Paul Foster was appointed Professor of Ophthalmic Epidemiology and
Glaucoma Studies at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology in October 2011.
He has been a consultant glaucoma surgeon at Moorfields Eye
Hospital in London since March 2004, and is a faculty member of the
NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Ophthalmology. A graduate of
Nottingham University Medical School, his residency training was at
Oxford Eye Hospital, and Moorfields Eye Hospital. In 2002 he was
awarded a PhD for research on the epidemiology of glaucoma in East
Asian people. He is a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of
Edinburgh and of The Royal College of Ophthalmologists in London.
Current scientific interests include the epidemiology and
environmental determinants of glaucoma and refractive error, surgical
management of glaucoma and screening and prevention of glaucoma in East
Asia. Major research projects include - The EPIC-Norfolk
Eye Study: a cohort of 10,000 people currently undergoing ocular
phenotyping aimed at investigating novel environmental and genetic
factors in eye disease
- ZAP study: currently underway in
Southern China, 12,000 people were screened to identify 935 with early
stage angle-closure who have undergone laser iridotomy in one eye, with
the fellow eye remaining untreated as a control. This study will
assess the performance of prophylactic laser iridotomy in high risk
individuals
- Studies of the genetics of angle-closure glaucoma
employing linkage and association techniques. We currently
enrolled 86 families with multiple affected individuals
Collaborative
studies with major scientific initiatives including The Wellcome Trust
Case-Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2), UKBiobank (UKBB), The Singapore
Epidemiology of Eye Disease (SEEDS) and The Chinese American Eye Study
(CHES) in Los Angeles Prof Foster has published 131 peer-reviewed
papers, 14 book chapters and 3 journal editorials. Prior to
appointment as a consultant, Paul Foster was elected a member of the
Glaucoma Research Society which is limited to 100 active members
worldwide, promoting excellence in glaucoma research. He
currently serves on the membership committee of the GRS, and is a
Trustee of the British Council for the Prevention of Blindness.
He is also a Council Member, International Society of
Geographical and Epidemiological Ophthalmology and past chairman of the
Associate Avisory Board of the World Glaucoma Association. He was
awarded the Ron Lowe Medal by the Australia & New Zealand Glaucoma
Interest Group, and won the Moorfields Eye Hospital gold medal for
research in glaucoma. Together with collaborators, he has raised
research grant award of £ 6.3 million, and been involved in consortium
grant applications for a further £ 18.3 million. |
