COPTOM - Key Persons
Andrew has worked in international banking for more than 15 years and is currently Finance Director of one of the leading Wealth Management firms in the UK. His first degree was in Finance from Loughborough University and he is a qualified UK Chartered Accountant. He also has an MBA from the London Business School. Andrew has a very keen interest in optometry as a result of historic and ongoing eye problems which have brought him into close contact with the profession.
Job Titles:
- Immediate past President, Council Member - South East
Colin currently works part-time for the University of Hertfordshire where he is programme lead for independent prescribing. He also works in independent practice in East Sussex, and at Sussex Eye Hospital in Brighton where he works in both A&E and uveitis clinics. He is a senior assessor for the College and an OSCE chief examiner. He is a former member of East Sussex LOC and a current member of the education faculty at the Johnson and Johnson Institute.
Colin was awarded a Diploma in Independent Prescribing Dip TP(IP) in 2011, and Fellowship of the College in 2013.
Aleksandra entered the optometric profession in 2004 after 11 years in the automotive industry. She graduated from Bradford University in 2007 and was awarded a PhD by the same institution in 2013 for a study of blur adaptation in human vision.
After qualification she gained experience in both community practice and the Hospital Eye Service, where she worked in an AMD Treatment Clinic and clinical research.
Job Titles:
- NICE As a Guidance Committee Member
- Vice President, Council Member - North West
Gillian has over 20 years' experience in a wide range of optometry, including primary and secondary care and academia, and currently practices as a consultant optometrist and clinical lead at Wirral University Teaching Hospitals.
Since graduating with a BSc (Hons) Ophthalmic Optics, Gillian has achieved a MSc in Management Practice and a Doctorate in Philosophy. She holds the College's Professional Certificate in Glaucoma and a qualification in Independent Prescribing.
Gillian has worked with NICE as a guidance committee member and is a CQC specialist advisor. Her work at the College has involved the development of higher qualifications and competency frameworks.
Job Titles:
- Trustee, Chair of the Education and Standards Committee, Council Member - London
Irene graduated from City University in 1994. She worked in high street community practice until 2007, mostly in Vision Express, Ilford and then the Oxford Street store. Irene then went on to hold a role as a specialist optometrist at Whipps Cross University Hospital until 2012. This included leading a fast-track age-related macular degeneration clinic; undertaking complex adult and paediatric eye examinations and conducting low vision and diabetic eye assessments.
Irene completed the MSc in Clinical Optometry in 2012 and went on to do her PhD 2012 to 2016. Since then, Irene has been a full-time lecturer at City, University of London. Her main areas of interest and research include the use of OCT in clinical practice, quality of life in low vision and also paediatric optometry. Irene is committed to the future of optometry in the UK and is passionate about promoting optometrists as healthcare professionals.
Mary-Ann is Clinical Lead for Optometry at the University of the West of England, and part of the multidisciplinary team at Bristol Eye Hospital. A NICE Centre for Guidelines Expert Advisor on Serious Eye Disorders, she represented the College on Optometry Wales for six years, becoming their Clinical Advisor during the formalisation of the Eye Care Plan for Wales. A College representative on the Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning, Mary-Ann is also a past President of the College.
Job Titles:
- Trustee, Council Member - Scotland
Johnathan qualified from Glasgow Caledonian University in 2000 and undertook his pre-reg in the hospital eye service at St. Paul's Eye Unit, Liverpool. He then worked as a locum across the UK before working with ASDA Opticians for three years. Returning to the hospital sector in 2005, he was involved with Glaucoma and paediatric care, achieving IP status in 2010.
In 2013, Johnathan joined a small independent practice in Hamilton and in 2018 moved from there to a role with NHS diabetic screening. He still continues with some hospital sessions including pre and post-op cataract assessment at the Golden Jubilee, and is also involved with flu and Covid vaccinations.
Job Titles:
- Professor of Optometry and Vision Science at Ulster University
Kathryn Saunders is a Professor of Optometry and Vision Science at Ulster University in Northern Ireland. Her research interests include the development of refractive error in infancy and childhood in typically developing children and in the presence of developmental disability.
