Paediatric eye care is often a lot of fun. For Professor Kathryn Saunders FCOptom, there’s nothing better than testing a child’s eyes “while playing with toys and chatting about Peppa Pig”. However, the obvious joy she takes in treating children shouldn’t conceal the seriousness of her work.

“Because a child’s vision system is immature and their eyes are susceptible to the wrong treatment or no treatment, you really can do harm if you don’t take the right course of action,” says Kathryn, who is Lead for Optometry and Vision Science at Ulster University.