Optometry excels in research

Optometric research in the UK has achieved an impressive international profile with formal recognition in the government's 2008 nationwide Research Assessment Exercise (RAE2008).

All UK universities running undergraduate degree courses in optometry contributed to RAE2008 under Unit of Assessment (UoA) C12 'Allied health professions and subjects'. Bernard Gilmartin, Professor of Optometry at Aston University, was nominated by the British Universities Committee of Optometry (BUCO) to serve as a member of Panel C12.

Optometric research was entered into RAE2008 according to the overall research structure and strategy developed by the respective university. Consequently some universities included optometric research in a single submission entered under the generic UoA descriptor 'Allied health professions and subjects' (eg Anglia, Aston, Cardiff and Manchester). Multiple submissions were permitted by the RAE when a university could submit two or more substantially distinct research units that fell within the scope of UoA C12: Bradford's research in optometry was reviewed in a stand-alone submission containing only staff from the Bradford School of Optometry & Vision Science City submitted separately as 'Optometry and visual science' along with 'Language and communication science' Glasgow submitted optometric research under 'Biomedical science and vision sciences' separately from 'Allied health professions' (submitted jointly with the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde) Ulster submitted optometry under 'Biomedical sciences' which was submitted separately from 'Rehabilitation science'.