Congratulations to Professor Gary Rubin who has been awarded the Oberdorfer Award in Low Vision Research for 2017.
Professor Rubin is the Helen Keller Professor of Visual Function and Rehabilitation at the Institute of Ophthalmology. Along with Professor Paul Foster, he leads the research theme ‘Visual function and integrative epidemiology’ at the IoO. He is receiving the Oberdorfer Award in recognition of his excellence in the field of low vision research.
The Oberdorfer Award is given by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Foundation for Eye Research every year. It is named after Dr Michael Oberdorfer, who is director of Strabismus, Amblyopia and Visual Processing for the American National Eye Institute.
The Award, consisting of an inscribed plaque and cash prize, will be presented to Professor Rubin at the ARVO Annual Meeting on Monday May 8th 2017, in Baltimore, USA, where he will deliver a lecture on ‘Future directions for low vision reading research: building the evidence base.’
Professor Rubin said, ‘Reading difficulty is the most common complaint among newly referred low vision patients. While much has been written about reading rehabilitation, there is little high-quality evidence to establish effectiveness of this rehabilitation. Recently we’ve seen a welcome increase in clinical trials for low vision. In this presentation I will review the clinical trial results relevant to low vision reading and highlight areas were further work is needed.’