Denise Voon
Education | DiversityDenise Voon is an optometry education professional with a strong commitment to teaching, learning and the development of future eye care practitioners. With a background in optometry education, Denise is passionate about supporting students through high-quality training, mentoring and academic leadership. Her work focuses on delivering clear, practical education that bridges theory and clinical practice, helping learners build confidence, competence and a strong foundation for their professional careers.
Professor Shahina Pardhan
Leadership Mission LeadProfessor Shahina Pardhan is the UK’s first female Professor of Optometry, appointed in 2001. She leads the Vision and Eye Research Institute at Anglia Ruskin University and has published over 150 research papers, securing major national and international research funding. She has received numerous prestigious awards for excellence in research and leadership and has featured on the College of Optometrists podcast Blazing the Trail for Women in Vision Science.
Dr Rebecca Ford
Education Co-leadRebecca Ford is a Consultant Oculoplastic and Orbital Surgeon at Bristol Eye Hospital and former Clinical Director. Trained at Cambridge, Oxford, and in specialist ophthalmology roles across London and Birmingham, her interests include orbital disease, eyelid surgery, and medical education. She holds senior education roles within the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, chairs the Thyroid Eye Disease Charitable Trust, and is actively involved in advancing equality and education through Women in Vision UK and global ophthalmology initiatives.
Prof Narciss Okhravi
Education Co-leadProfessor Okhravi is a Professorial Teaching Fellow at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and the first of her kind in Ophthalmology. A leader in medical education, she has shaped the training of thousands of healthcare professionals and played a key role in establishing medical education as a recognised career pathway for ophthalmology trainees in the UK and internationally.
Dr Eleni Beli
Research Co-LeadDr Eleni Beli is a Vice Chancellor Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast, based at the Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine. An award-winning researcher, she specialises in diabetic complications, with a focus on how disrupted biological rhythms contribute to diabetic retinopathy. Her research explores lifestyle interventions, chronotimed treatments, and metabolic factors to help prevent retinal damage in diabetes.
Dr Lola Solebo
Research Co-LeadLola is a clinical academic, Epidemiologist at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, and Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital. She leads research into outcomes for children with vision-impacting conditions and contributes to national and global health policy through organisations including Public Health England, UNICEF, and the WHO. She is also the parent of two formidable forces disguised as human girls.
Ana C. Rodriguez
Early Career Research Co-LeadAna C. Rodriguez is an Early Career Research Co-Lead at Women in Vision UK and a clinical research fellow at UCL, Moorfields, and Great Ormond Street Hospital. Trained in Mexico and London, she is completing a PhD on inherited retinal diseases, with a focus on CRB1 retinopathies. She is a passionate advocate for women in ophthalmology and mentorship in academic and clinical research.
Lindsay Rountree
Early Career Research Co-LeadLindsay Rountree is Co-Lead for Early Career Research at Women in Vision UK and a lecturer in optometry at the University of Bradford. A qualified optometrist with a PhD from Cardiff University, her research focuses on the visual impact of ocular disease, alongside public health and contact lens research.