We congratulate Professor Sobha Sivaprasad, NIHR Moorfields Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) clinician researcher, on her appointment as one of 30 new Senior Investigators by the NIHR.

Announced on 3 March 2022, the prestigious appointment sees Professor Sivaprasad join a total of 55 NIHR Senior Investigators working across England, and follows an open competition. Senior Investigators are among the most prominent researchers within the NIHR community, taking the lead in people-based health research.

Together, the NIHR Senior Investigators make up the NIHR College of Senior Investigators and are also members of the NIHR Academy. Their role is to guide the development of research capacity and act as mentors, helping NIHR researchers progress in their careers. Senior Investigators can serve in the position for up to two terms; they are then eligible to be appointed as Emeritus Senior Investigators.

Appointments to the College are made by the Department of Health and Social Care on the recommendation of an expert committee chaired by Professor David Adams. The selection criteria include the quality and quantity of internationally recognised research, its relevance to – and engagement with – patients and the public, and its impact on healthcare.

Commenting on her appointment, Prof. Sivaprasad said:

“I am honoured to have been appointed a Senior Investigator by the NIHR, joining clinicians and researchers from across England as a leader and mentor in people-centred research. Patients are at the heart of everything we do, and I look forward to working with my NIHR colleagues to continue our vital research, which is improving the lives of eye patients both in the UK and around the world.”

About Professor Sivaprasad

Professor Sobha Sivaprasad is a leading consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, where she has worked since 2012. As well as being a Principal Investigator at the NIHR Moorfields BRC, Prof. Sivaprasad is Director of the NIHR Moorfields Clinical Research Facility, which was recently awarded five more years of funding by the NIHR. She is also an Honorary Professor at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology.

In 2017, Prof. Sivaprasad was named both NIHR Researcher of the Year and Rising Star of the Year by the Macular Society. She was also named Moorfields Innovator of the year in 2016. As principle investigator for the ORNATE-India project, funded by a £6.3 million grant from the Global Challenges Research Fund (part of UKRI), she has led a team working to increase research capacity and capability for diabetic retinopathy screening and treatment in India and the UK. Prof. Sivaprasad is very active as both a clinical and a lab-based researcher, working on projects and clinical trials covering age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinal vascular disorders.

Since 2017, Prof. Sivaprasad has also been Editor-in-Chief of Eye, the official journal of The Royal College of Ophthalmologists published by Nature Publishing Group. She has featured regularly in The Ophthalmologist magazine’s Power List, including in 2021 as one of the 100 most influential female figures in ophthalmology.

The ORNATE-India project team in the UK and India and the project’s International Advisory Board are deeply saddened to learn of the sudden passing of Mr Keshav Desiraju on 5 September 2021.

Mr Desiraju had an exemplary career in the Indian civil service, having held senior positions in the state governments of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and the central government including Union Health Secretary. He was a leading policymaker in the domain of public health taking on the issue of mental health and other important causes.

Mr Desiraju joined the International Advisory Board for the ORNATE-India project in December 2017 and was a man of great integrity and compassion and a wonderful supporter of the project to tackle the burden of blindness due to diabetic retinopathy in India. We have been very fortunate to have been associated with Mr Desiraju and we offer our heartfelt condolences to his family.