Press release: Eye expert receives international award for research and clinical innovation
An eye expert based at Southampton’s teaching hospitals has been recognised for his pioneering research and clinical innovation.
Parwez Hossain, a consultant ophthalmologist University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, has been awarded the King James IV Professorship by The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, the oldest surgical college in the world.
The prestigious honour is given to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the clinical or scientific basis of surgery over the course of their careers.
As part of the award, Mr Hossain will deliver a lecture next year on preventing blindness through the use of real-time healthcare technology to showcase his work and is one of five recipients nationally.
Each will receive the title of professor for the duration of the year in which their lecture is delivered.
Mr Hossain has been at Southampton General Hospital’s eye unit since 2005, when he was also appointed a senior lecturer in ophthalmology at the University of Southampton.
His achievements include the development of a new surgical technique – fine needle diathermy – to treat a condition known as corneal vascularisation which can cause sight loss through the growth of new blood vessels.
Alongside colleague David Anderson, he also established a new technique known as Descemet's Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSEK) to treat corneal disease by using just a thin layer – 0.15 millimetres – of donor tissue as opposed to a full corneal transplant.
Last year, alongside engineers at the University of Southampton, he developed a microchip that can help to detect sight-threatening eye infections within minutes as opposed to weeks and could prevent the misuse of antibiotics.
In addition to his contribution to surgery, he has led pioneering studies into eye imaging techniques for corneal infection and a drug used to treat glaucoma that can boost the growth and prominence of eyelashes.
He also made headlines in 2010 with an audit of contact lens use and microbial keratitis infection when he warned of the “grim consequences” of “liberal attitudes” to contact lens wear and “an explosion of cheap online stores”.
“It is a great honour to receive such a distinguished award which recognises the significant contribution of our work in Southampton to preventing blindness from corneal disease,” said Mr Hossain.
“I would also like to use it as an opportunity to thank my colleagues across both the University of Southampton and UHS who have helped me to produce the quality of research that has led to many important clinical developments both in the UK and internationally.”