Clare Gilbert is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

ophthalmologist Ophthalmology (, ) is the branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and surgery of eye diseases and disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a ...

, professor and researcher who focuses on

blindness Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

in children. She is based at the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public university, public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London that specialises in public hea ...

(LSHTM).

Education and training

Gilbert was born in Croydon and educated at Croydon High School for Girls ( GPDST). She qualified in medicine at

Bristol University The University of Bristol is a public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Bristol, which had ...

in 1976. After qualifying, she worked as a clinical ophthalmologist in

Bristol Eye Hospital Bristol Eye Hospital is a specialist ophthalmic hospital in Bristol. It is part of the University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. The University of Bristol Dental Hospital is adjacent, and the Bristol Royal Infirmary The Bri ...

for 3 years, and then in Leeds and Bradford for 7 years. She then worked as an MD in the Department of Pathology at the Institute of Ophthalmology (IoO), London (1987–1990). During this time, she took part in a clinical trial of

Mectizan Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug. After its discovery in 1975, its first uses were in veterinary medicine to prevent and treat heartworm and acariasis. Approved for human use in 1987, it is used to treat infestations including head lice, s ...

for the treatment of

onchocerciasis Onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness, is a disease caused by infection with the parasitic worm ''Onchocerca volvulus''. Symptoms include severe itching, bumps under the skin, and blindness. It is the second-most common cause of blindne ...

in Sierra Leone. In 1990, she joined the International Centre for Eye Health (ICEH), Department of Preventive Ophthalmology at the IoO, and in 1995 completed an MSc in Epidemiology at LSHTM. In 2002 the group moved to the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Gilbert co-directed ICEH between 2002 and 2020. Gilbert was appointed as Professor of International Eye Health in 2008.

Research

Gilbert's research focus is on the frequency, causes, and control of blinding eye diseases in children in low and middle-income countries; glaucoma in Africa, and integrating primary eye care for children into primary health care in Africa. One of Gilbert's contributions was to develop a system for classifying the causes of blindness in children in collaboration with the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO). Data collected led to this becoming one of the priorities of the global strategy of WHO and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), the ''VISION 2020 - the Right to Sight'' strategy, as well as the development and planning of eye care programs for children in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Gilbert has also researched on

retinopathy of prematurity Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), also called retrolental fibroplasia (RLF) and Terry syndrome, is a disease of the eye affecting prematurely born babies generally having received neonatal intensive care, in which oxygen therapy is used beca ...

(ROP), a blinding eye condition that can affect infants born preterm. Cataracts in children and refractive errors are other areas of research interest. Other areas of Gilbert's research include national population-based surveys of blindness and visual impairment in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

, and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that can lead to damage of the optic nerve. The optic nerve transmits visual information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma may cause vision loss if left untreated. It has been called the "silent thief of ...

, and school eye health. Gilbert has published almost 400 papers in peer-reviewed journals and has written 27 book chapters. She has also supervised and examined 15 Ph.D./MD students.

Teaching

Gilbert has taught at the IoO and on the Masters in Public Health for Eye Care at the LSHTH. She teaches on the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, and has contributed to several massive online open-access courses (MOOC), including one on retinopathy of prematurity.

Technical advisor

Gilbert is a technical/scientific advisor to a number of organisations, including the WHO; USAID's Child Blindness Program; the International Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Council; the School Eye Health Rapid Assessment project,

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an agency of the United States government that has been responsible for administering civilian United States foreign aid, foreign aid and development assistance. Established in 19 ...

; iHOPE, Welcome Trust, India; Velux Stiftung, Switzerland;

Sightsavers Sightsavers is an international non-governmental organisation that works with partners in developing countries to treat and prevent avoidable blindness, and promote equality for people with visual impairments and other disabilities. It is based i ...

; and the Vision Impact Institute. She has been involved with a number of working groups for the IAPB and led the development of school eye health guidelines for low and middle-income countries. Gilbert also initiated and led a large-scale pilot projects for ROP and for diabetic retinopathy in India, supported by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust between 2012 and 2019.

Awards

* Honorary Fellow, West African College of Surgeons, 2004 * Outstanding Contribution, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, 2004 * The Pfizer Visiting Professor Award, 2010 * International Prevention of Blindness Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology, 2011American Academy of Ophthalmology website
/ref> * Pisart Vision Award, Lighthouse International, 2012 * L’Occitane Sight Award, L’Occitane Foundation, 2013 * Jules Francois Golden Award, International Council of Ophthalmology, 2016 * Lifetime Achievement Award, Royal National Institute for Blind People, 2017 * Barrie Jones Lecture and Award, Royal College of Ophthalmologists, 2018 * SPROP Prevention of Blindness Award, Sociedad Panamericana de Retinopatía del Prematuro, 2019 * 2020 Power List - Top 100, The Ophthalmologist, 2020 * Vision Excellence Award, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, 2020 * Honorary Fellowship, Royal College of Ophthalmologists, 2021 * 2021 Power List - Top 100 Women in Ophthalmology, The Ophthalmologist, 2021

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Clare Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British ophthalmologists Vision scientists Women vision scientists Women ophthalmologists British women scientists Women medical researchers 21st-century English women scientists 20th-century English women scientists