Clare Gilbert

Clare Gilbert is a professor and researcher who focuses on blindness in children based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Education and training

Born in Croydon and educated at Croydon High School for Girls, Gilbert obtained a degree in medicine from the Bristol Medical School. She graduated in 1976 with an MB BSc. She worked as a clinical ophthalmologist in the UK for ten years before joining the Department of Preventive Ophthalmology at the Institute of Ophthalmology in 1990. In 1995, Gilbert was awarded her MD in surgical retina from Bristol Medical School and a Masters in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In 2002 the group moved to the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine where Gilbert co-directs the International Centre for Eye Health.[1]

During her time at the Institute of Ophthalmology, Gilbert was given the opportunity to work on a clinical trial of Mectizan for the treatment of onchocerciasis in Sierra Leone. This confirmed her desire to pursue a career in international eye health.

Gilbert was appointed as Professor of International Eye Health in 2008.

Research

Gilbert's research focus is the epidemiology of blinding eye diseases in children in low and middle income countries. One of Gilbert's contributions was to develop a system for classifying the causes blindness in children in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO). Data collected by Gilbert and others raised awareness of the regional variation in the causes and magnitude of blindness in children, and control became one of the priorities of the global strategy of WHO and International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness to eliminate avoidable blindness, VISION 2020 – the Right to Sight.[2]

Other areas of Gilbert's research include population-based surveys of blindness and visual impairment, glaucoma and school eye health. Gilbert's research findings have been crucial for the development and planning of eye care programs for children in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Gilbert is a technical advisor to a number of organisations including the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, USAID's Child Blindness Program and the Vision Impact Institute

Awards
  • Honorary Fellow, West African College of Surgeons, 2004
  • Outstanding Contribution, International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness, 2004
  • International Prevention of Blindness Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology, 2011
  • Pisart Vision Award, Lighthouse International, 2012
  • L’Occitane Sight Award, L’Occitane Foundation, 2013
  • Jules Francois Golden Award, International Council of Ophthalmology, 2016 [3]

References
  1. "Clare Gilbert". LSHTM. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  2. "Dr. Clare E. Gilbert - American Academy of Ophthalmology". aao.org. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
  3. "Professor Clare Gilbert". gresham.ac.uk. Retrieved 2017-09-12.
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