Trustee Board

Ben became President on 24 May 2023.  He is a full time NHS consultant ophthalmologist at James Paget University Hospital in Great Yarmouth. Ben has an interest in medical retina, uveitis and neuro-ophthalmology and underwent subspecialty training in Moorfields Eye Hospital, St Thomas’ Hospital, and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London.

He is actively involved in research studies for Age Related Macular Degeneration, Diabetic Retinopathy and Retinal Vein Occlusions and runs the Macular Degeneration service at the James Paget University Hospital.

Email:[email protected]

Vice President

Mohamed Elalfy is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon working in Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in East Grinstead, West Sussex, and Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in Kent, England. He has served in various roles in The College including as a Council Member, a Trustee, a Regional Representative for South East Thames, a Senior Examiner, and as a Co-Lead for the Portfolio Pathway. His experience outside of The College includes Clinical Lead and Clinical Director in the NHS.

Andrew is Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Southampton and is the medical retina lead for University Hospital Southampton.
He looks forward to engaging with members to improve their relationship with the College. He was Editor of the journal Eye for 10 years and previously Chair of the Scientific Committee of the College and an active clinician scientist.

He and his team have performed over 100 clinical trials and published over 400 papers in high impact journals including Nature Genetics, Nature Communications, the Lancet and the New England Journal of Medicine. He currently leads a £4 million Wellcome Trust Collaborative Award assessing the role of artificial intelligence in understanding the aetiology of age related macular degeneration.

Email: [email protected]

Anthony is Senior Adviser, Board Practice and Public Policy at Mazars, the accountancy firm where he was a partner for many years. By professional background a chartered accountant and chartered director, Anthony is also a member of Council at Lancaster University, Trustee of the Florence Nightingale Foundation, chair of Uniac which is owned by a number of universities and provides internal audit services within the higher education sector, and a member of the audit and risk committee at The Passage, the charity for homeless people.

Mark Easton has had a 40-year career in health services including chief executive roles in major acute hospitals as well as stints in community and integrated services. He has also worked as a regulator and commissioner of health services, most recently as the accountable officer of the largest commissioning group in the country. He is currently working as a consultant, especially in the fields of strategy and governance.

Read Mark Easton’s Declaration of Interest Policy and Form

Adonis El Salloukh is a ST6 trainee in Wales. He is the current OTG chair and OTG representative of Wales. His subspecialty interests include vitreoretinal, cataract and refractive surgery. Adonis is active in research, academia and teaching and has organised national and international courses. He is passionate about providing free healthcare in less developed countries and has volunteered in multiple charity missions across the world.

Stephen has had a 40-year healthcare career, promoting the interests of patients and
doctors. Much of this was spent in the NHS, as a service manager in primary,
community, and palliative care settings. That has been supplemented by a decade
as Deputy Welsh Secretary of the British Medical Association and, more recently,
with 7 years managing the Division of Infection and Immunity at Cardiff University
School of Medicine.

His management interests are in reflective leadership practice and effective
communication during strategic change. Stephen is a Chartered Manager and Fellow
of the Chartered Management Institute, as well as a Chartered Fellow of the Institute
of Personnel and Development.

Stephen has a long association with St John Ambulance in Wales, having served 24
years as a uniformed volunteer. His interest in first aid has extended into qualifying
as a mental health first-aider, completing training for suicide awareness (ASIST), and
he is also an accredited I-act manager (wellbeing) under the Royal College of
Psychiatrists’ scheme.

Currently, Stephen is the Lay Member on the Joint Committee for Surgical Training
of the four surgical Royal Colleges of the UK and Ireland

Darren Ting is Chair of the Scientific & Research Committee.

Colin Vize graduated from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1993. He trained in general ophthalmology in the north of England and undertook specialist oculoplastic tutelage in the UK and Ireland. Colin was appointed as a Consultant Oculoplastic, Lacrimal and Orbital surgeon at the newly formed Hull and East Yorkshire Eye Hospital in 2004 and quickly assumed a senior clinical management role. Colin is the current Honorary president of the British Oculoplastic Surgery Society, having previously served two terms as Secretary.

He is passionate about teaching and training and maintains an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer role at Hull York Medical School. He continues to be published in international peer reviewed journals whilst making presentations on local and worldwide stages. He has recently moved from leading the Medicines, Devices and Safety Group at the College to chairing the Quality, Audit and Standards Committee.

Melanie Corbett is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at The Western Eye Hospital, Imperial NHS Trust. She specialises in Cornea, Ocular Surface and Anterior Segment surgery. Her MD thesis was on corneal wound healing, she published a book on corneal topography and has over 70 scientific publications. She is a Past President of the Medical Contact Lens and Ocular Surface Association.

Melanie is Chair of Education at The Royal College of Ophthalmologists, and was Lead Training Programme Director for North Thames. She is responsible for the curriculum design and implementation of the OCCCF Multiprofessional Training Programme. She has led Training the Trainers for 10 years, rolling out programmes in the UK, Africa and the Far East. She led the implementation of the OPT Multiprofessional Training Programme, and the INSPIRE Digital Learning Platform.

Dr Swetha Maddula Batambuze MBChB is the new Chair of the RCOphth subcommittee for SAS doctors as of November 2021.

 I am a Specialty Doctor at Northwest Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, Peterborough. Specialist interests include Glaucoma, Paediatrics, and Cataract surgery.  She started her career in Ophthalmology in 2009, entering OST run-through training in the West Midlands Deanery until 2015.  Having transitioned to the SAS, I have not looked back!  I encourage our speciality, specialists, associate specialists and locally employed trust doctors to join us for college news articles, conferences, and collaboration- Please contact us at [email protected]

Chair of the Examinations Committee

Email: [email protected]

Vikas Chadha trained in Delhi, Edinburgh and Glasgow and is now a Consultant at the Tennent Institute of Ophthalmology, Glasgow. He co-delivers the Scottish Ocular Oncology Service and the Glasgow Oculoplastics and Orbital service. His service also runs an International Fellowship programme in ocular oncology and orbital surgery.
Mr Chadha is currently the Training Programme Director for ophthalmology in the West of Scotland. He is also the outgoing Chair of the Curriculum Sub-committee at Royal College of Ophthalmologists Mr Chadha examines for both Royal College of Ophthalmologists and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow.

He is an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Glasgow, Associate Editor for Eye and has over 45 peer reviewed publications. His previous roles include Clinical Lead, College Tutor Convener for Glasgow Fellowship examination and Executive committee member of BOPSS.