Who we are

The MPRG is a multi-disciplinary team comprising vision scientists, nutritionists, biochemists, statisticians, optometrists, and ophthalmologists. The MPRG Principal Investigator, Dr. John Nolan, has been researching macular pigment and nutrition for over a decade. His significant contribution to this area of research is reflected in his Fulbright Scholarship and European Research Council and Howard Foundation Fellowships. Professor Stephen Beatty, Consultant Ophthalmologist and Director of the MPRG, is one of the world’s leading eye specialists. The group has significantly contributed to science and medicine by publishing landmark research papers in high impact eye journals. The MPRG has published more scientific papers on this topic than any other research group in the world.

Dr. John Nolan, Principal Investigator	The MPRG is a multi-disciplinary team





MPRG Principal Investigator

Dr. John Nolan, PhD, Fulbright Scholar, Howard and European Research Council Fellow

Dr. John Nolan is the Principal Investigator of the MPRG. He was the first scientist to conduct and complete his PhD studies at the MPRG. His PhD, entitled "Determinants of macular pigment in healthy subjects", was the largest cross-sectional study of its type in the world. Following his PhD studies on macular pigment, Dr. Nolan was awarded a Fulbright scholarship where he spent the 2005-2006 academic year working at the Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, working in Professor Max Snodderly’s vision science laboratory. In May 2010 Dr. Nolan was awarded a Howard Fellowship for Science by the Howard Foundation at Cambridge University, UK. Dr. Nolan is a member of Hohenheim Consensus Committee as the Nutrition and Vision Science Expert. This committee is composed of internationally selected leaders in the field of evidence-based nutrition. In July 2011 he was awarded significant funding (€1.5m) from the European Research Council. This prestigious European grant is allocated to the top talented researchers in the world to conduct frontier research in Europe. Dr. Nolan is a key opinion leader on the subject of macular pigment and AMD, and has been invited to speak at over 40 international scientific conferences and had published over 43 scientific peer reviewed publications on the topic. He has supervised ten students within the MPRG to Masters or PhD qualifications. Dr. Nolan is a proud Tipperary hurling supporter (All Ireland winners 2010) and enjoys middle and long distance running.

MPRG Director

Professor Stephen Beatty, MD

Professor Beatty has been a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon since 2001, but has been involved in research into age-related macular degeneration (AMD) since 1998.  He has a special interest in vitreo-retinal surgery, and has published over 80 peer-reviewed publications. He is the Director of the Macular Pigment Research Group,the worlds leading research group into macular pigment. He is a key opinion leader on the subject and AMD and macular pigment, and has been invited to speak at over 15 international scientific conferences.

MPRG Research Assistant

Sarah O’Regan

Sarah O'Regan is the Research Assistant of the MPRG. She is responsible for patient recruitment and support, budget management and the overall smooth running of the CREST research project. Sarah has worked in an administrative and managerial role within the field of prevention of age-related blindness for four years.

From 2008 to 2011 she worked for a start-up company based in Waterford, Sightrisk Ltd., which provides age-related vision loss risk assessment software to optometrists. From 2009 to 2010 she was awarded a Higher Certificate in Small Business Enterprise through the competitive South East Enterprise Platform Programme (SEEPP) at the Waterford Institute of Technology. Through this programme she secured over €19,000 in funding for Sightrisk, and won first place in the Best Start-up Business category in the SEEPP Awards 2010.

From 2007 to 2008 Sarah studied Langue et Culture Françaises at the Université d’Angers , France, and was awarded a Diplôme d'Université. In 2010 she completed the practical and grammar courses of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).

From 2008 to 2011 Sarah worked for a Waterford-based consultancy company, Nutrasight Consultancy Ltd., where she provided grant application support, creative design of PR material, and organisation of educational events, including the Research Skills Course for clinicians-in-training and the Interactive Statistics Workshop.

Her interests include languages, particularly French, badminton, long distance running and prevention of age-related vision loss.