Professor Clare Gilbert

Clare is Professor of International Eye Health in the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH); Research Advisor Eye Health for Sightsavers, UK, and Scientific Program Advisor, The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust. Since January 2006 Clare has Co-Directed the eye group and has been a member of the School's Ethics Committee.

Research undertaken by the eye group focusses on the major blinding eye diseases, including infectious diseases (e.g. trachoma); diseases of the elderly (e.g. cataract; glaucoma), other non-commincable diseases (e.g. diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma) and blinding eye diseases in children (e.g. retinopathy of prematurity, cataract). The group also undertakes health systems research and quality assurance studies. Over the last 10 years the eye group has managed national surveys of blindness in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.

Clare's own research focus is on blindness and eye diseases in children in low and middle income countries. Recent projects include a national study of the epidemiology of blindness and in children in Bangladesh using Key Informants as case finders; studies of retinopathy of prematuriy in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to establish screening criteria, explore risk factors, and to assess the impact of training neonatal nurses on rates of ROP and other outcomes and formative research to assess integrating eye care into maternal child health services in Tanzania.

A recent PhD student explored ageing in adults with HIV in South Africa; two Nigerian PhD students are investigating different aspects of glaucoma in adults, and another PhD student is undertaking clinical trials in India, to assess the effectiveness of  inerventions to improve compliance with spectacle wear in school children.

The findings of Clare's research have been used to assist in planning and policy development for child eye health, particularly in relation to retinopathy of prematuriy in Latin America where she has facilitated many multidisciplinary workshops. Clare is advising the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust on their programs for the control of ROP and diabetic retinopathy in India which is being managed by the Public Health Foundation of India.