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An eminent professor at The University of Nottingham has been elected as the next president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
Professor Harminder Singh Dua, FRCOphth, MD, PhD, will take office as the ninth President of the Royal College at its Annual General Meeting in Birmingham on May 25.
The appointment — an indicator of the esteem in which Professor Dua is held by his peers across the UK — is for a period of three years.
Professor Dua is Chairman and Professor of Ophthalmology at The University of Nottingham and Head of the Division of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. In his role as President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists he will provide leadership for the Royal College and work to enhance education, training, professional standards and eye care delivery in the UK.
Professor Dua trained in the Government Medical College, Nagpur University, India; Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, University of Aberdeen, Scotland and the Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, USA. He is a specialist in Cornea and Ocular surface diseases. He was Associate Professor at the Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, when he was invited to a chair in Nottingham in April 1994.
The cornea and external eye disease service at Nottingham was established under his auspices in 1994 and is now a leading British national centre, especially for ocular surface diseases, attracting referrals from all over the country and abroad.
Professor Dua said: “I look forward to taking on the responsibilities of the President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists with immense pride. It is a high honour conferred on me by my peers. I will strive hard to meet their expectations and the challenges ahead.”
Professor Dua is on a number of national and international councils, board of governors and advisory panels including the Oxford Ophthalmological Congress, EuCornea (European society of cornea and ocular surface disease specialists) and EVERf (European association for Vision and Eye Research Foundation). He is a Trustee of Sightsavers International and is also Editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
He is also a consultant civilian adviser to the Royal Air Force, and is known for research using stem cells to regrow the cornea. He works with the Centre for Defence Medicine to develop research on techniques that can be used in war theatres. He has more than 200 research publications, 20 published letters and 14 book chapters to his credit.
Professor Dua was one of five ophthalmologists named by The Times newspaper in November 2010, in a list singling out ‘Britain’s Top Doctors’.
Professor David Greenaway, Vice-Chancellor of The University of Nottingham, congratulated Professor Dua on his appointment.
Professor Greenaway said: “This is a very prestigious position and reflects Professor Dua’s outstanding contribution to his profession.”
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Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘Europe’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, a league table of the world’s most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions, which ranked Nottingham second in the world overall.
The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 40,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power.
The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.
More news from the University at: www.nottingham.ac.uk/news