The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers announce five ophthalmologists in training award winners
31 May 2018
The WCSM Education Trust, a charity founded by The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers to support education and training is pleased to announce the grant of five travel awards to ophthalmologists in training.
The competition was launched for the first time in March to encourage young ophthalmologists who have had a poster or paper accepted at a scientific conference in 2018. After a careful selection process judged by an expert panel of Liverymen of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, the five winners of the travel award are confirmed as:
- Dr Tejal Magan from Kings College NHS Trust, London
- Dr Derek Ho from Singleton Hospital, Swansea
- Dr Ruth Chen from Queen’s Medical Centre, Nottingham University
- Dr Yan Ning Neo from The Royal London Hospital
- Dr Darren Ting from James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough
The travel awards are in line with the aims of the bursary scheme launched by the Trust in 2016 to support people starting their first optical training in the UK, from optical assistants and lab technicians to those embarking on degree programmes in orthoptics, optical nursing and optometry.
Professor Chris Hull, Chairman of the WCSM Education Trust, said “Our hope was that the awards will encourage ophthalmologists who are developing their research whilst training and support them to present it, no matter where the location, enabling them to do something which otherwise might not have been possible. The quality of the submitted work was excellent and we wish all winners the best of luck developing their future careers within optics”.
“Trainees are the future consultants and this generous support has allowed me to present and share my work and experience on trainee-led research network with an international audience” said Dr Ting. “Ophthalmic research done in the UK has been vital in contributing to the understanding of diseases and improvement of therapies, and it is great to see organisations such as the WCSM supporting this.” said Dr Ho.
Dr Neo added “I am so grateful. This award has given me the opportunity to share my research findings with a wide international audience and a chance to form potential research collaborations with other like-minded clinicians.”
Details of the application process for the 2019 Travel Awards scheme will be released towards the end of 2018.
Notes to editors
For further info, please contact the Clerk, Mrs Helen Perkins, on 020 7236 2932 / clerk@spectaclemakers.com
The WCSM Education Trust is a registered charity, no 1135045. It was established by the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers in 2010. Its principal aim is to advance study, knowledge and education in the field of optics for the public benefit (and particularly for the benefit of the visually impaired). The Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers is a City Livery Company, founded by Royal Charter in 1629, with a purpose to support the prevention and treatment of vision impairment.