A quick Q&A with Paul J. Foster, Professor of Glaucoma Studies at University College London, and Consultant Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital Glaucoma Service.
What area of research do you find most exciting right now?
The last two decades have seen an explosion in the range and depth of data available to researchers. From the completion of the human genome project (2003), through huge cohort studies such as UK Biobank (baseline data on 500,000 people released 2012) to multimillion person datasets such as Our Future Health (5 million people across the UK) featuring genotypes, health record linkage and lifestyle questionnaire data. Combine this with the awesome potential of artificial intelligence analytics such as deep learning, and I believe the next two decades promises some incredible advances in our understanding of why people get sick, and how to prevent this.
What advice would you give yourself if you were starting off in the ophthalmology space?
I have found my career hugely fulfilling. It has been hard work, and required many sacrifices, but it has been worth it. “The climb is hard, but the higher you get, the better the view becomes.” I foresee the practice of medicine splitting into two separate career paths – one the practice of clinical medicine, where healthcare professionals talk with patients, and the second, the emergence of medical technology/computational medicine/health data science driving the development and refinement of the increasingly powerful “decision support” systems, and deliver “guided care pathways.
