Andrew Bastawrous

Bastawrous is involved in the PEEK (Portable Eye Examination Kit) project; a smartphone app and adaptor designed to help solve the problem of avoidable sight loss amongst the millions of people worldwide who don’t have access to expert eye health care. Bastawrous has worked in Sierra Leone, Peru, Belize, Sri Lanka, Madagascar and Uganda and is working on the collaborative development and testing of PEEK, which can be used by health workers to test eyes easily and affordably, at the point of care. On his biggest achievement to date, “Persuading brilliant and talented people to work alongside me and make up for my weaknesses.”

A nominator said: “Bastawrous has published numerous peer-reviewed papers, and won the prestigious Max Perutz Science Writing Award in 2012 and is a 2014 TED Fellow. The PEEK project will transform eye care in Africa.”

Part of the Power List 2015

In 2014, we compiled a list of the Top 100 most influential people in ophthalmology – an endeavor that received a significant amount of attention and, it’s fair to say, caused more than a little controversy. For our 2015 Top 40 Under 40 list we’ve taken a different approach, asking: who are the young, up-and-coming individuals set to rise to the top of their field? That’s the question we posed to ourselves – and then to you – ahead of open nominations and a painstaking judging process. Our list this year almost halves the average age of the celebrated individuals, with many of them born in the same year as the iconic Sex Pistols cover – 1977. Though we admit that no list of this type can be definitive, it does clearly show that the future of ophthalmology is very bright indeed. And so, without further ado, we celebrate the movers and shakers aged 40 or under who show what can be achieved with determination, passion and inspiration.

Go to The Power List 2015