Research

College announces new research scholarships, grants and bursaries are open for applications

The College of Optometrists has announced its programme of financial support for undergraduate students, postgraduate students and members engaging in research projects in the 2025-2026 academic year is open for applications.

Find out more here. 

A proof-of-concept / early dose-finding study is currently open to enrolment and looking for children:

• Living in London,

• Aged 5-12 years,

• With myopia between -1 and -6D in both eyes,

• With good vision in both eyes (no amblyopia),

• Who are not using myopia control specs or contacts.

Participation: participants in the study would need to attend Moorfields in London 3 times over 3 months for assessments. More information for children and parents is available on the study website at redlightmyopia.com, including a video. Flyers are also available for interested families and can be posted to optometrists to display in their practices.

Next steps: optometrists can direct parents of children who meet the criteria to visit website: redlightmyopia.com, or email moorfields.myopia@nhs.net for more information.

The COSMYC study aims to improve myopia research and involves asking children and young people, their parents/caregivers, optometrists, and researchers what they think is important to look at in a future trial of new treatments that slow down the worsening of short-sightedness.

Participation: optometrists who register and are included in the study will be invited to online interviews which take around 30 minutes. They will receive a £25 thankyou voucher to spend on Amazon. The interviewer will ask about their experience with managing myopia, and which questions they think a trial should answer.

Next steps: register your interest here.

Are you an optometrist or dispensing optician accredited to provide the Easy Eyecare Pathway?

If yes, we would like to hear your thoughts and any experiences of delivering the service for autistic people.

Autistic adults can face a variety of challenges when accessing standard eye examinations. Researchers at The University of Manchester are investigating if the Easy Eyecare Pathway facilitates more accessible eyecare for autistic people.

To take part, you need to be an optometrist or dispensing optician accredited to deliver the Easy Eyecare Pathway. You will be invited to an online focus group to understand how prepared and supported you feel in seeing autistic patients as part of the pathway. The focus group will take about 1 hour and you will be reimbursed to for your time. We will do our best to accommodate a convenient date/time for you.

This study is being conducted by Dr Ketan Parmar, Dr Emma Gowen, Dr Sarah Rhodes and Dr Kathy Leadbitter (The University of Manchester), and Lisa Donaldson (SeeAbility).

For more information, please contact: ketan.parmar@manchester.ac.uk. This study has received approval from The University of Manchester’s Research Ethics Committee.

Foresight is inviting optometrists and optical care providers to partner with them in building the world’s most advanced retinal imaging (fundus and OCT) database to develop novel digital tools and techniques to enhance and expand the range of services that can be offered by optometry practices in the future.

Your contributions will help them build a secure, de-identified database of retinal imaging to enable research groups to develop:

• New clinical pathways to streamline referral triage and quality benchmarking.
• Longitudinal analysis of disease progression in real-world settings.
• AI tools to assist in early detection, staging, and classification of multiple diseases.

Foresight offer a compensation structure for partnering optometry practices.

If you would like us to send more information about this project and details on how to get involved, please contact us at researchteam@college-optometrists.org.

Researchers from Teesside University and Aston University have developed a national survey to explore the views of GOS Contractors and Performers on providing eye care for children, including those under five years of age.

The study aims to understand current clinical practice, professional confidence, and barriers to delivering paediatric eye care within NHS-funded services.

Practice setting, funding structures, and clinical experience may influence how children’s eye care is delivered. By gathering perspectives from all UK regions and practice types, this survey will help identify areas for service improvement and professional development to support early detection and management of childhood visual problems.

Your contribution will help:

• Highlight challenges and opportunities in delivering children’s eyecare
• Inform recommendations for training, support, and service design
• Strengthen paediatric eye care pathways

Survey details:

• Fully anonymous
• Approximately 15 minutes to complete
• Hosted securely on Microsoft Forms
• Closes on 14^th February 2026

You can read the Participant Information and access the survey here.

If you have any questions, please contact Professor Hannah Bartlett at h.bartlett@tees.ac.uk.