A word from our Director

Welcome to the 2023-2024 edition of UCL Institute of Ophthalmology's Annual Review.

IoO Director Andrew D Dick

This publication highlights our direction and achievements from the past academic year, presenting data and success stories while bringing to life our continued dedication to research, education, and our community in the field of vision science. 

Over the past year, I have had the privilege of participating in many exciting activities with colleagues both within the institute and externally. These included weekly seminars, inaugural lectures, and the annual lecture with guest Professor Catherine Bowes Rickman from Duke University School of Medicine.

In May the ARVO annual meeting for eye and vision scientists took place in Seattle, where many members of our community participated through talks and poster presentations. As always, the event provided an opportunity to share the latest research findings and strengthen our international collaborations aimed at fostering innovative solutions. 

On the topic of international collaborations, I was thrilled to announce that our collaboration with the International Centre for Translational Eye Research (ICTER) at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Science, and the Institut de la Vision at Université Sorbonne is progressing toward the establishment of a new Centre of Excellence dedicated to advancing eye health in Warsaw.

Our impact above and beyond scientific knowledge gain is crystallised with our partner Moorfields Eye Hospital. Through our BRC, which is currently in its fourth five-year term, we remain dedicated to advancing innovation research and bringing change to patients. We are very thankful to Moorfields Eye Charity for awarding us 23 grants to fund state-of-the-art multi-user equipment and to support early career researchers. The charity, in partnership with UCL Office of the Vice-President (Advancement), is also committed to raising over £100 million to help us move to our new centre for advancing eye health in 2027. So far the campaign has raised £73 million in commitments towards the capital component.

In 2024 we reached significant milestones in the development of our new centre for advancing eye health to bring us and Moorfields Eye Hospital together in St Pancras, London. Only last week, I had the privilege of participating in a topping out ceremony hosted by Bouygues UK, our construction partner, to celebrate the achievement of reaching the building's highest point.

This year, we witnessed another successful round of promotions, with seven members of our academic staff recognized in the UCL Senior Academic, Research, and Teaching Promotions 2023-24 list, alongside two early career researchers who were promoted in July.

Our postgraduate research community grew from strength to strength and we celebrated in 2024 with another successful Early Career Researchers’ symposium. 

The value of our educational programmes has been reflected in some notable students’ achievements, including one of our graduates being listed in the Forbes 30 under 30 list which features some of the brightest young entrepreneurs and leaders. 

I am glad to see our dedication to sustainability in our offices and labs recognized again this year with a Gold award in the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF). 

This year we launched a discussion group, a new initiative from our EDI team, designed to facilitate open dialogue, promote learning, foster connections and gaining valuable insights.

Finally, it was a great honour to host Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh last month, during a visit organized by our supporting charity, Fight for Sight, to the Inherited Corneal Disease Lab, led by Professor Alice Davidson.

Please continue reading for additional information regarding the topics mentioned in this introduction and join me in congratulating our staff and students on another year of exceptional achievements and progress.

Professor Andrew D Dick is Director of UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.

At a glance

Data from financial year 2023-2024

Financial infographic

Funding bodies

Human Resources and promotions

HR infographic