She has led the Northern Ireland Childhood Errors of Refraction (NICER) study, a large longitudinal epidemiological study of refractive error, for the past 12 years. The NICER study has provided new insight into the prevalence, onset and progression of myopia in modern school age children living in the UK.
Kathryn has published over 70 peer-reviewed scientific papers and is actively involved in undergraduate and postgraduate optometry teaching, including leading the College-accredited Professional Certificate in Paediatric Eyecare at Ulster University. In addition to academic and research work, Kathryn remains a practising optometrist with a strong interest in translational research which improves vision care and visual outcomes for people with and without special needs.
Job Titles:
- Trustee, Chair of the Professional Conduct Committee, Council Member - East Midlands
Originally from Northern Ireland, Kyla graduated from Aston University in 1996 and completed her Pre Reg year with Dollond & Aitchison in 1997. She has worked for both Dollond and Aitchison, and since the merger, Boots Opticians for 22 years. In this time she has supported and supervised a number of pre-reg optometrists and student dispensing opticians.
She has experienced a number of leadership roles within Boots Opticians and is currently Senior Clinical Services Manager working in professional services where her role encompasses all Boots Opticians' practices company-wide. She has a team of 15 optometrists who support professionals and maintain clinical governance.
Her passions include colleague professional development and bringing change to high street optics with changes in technology, including diagnostic, refractive and innovative ophthalmic products.
Job Titles:
- Lay Trustee, Chair of the Lay Advisory Panel
Job Titles:
- Registered Optometrist and Professor of Optometry & Physiological Optics at Aston University
Leon Davies is a registered optometrist and Professor of Optometry & Physiological Optics at Aston University. A Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, Leon holds fellowships with the College of Optometrists, the American Academy of Optometry, and is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Leadership roles at Aston University include Director of Research (2010-17) and Head of the School of Optometry (2016-21). His clinical research is focused on presbyopia and the restoration of ocular accommodation to the ageing eye.
In recognition of his experience and expertise, he is a past recipient of the College of Optometrists Research Fellowship Award, and the inaugural Neil Charman Medal for research excellence in optometry, optics and vision science. He is a past Clinical Editor of Optometry Today, and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the peer reviewed CPD journal Optometry in Practice. Between 2009 and 2012, he represented the West Midlands as a Council member of the Association of Optometrists. Since 2015, he has served as a regional Council member then a Board Trustee of the College of Optometrists and was Chair of their Research Committee. In February 2020, Leon was elected Vice President, and then President of the College in June 2022.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of a National Patient Charity, Ehlers - Danlos Support UK
- Lay Trustee, Chair of the Lay Advisory Panel
Mark's career to date has been in health policy, management and sector development. Following a variety of roles in membership organisations and the NHS, Mark currently is head of system partnerships at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Mark is also chair of a national patient charity, Ehlers-Danlos Support UK, and is keen on working with behaviours - pursuing an interest in coaching, facilitation and group relations.
As a user of optometry services and a keen supporter of the role colleges play in the development of professions and services, Mark is delighted to join the lay advisory panel.
Mark's career to date has been in health policy, management and sector development. Following a variety of roles in membership organisations and the NHS, Mark currently is head of system partnerships at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
Mark is also chair of a national patient charity, Ehlers-Danlos Support UK, and is keen on working with behaviours - pursuing an interest in coaching, facilitation and group relations.
As a user of optometry services and a keen supporter of the role colleges play in the development of professions and services, Mark is delighted to join the lay advisory panel.
Job Titles:
- Trustee, Council Member - North West
Matt graduated from the University of Bradford in 2016, and went on to complete his pre registration year at Moorfields Eye Hospital. Soon after qualifying, Matt undertook a post at The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital. He is currently a Senior Optometrist at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Although Matt's role is predominately within the hospital, he locums regularly in private practice.
Matt was elected College Council Member for the North West region in March 2019.