We’re delighted once again to be partnering with The Royal College of Ophthalmologists to enable College members to conduct research into vision loss.
We have awarded of £46,150 to three researchers to gather pilot data, learn new skills and further develop their experience as vision researchers. Below we explore who they are and what they’ll be working on.
What are the Zakarian Awards?
The Zakarian award is a grant of up to £25,000 awarded to ophthalmologists and ophthalmology trainees to gain experience and skills in ophthalmic and vision research. The award is available for up to one year for ophthalmologists and the funding is split equally with the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
This fund means ophthalmologists, doctors that specialise in eye health, can use this time to take on research projects, some of which might have been inspired by work in a clinical setting.
Who’s receiving the Zakarian Award in 2025/2026?
Tafadzwa Young-Zvandasara, Newcastle Eye Centre
Surgery to fix retinal detachment – a condition where the retina detaches from the back of the eye – has successfully evolved over time but there is still some ways to go. Even when retinal reattachment surgery is successful there is a risk that the retina is not placed exactly where it was before, causing issues with vision, distortion and even with the brain. Surgeons are still unsure of the correct way to position patients after surgery and do not know whether the opposite eye could help correct misalignment of the treated eye.
Dr Young-Zvandasara aims to develop an AI tool to guide post-surgery recovery after retinal reattachment. The tool will do this by analysing blood vessel patterns, history of the patient and analysis of the opposite eye to detect whether there might be misalignment and how it may be adjusted.
Eye clinics are one of the busiest services in the NHS. Patients referred to these services or those who need regular appointments, such as those with glaucoma or diabetic retinopathy, often miss extremely important appointments, sometimes without even knowing. These missed appointments can cause delays in care, longer waiting times and in extreme cases, avoidable vision loss. Right now, hospitals have no way to predict who will miss appointments, better tools are needed to spot those at risk so care can be provided to those who need it most.
Dr Alsaif aims to develop a predictive tool using connected health records to accurately identify patients at risk of missing ophthalmology appointments, this tool could inform future interventions to prevent non-attendance, improve treatment times and help prevent avoidable vision loss.
Blanca Sanz Magallon Duque de Estrada, Moorfields Eye Hospital
By transmitting visual information to the brain, the optic nerve allows us to see the world around us, consequently damage to the optic nerve can irreversibly cause vision loss. Glaucoma, uveitis, infection and tumours can damage the optic nerve, but diagnosis of these eye conditions can be slow because traditional diagnosis is done through using lots of data, including symptoms, blood tests, eye and brain scans and medical history. Furthermore, optic nerve damage can be hard to differentiate on scans which can lead to delayed or missed diagnosis of life-threatening causes, such as brain tumours.
Dr Sanz Magallon Duque de Estrada aims to train AI to recognise patterns in complex data, such as eye and brain scans, blood tests and more, to help doctors diagnose optic nerve disorders.
