People within the Optometry Clinic

Professor Roger Anderson

Professor of Vision Science

Roger Anderson graduated in optometry from Cardiff in 1986 and his pre-registration year was completed at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London and membership of the College of Optometrists obtained in 1987. This was followed by a period in clinical practice during which time he studied part-time for an MPhil at Cardiff.

His PhD was undertaken at Indiana University, USA (Major in Vision Science, Minor in Psychology) and then two years spent as a Research Fellow in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Edinburgh, before joining Ulster University in 1995.

From 2007-2014 he was Principal Optometrist (Research) and Professor of Visual Neuroscience at Moorfields Eye Hospital and the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, positions he now holds in an Honorary capacity.

In 2015 he was awarded Life Fellowship by the College of Optometrists and in 2016 he was awarded a DSc by Cardiff University

Research Interests

Prof. Anderson’s research interests include visual psychophysics, most notably the relationship between structure and function in peripheral vision for chromatic and achromatic stimuli.

Recent work has concentrated on the changes in spatial and temporal summation in glaucoma and the implications of these changes for perimetric stimulus design.

Current research interests include: retinal imaging using a modified Heidelberg Retinal Angiograph; the development of a novel binocular OCT device; the changes in spatial and temporal summation across the visual field in AMD and myopia; the development of a high-pass letter contrast sensitivity test; visual predictors of driving performance.

He is a co-inventor of the Moorfields Acuity Chart, a novel high-pass logMAR letter chart for use in the early detection and monitoring of conditions such as AMD.

External Positions

2018- Member of Medical Advisory Panel on Driving and Visual Disorders, DVLA

2017- Member of Editorial Board, Current Eye Research

2017- Expert Witness pool, General Optical Council

2013- Member, Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee, International Glaucoma Association

Arnold Cochrane

Lecturer in Optometry

Dr Karen Breslin

Lecturer in Optometry

Dr Karen Breslin graduated from City University, London in 1990 with a degree in Optometry and Vision Science.

Subsequently, she undertook her pre-registration year at the Institute of Optometry, London qualifying as a registered optometrist in 1991.

After registration, she worked in various independent practices in London and Northern Ireland.

In 2000 she was appointed as a lecturer in Optometry at Ulster University.

She completed her PhD ‘A Prospective Study of Refractive Error amongst Northern Irish schoolchildren’ under the supervision of Professor Kathryn Saunders in 2012.

Research Interests

Karen’s research interests include refractive error, in particular the onset, risk factors and progression of myopia.

Teaching Interests

Karen co-ordinates and teaches on several undergraduate and postgraduate modules including Patient Management and Law, Management and Ethics.

Other responsibilities

Karen is currently admissions tutor for the BSc Hons/MOptom Hons course.

External positions

Karen is current Chair of Optometry Northern Ireland, a body that represents the majority of optometrists in Northern Ireland and aims to present a united voice on their behalf to the Department of Health, local politicians, media and others.

Professor Julie-Anne Little

Research Director

Julie-Anne Little is a Professor of Optometry and Vision Science at Ulster University. She is the Research Director for Biomedical Sciences, comprising >100 researchers spanning nutrition, diabetes, genomic medicine, pharmaceutical and vision science. Her research focuses on investigating refractive error, accommodation and visual function in childhood, and aims to optimise vision, educational attainment and quality of life through effective eye care and interventions for individuals across the world. She has supervised PhD and MSc students and been awarded significant grant funding from a variety of prestigious sources, including Wellcome Trust, NIHR, Alzheimer’s society and the College of Optometrists..

To date, she has authored 47 peer-reviewed journal articles with >1100 citations, with publications predominantly in Q1 Scimago ranked journals in Ophthalmology and has been included in both UK Research excellence frameworks (REF) for 2014 and 2021 submissions. Her outputs demonstrate her sustained focus on improving vision and eyecare for people with developmental disability, using cutting-edge methodologies coupled with clinical expertise in conducting optometric assessment of hard-to-test groups. They also reflect her research investigating the impact of uncorrected hyperopia in children for reading and near tasks, and epidemiological work on unmet visual need.

Prof Little contributes to postgraduate and undergraduate Optometry programmes and has a sustained track record of evaluating learning, teaching and assessment practice for optometry as external examiner for UK Optometry programmes. She is an Educational visitor for the General Optical Council. She is Chair of the European Council of Optometry and Optics (ECOO) Qualifications board, and co-chair of the ECOO Accreditation Agency for the European Diploma in optometry.

She has a strong external profile in optometry as immediate past Chairman of the Association of Optometrists in the UK, and past President of the European Council of Optometry and Optics.

Education / Qualifications

PhD, BSc(Hons), MCOptom, FHEA, FEAOO, Prof Cert Low Vision

Dr Julie McClelland

Senior Lecturer

Dr Julie McClelland qualified with a 1st class degree in BSc Hons Optometry in 1999 and completed her pre-registration year in an independent Optometry practice in Kent.  Julie became a member of The College of Optometrists in 2000.  She completed her PhD under the supervision of Professor Saunders and was appointed as a Lecturer in vision science in 2004.  She has a special interest in ocular therapeutics and is qualified as an optometrist independent prescriber.

