The British Contact Lens Association (BCLA) has awarded its prestigious BCLA Medal to Vision CRC Deputy CEO, Professor Debbie Sweeney, at its annual conference. The award acknowledges her outstanding achievements in the contact lens field.
Professor Sweeney has been involved in national and international bodies advancing eye care, the contact lens industry and education for more than 20 years. She has made important international contributions in the area of contact lens research, product development and education, including being closely involved in the development of the silicone hydrogel contact lens, a co-founder and long-time president of the International Association of Contact Lens Educators.
She is a co-founder and Executive Director of the Cornea and Contact Lens Research Unit (CCLRU) and secretary general of the Keratoprosthesis (KPro) Study Group.
Previous recipients of the BCLA Medal include Brien Holden, Desmond Fonn, Charles McMonnies and Richard Hill.
Professor Sweeney’s address at the BCLA conference focused on the future for vision correction and the prospects for permanent but reversible devices such as synthetic corneal inlays and onlays. She is currently Director of the Corneal Onlay project at the Institute for Eye Research.
Also at the conference, Vision CRC postgraduate student Fabian Conrad was awarded the best poster award. Fabian’s poster presented research he is undertaking as part of his PhD project, which is investigating corneal reshaping using custom-designed soft contact lenses. The BCLA conference is regarded as the premier international contact lens conference and was attended by more than 1000 delegates this year.
Former Vision CRC PhD student, Dr Lisa Keay, was awarded the honor of delivering the Irving Fatt Memorial Lecture. Lisa, who completed her PhD in 2006, presented the lecture on the public health impact of contact lens related microbial keratitis.
