Kathryn 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.

She has published over 80 scientific peer-reviewed papers and attracted substantial research funding, including from the College of Optometry.

Professor Saunders has led the College-funded Northern Ireland Childhood Errors of Refraction (NICER) study, a large longitudinal epidemiological study of refractive error, for the past 12 years. The NICER study has provided new insight into the prevalence, onset, and progression of myopia in modern school age children living in the UK. Kathryn is a co-investigator on the NIHR-funded CHAMP-UK study, the first randomised controlled trial of low-dose atropine for treating myopic progression in the UK.

She remains a practising optometrist with a strong interest in translational research which improves vision care and visual outcomes for people with and without special needs.

Dr Lesley Doyle is a Research Associate in Optometry and Vision Science at Ulster University, and a Research Optometrist and Study Coordinator for the Northern Ireland Clinical Research Network Vision Group. Lesley is currently working on the NICER and CHAMP-UK studies whilst engaging in both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching. She has a number of peer-reviewed scientific papers on research interests including risk factors for the development of myopia, the use of cycloplegia for determining refractive error in children and visual function in children with Down syndrome.