A total of 298 newly-qualified optometrists were welcomed to the profession during the College of Optometrists’ annual diploma ceremony at City Hall, Westminster last week.
The College also presented Research Excellence Awards to five individuals for their contribution to optometric research across a variety of areas.
Its most prestigious award, The Neil Charman Medal for Research, was presented to Dr Jonathan Denniss. Dr Padraig Mulholland received the George Giles Postgraduate Research Prize, Dr Ross Henderson was presented with the Philip Cole Prize for excellence in practice-based research, the Bernard Gilmartin OPO Award was presented to Dr Chen-Wei Pan, Dr Dharani Ramamurthy and Professor Seang-Mei Saw for their paper on the worldwide prevalence and risk factors for myopia.
Speaking at the ceremony, David Parkins, president of the College of Optometrists, said: ‘The presentation of the Research Excellence Awards was just one of the highlights of this wonderful occasion. It has been an honour to present so many inspirational professionals with our awards, higher qualifications and Fellowships today. And to see so many young and talented diplomates celebrate the start of what I believe will be long and successful careers.’
