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Role of the vasculature in retinal disease
5 December 2018
A symposium to mark the retirement of Professor Sue Lightman. Written by: Stephen Moss and John Greenwood
On December 4th in the splendid surroundings of Senate House, scientists, clinicians and numerous friends gathered to celebrate the extraordinary career of Professor Sue Lightman. On a memorable day organised by Professor John Greenwood, Professor Sobha Sivaprasad and Dr Virginia Calder, 150 delegates heard talks on retinal vascular and inflammatory disease combined with personal reflections and historical anecdotes, to make this a first-class scientific symposium suffused with warmth and affection.
The symposium showcased some excellent work emerging from the Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital illustrating the strengths we have in this domain. Presentations from the speakers, Professors Marcus Fruttiger, Phil Luthert, Sobha Sivaprasad, Adnan Tufail, Alan Bird, Patric Turowski, Steve Moss, Drs Virginia Calder and Adam Dubis and Mr Philip Hykin spanned fundamental discovery science through to clinical trials relating to the vasculature and the blood-retinal barrier in ocular disease. From outside London, Professor Alan Stitt from Belfast presented an excellent lecture on the potential of endothelial progenitor cells for retinal vascular repair and Professor Douglas Jabs, from New York, delivered a keynote lecture on clinical advances in the treatment of uveitis.
It was a pleasure also to hear from our former Institute Director, Professor Adam Sillito, who in introducing Sue, recalled times at the Institute when she began taking her clinical interests into the laboratory. In recognition of everything Adam had done in building the Institute into the world-class organisation it is today, Sue presented a gift to Adam on behalf of many of us who were there under his Directorship.
Sue’s personal reflection over her career focused not on her prodigious scientific output, but the key moments, decisions and challenges she had encountered en route. It seems unimaginable today to be told at a job interview, that as a woman she was unappointable because she would inevitably leave to have children. Little did they know she was already a mother! Despite such biases once being commonplace, they proved no obstacle to Sue’s career progression, or indeed to her combining her success as a clinician-scientist with having five children.
As John Greenwood said in his closing remarks, she has trail blazed the way for women and is an outstanding role model for upcoming generations of female clinician scientists. In wishing Sue a long and happy retirement, those of us there also recognised the importance of her scientific and clinical work, and the continuing challenge that all of us face in managing a successful work-life balance.
The symposium was made possible through the generous support of Optos, Roche, Allergan, The JP Moulton Charitable Foundation, UCL Faculty of Brain Sciences, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital.