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Dr Kathryn Saunders

Dr Kathryn Saunders

Kathryn Saunders graduated from the University of Cardiff, Wales, in 1988 and spent her pre-registration year at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.  She gained a PhD from Cardiff in 1993, investigating the visual development of infants and young children, before moving north to a post-doctoral position at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow, Scotland and subsequently a lectureship in the Vision Sciences Department at Glasgow Caledonian University.

Kathryn joined the Vision Science Research Group at the University of Ulster in February 1988 and became an honorary principal vision scientist at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast in 2003.  She is an external examiner for the optometry undergraduate programme at the Dublin Institute of technology and is a professional examiner and council member for the College of Optometrists in London. She often speaks at optometric continuing education conferences about issues surrounding vision testing for young children and those with special needs.

Kathryn's research interests include the impact of neurological impairment on the developing visual system, the improvement of vision care for children with special needs and the epidemiology of myopia.  She is particularly concerned with promoting a multi-disciplinary approach to vision care for those with neurological impairments and complex visual needs, encouraging functional assessments of vision and improving communication of results to parents and health and education professionals.

She has led the development of a web-based resource for those working with people with reduced vision, in particular children with special educational needs. The website provides downloadable images which give a guide to the size and detail of images that are suitable over a range of levels of vision. http://www.science.ulst.ac.uk/visio...