Rosalind Stewart, an honorary clinical fellow at the University’s Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, has received a national award for her research in ophthalmology from The Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCOphth) and Fight for Sight.
Championing excellence in the practice of ophthalmology, the RCOphth is the UK professional body for medically qualified ophthalmologists. Fight for Sight is the leading UK charity dedicated to pioneering research into the prevention of blindness and treatment of eye disease.
The Fight for Sight Award is made annually in recognition of the completion of the most significant piece of research by a young ophthalmologist or scientist in an area that falls within the remit of the charity. The £5,000 award will be used to further the education of the award winner by being spent on research-related activities including attendance at conferences and seminars on ophthalmology.
Comprehensive assessment
The award was given in recognition of her work in the assessment of stem cells in the conjunctiva, the thin moist membrane that covers the majority of the surface of the front of the eyeball and the inner surfaces of the eyelids. The conjunctiva is responsible for maintaining a healthy tear film and preventing ocular infection.
Stem cells are ‘mother’ cells that have the ability to self renewal, regenerate and repair tissue.
Rosalind’s research has provided the ophthalmology community with the first and only comprehensive assessment of stem cells across the whole human conjunctiva.
Key Discovery
Rosalind Stewart, said: “I took time out of my clinical ophthalmology training in Liverpool to undertake a PhD at the University of Liverpool, in which I localised the human conjunctival stem cells.
“Many severe conjunctival diseases cause significant scarring and painful blind eyes. Current treatments are very limited. Corneal transplants or corneal (limbal) stem cell transplants to improve vision will ultimately fail in the presence of significant conjunctival disease.
“Identifying the conjunctival stem cells is a key discovery in the understanding of ocular surface homeostasis. Ultimately it will help us to radically improve our approach to managing severe conjunctival disease by developing ex-vivo expanded epithelial constructs for ocular surface reconstruction.”
Rosalind’s work was supervised by Dr Carl Sheridan, Professor Paul Hiscott and Professor Stephen Kaye. The study, entitled ‘Human Conjunctival Stem Cells are Predominantly Located in the Medial Canthal and Inferior Forniceal Areas’, can be found here.
Rosalind is now working with Professor Rachel Williams and Professor Stephen Kaye at the University’s Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, developing substrates for conjunctival epithelial and stem cell expansion.