Education / Qualifications

1996-1999            1st Class Honours degree in Optometry, Ulster University
2000-2004            Post-graduate Degree (PhD) in Vision Science at School of Biomedical Sciences. Ulster University
2005-2006            Post graduate certificate in Higher Education Practice (PgCHEP). Ulster University.
August 2013         Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
March 2014          Diploma in Therapeutics (Independent Prescribing). The College of Optometrists.
June 2014            CHERP Fellow Membership

Research Interests

Julie's research interests include investigating visual function in children both with and without complex neurological needs. Previous research has examined visual function in children with cerebral palsy, refractive development in albinism and treatment of binocular vision disorders in children with reading difficulties.

She is currently Vice Chair of The School of Biomedical Sciences Ethics Filter Committee and Treasurer of the Vision Translational Research Group Northern Ireland.

Teaching Interests

Julie is actively involved in teaching for undergraduate Optometry and is Module co-ordinator for, OPT508 Ocular Disease and Therapeutics and OPT309 Human Disease with clinical supervision in OPT505 (Patient Management), OPT305 (Advanced Examination Techniques).

She undertakes supervision of final year research projects for both undergraduate optometry students and students undertaking the MSc Clinical Vision Science.

Julie is Course Director for the Postgraduate Certificate in The Theory of Independent Prescribing for Optometrists, a GOC accredited programme.

She is also a question writer/editor and panel member for The College of Optometrists, Independent Prescribing Examination.

Conferences

Recent conference abstract presentations include;

The changing profile of children with infantile nystagmus syndrome (INS) attending a Paediatric Low Vision Clinic during a 24 year period.  Child Vision Research Society Meeting. Prague, June 2015. McClelland JF, Healey N, Saunders KJ, McEloone E, Jackson AJ.

Promoting active learning utilising the virtual learning environment. Faculty of Life and Health Sciences, Ulster University, CHERP event. January 2015. McClure ME, McClelland JF.

Vision 2014. Melbourne, Australia.  April 2014. A Jonathan Jackson, J McClelland, K Saunders, N Healey.  Refractive Error and Visual Status in Albinism.

External Positions

Canterbury Christchurch University, Foundation Degree and BSc (Hons) in Ophthalmic Dispensing (in association with ABDO) 2014-2018.
The College of Optometrists – Question writer/editor for Independent Prescribing Examination
The College of Optometrists – Independent Prescribing Panel member

Moyra McClure

Lecturer

Dr Padraig Mulholland

Senior Lecturer In Optometry

Patrick Richardson

Lecturer Optometry Clinic Manager

Patrick qualified as an optometrist in 1989 through City University and Moorfields Eye Hospital.

His current roles within vision science include Optometry Clinic Manager and Vision Science Core Facility coordinator.

His teaching duties for the undergraduate optometry course include Module coordination of OPT101 Visual and Ophthalmic Optics, clinical supervision and lectures in OPT505 Patient Management, OPT509 Advanced Optometric Practice, OPT508 Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics, OPT510 Ocular pathology and OPT504 Optometry Research Project.

Patrick has also developed a Glaucoma Diagnosis and Management module for Ulster University's Masters in Clinical Vision Science and a Professional Certificate in Glaucoma, which has been accredited by the College of Optometrists.

He has an interest in Glaucoma, Medical Imaging and the development of primary care Optometry as a founding member of Optometry Northern Ireland.

Research Interests

Medical Imagining has resulted in award of ‘Best in Category’ prize at the prestigious Northern Ireland Science Park (NISP) £25k Awards. Patrick won the Hi-Tech category for ‘Eye-C-3D’, a high resolution camera designed to view the back of the eye in 3D. His invention’s novel, optical design dramatically reduces manufacturing costs.

Professor Kathryn Saunders

Professor of Optometry and Vision Science

Professor Kathryn Saunders PhD, FCOptom graduated from the University of Wales, Institute of Science and Technology (now Cardiff University) in 1988 with a first class honours in Ophthalmic Optics. She undertook her pre-registration year at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London and registered as a qualified optometrist in 1989. She has a PhD in Vision Science from Cardiff University and is a Fellow of the College of Optometrists.

Kathryn has a special interest in paediatric vision and visual development. Her research aims to provide improved methods for assessing and managing visual problems in children, particularly where developmental disability co-exists with vision deficits.

She has published over 70 peer reviewed scientific papers and she has attracted research funding from the Nuffield Foundation, the Wellcome Trust and other charitable organisations. Kathryn has been invited to deliver keynote lectures at research and professional conferences in the UK and Europe. She leads the Northern Ireland Childhood Errors of Refraction (NICER) Study, the largest prospective study of eyes and vision in childhood in the UK and Ireland, funded by Ulster University and the College of Optometrists.

Kathryn is currently Subject Lead for Optometry & Vision Science at Ulster University and coordinates and teaches on several undergraduate and postgraduate modules, including Paediatric Optometry and the Professional Certificate in Paediatric Eye Care, the only fully online professional short course in paediatric eye care accredited by the profession in the UK. She runs a paediatric/special needs visual assessment clinic in the Ulster Optometry Clinic, regularly providing eye care for pre-school children and those with special needs. This clinic also provides training to undergraduate optometry students.