Research had always been a passion project for Jasleen Jolly FCOptom while she was fulfilling her clinical roles. “I did bits of research, but I never thought I was clever enough to do a PhD,” she says. “So I actually left seven years between each of my three degrees. I’m glad I did because it has given me more experience and insight, which allows me to think outside the box when putting things together for my research.”  

After completing her master’s degree in investigative ophthalmology and vision science at the University of Manchester, Jasleen joined the University of Oxford and Oxford Eye Hospital in a clinical academic role – 50% clinical and 50% research – working on genetic clinical trials. “I’d always had my sights set on trying to get into genetics,” she explains. 

As she built up her work, Jasleen started buying out more of her clinical time with research funds. She then completed a DPhil in clinical neuroscience with a prestigious National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) clinical doctoral fellowship. “I was actually the first optometrist to get an NIHR doctoral fellowship,” she says.