As an undergraduate optometrist, Elizabeth Kime MCOptom, now an advanced optometrist at Sunderland Eye Infirmary, enjoyed doing her dissertation. However, she believed that a career in clinical optometry would mean having to leave research to academic optometrists.

“I couldn’t have been more wrong,” she says. When working as a hospital optometrist, Elizabeth was asked to be a visual acuity examiner for patients in early multinational clinical research trials for wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Since then, she has continued her involvement in research. At present, she is certified or delegated to work on more than a dozen clinical trials. 

She says it felt “very rewarding” to work in a multidisciplinary team in trials that could lead to treatments for sight loss prevention. It was “even better” when NICE approved the first treatments.

“Through my role in research I’ve not only learned more about many kinds of treatments but also improved my clinical skills,” says Elizabeth.

For example, she regularly measures contrast sensitivity and reading speed, which she wouldn’t do routinely in optometric practice.