A research team from London has won a Bupa Foundation 2010 Epidemiology Award for investigating the link between blindness and poverty in the developing world.
Dr Shaheen Shah and his team at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine created a global research network of ophthalmologists, across 50 countries, working with hospitals from Nigeria to Pakistan to collect data on over 11,000 cataract operations. This information has helped clinicians to understand who to treat and when, helping to reduce the backlog of those waiting for surgery.
Dr Shah said: 'We wanted to contribute to the Vision 2020 initiative by improving the quality of the data available about cataract surgery in the developing world. The Bupa Foundation Award will allow us to continue our research and to begin to investigate the second biggest cause of blindness, glaucoma.'
He and his team also received £15,000 from the Foundation to support their continued research.