Medals for early stage researchers

Public health and myopia research are the topics of the bronze medal awards from the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers.

It’s the first time an ophthalmologist working in Africa has won the Ruskell Medal. Dr Hillary Rono studied how a smartphone referral system helped a large rural population access eye health services in Kenya. Dr Rono, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is also part of the team at social enterprise Peek Vision, which provides software and data intelligence to eye health programme providers in Africa and Asia.

“I am pleased to have been able to contribute to the evidence base for using mobile solutions to help eye health services across the world optimise and make the most use of limited resources,’ he said.

The Master’s Medal was awarded to Dr Xiaofan Jiang of the Institute of Ophthalmology at University College London (UCL) for research into genetics and myopia, which aims to help understand why children develop the condition. The medal is aimed at researchers studying for, or within a year of achieving, a doctorate or higher level qualification.