About the members of the MPRG
The MPRG currently has the following members. Click on the names below to view their profile. Click 'Return to top' to come back to this part of the page.
Professor Stephen Beatty Director
Dr John Nolan Director
Dr James Loughman Member
Professor Stephen Beatty - Director
Professor Stephen Beatty L.R.C.P.I., L.R.C.S.I., M.B., B.Ch., B.A.O.(N.U.I.), M.M.Sc., F.R.C.Ophth, E.B.O.D., M.D.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.
Dr John Nolan - Deputy Director
Dr. Nolan is a senior scientist and Director of the Macular Pigment Research group and the Institute of Vision Research. (www.ivr.ie) and 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 by the Howard Foundation at Cambridge University, UK. He 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 30 scientific peer reviewed publications on the topic. Dr. Nolan is a proud Tipperary hurling supporter (All Ireland winners 2010) and enjoys middle and long distance running.
Dr James Loughman
Dr. James Loughman, FAOI PhD, Senior vision Scientist
Dr. Loughman works within a research capacity at the Optometry Department at Dublin Institute of Technology. He has supervised Mr.Mukunda Akkali throughout his research study COMPASS, which was a collaboration between WIT and DIT.
Dr. Loughman has recently published the findings from this study, entitled, 'The relationship between macular pigment and visual performance'.
Educational Qualifications
- Completed PhD research studies titled "Clinical viability study of preattentive visual search in glaucoma" (August 2006)
- Elected to Fellowship of the Association of Optometrists Ireland (July 1997)
- Graduated as an Optometrist from DIT with first class honours. (June 1997)
Academic Awards
- DIT Hothouse Researcher Award - 2008
- Harte Barry Award - 1998
- Allergan Ocular Pharmacology -1997
Clinical Specialities include:
Glaucoma, Eye Disease, Visual Attention, Psychophysical Techniques, Advanced Investigative Techniques, Advanced Contact Lens Applications, and Epidemiology
Research interests and funding (Total €3.16million)
- Macular pigment and AMD
- Glaucoma Diagnostics
- Low Vision and Quality of Life Implications
- Eyecare in Developing Nations
Personal Interests
Sport - a keen sports fan and competitor (when possible), in particular
- Rugby:Munster
- Soccer:Liverpool
- Hurling:Tipperary