Alan Bird
The Power List 2019 – Mentors
Alan Bird
Emeritus Professor and Consultant at Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London, UK.
Alan Bird has received many awards, including the Duke Elder, Doyne and Bowman medals and the Prix Chauvin, and the Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research during his eminent career. He is famous for his work on degenerative and hereditary diseases of the retina. He is the author or co-author of more than 400 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Bird has undertaken extensive international work: in Africa tackling river blindness, and in Jamaica, examining the retinal changes that occur in patients with sickle cell disease.
Who have been your mentors?
My greatest mentors were Edward Norton, Donald Gass, Barrie Jones, and James Hudson.
What was the luckiest break of your career?
I was very lucky to get a fellowship in Miami.
What would be a piece of advice you’d give to your younger self?
“Stop and think.”
What’s the best part of being an ophthalmologist?
It has very good science investigation opportunities that are relevant to clinical understanding.
