and continues to work and live in the Southside of the city. She graduated from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) in 2008 and completed her pre-registration year at McCabe Opticians in Barrhead. In 2010 she began her PhD studies. Prior to, and throughout her PhD studies, Laura worked part time as a specialist optometrist in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde working in the glaucoma, cataract and paediatric clinics. Alongside her PhD studies she also completed the Independent Prescribing qualification in 2014.

Professor John Wild is Professor of Clinical Vision Science, and Head of School, at the School of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Cardiff University. He is the Optometry Schools Council representative on the Research Committee.

Colin currently works part-time for the University of Hertfordshire where he is programme lead for independent prescribing. He also works in independent practice in East Sussex, and at Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton where he works in both A&E and uveitis clinics. He is a senior assessor for the College and an OSCE chief examiner. He is a former member of East Sussex LOC and a current member of the education faculty at the Johnson and Johnson Institute.