Ophthalmology registrar awarded international prize

Dr Sohaib Rufai recognised with prestigious ARVO prize for pioneering work in the field of Neuro-ophthalmology

Dr Sohaib Rufai, ophthalmology registrar at Northampton General Hospital, has been awarded the ARVO prize for best presentation in the highly competitive Neuro-ophthalmology category, which is a big win for UK vision research.

The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the world’s largest vision conference, attracting over 11,000 attendees from more than 75 countries this year to the Honolulu Convention Center in Hawaii, USA. The 5-day meeting featured over 6,000 presentations by researchers from all around the world.

  Dr Rufai was selected as one of 85 finalists for the ARVO Members in Training (MIT) prize, awarded to the best presentation per category by world experts in the field. He went on to win the Neuro-ophthalmology prize for his research into handheld 3D eye imaging in infants with nystagmus or “dancing eyes”.

Dr Rufai conducted his study in Leicester, the first centre in Europe to receive the handheld optical coherence tomography (OCT) scanner. Dr Rufai has led the world’s first longitudinal study using handheld OCT to develop a grading system for underdevelopment of the retina in infants with nystagmus, to help prediction of future vision and management. The study was supervised by Professor Irene Gottlob, professor of ophthalmology at the University of Leicester. He was recognised with the award at the ARVO closing keynote session among other prize winners.

Dr Rufai commented: “We are thrilled that our research is being recognised at this level. I am humbled to receive this award and all the credit goes to my supervisors Professor Irene Gottlob, Dr Frank Proudlock, my research colleagues and most of all to our fantastic patients. We hope our unit’s research continues to thrive for the benefit of all children with nystagmus.”