Dr Ruth Hogg, Senior Lecturer in the Centre for Public Health, has received the 2019 Neil Charman Medal, the College of Optometrists award for outstanding research by a College member. The College of Optometrists is the professional, scientific and examining body for optometry in the UK. The award was presented during the annual diploma ceremony at Westminster Central Hall in London in recognition of her work in the area of macular disease.  

Her research is focused on the intersection between ocular aging and the development of age-related diseases such as Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Diabetic Retinopathy and Glaucoma and also risk factors for progression of these diseases to their sight threatening forms. She is Chief investigator of the NIHR-HTA MONARCH study, a multi-centre study investigating the potential of home monitoring of neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration.  She also leads the ophthalmology and vision component of the Northern Ireland Cohort for the Longitudinal Study of Aging (NICOLA), an epidemiological study following 8,000 older adults in Northern Ireland.