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General Optical Council (GOC): registered optometrist (01-18776), 2001 - present

Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers: Liveryman, 2018 - present

The College of Optometrists: Member, 2001 - 2012. Fellow, 2012 - present

American Academy of Optometry: Fellow, 2005 - present

Higher Education Academy: Fellow, 2008 - 2015. Senior Fellow, 2015 - present

Ciliary muscle dimension changes with accommodation vary in myopia and emmetropia

The effect of peripheral defocus on axial growth and modulation of refractive error in hyperopes

Characterisation and Modelling of an Artificial Lens Capsule Mimicking Accommodation of Human Eyes

IMI Accommodation and Binocular Vision in Myopia Development and Progression

An Artificial Lens Capsule with a Lens Radial Stretching System Mimicking Dynamic Eye Focusing

Accommodative dynamics and attention: the influence of manipulating attentional capacity on accommodative lag and variability

Long-term efficacy and safety of solifenacin in pediatric patients aged 6 months to 18 years with neurogenic detrusor overactivity: results from two phase 3 prospective open-label studies

Effects of Optical Correction Method on the Magnitude and Variability of Accommodative Response: A Test-retest Study

Presbyopia: Effectiveness of correction strategies

Optical Coherence Tomography Reveals Sigmoidal Crystalline Lens Changes during Accommodation

Leon Davies is a Professor of Optometry & Physiological Optics and President of The College of Optometrists. Holding a 1st Class BSc in Optometry and a PhD in Physiological Optics, Professor Davies is a registered optometrist with the General Optical Council (GOC), a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, a Fellow of the College of Optometrists (FCOptom), a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry (FAAO) and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). He is a past Clinical Editor of Optometry Today, and past Editor-in-Chief of the peer review journal Optometry in Practice (2018 to 2022). In 2022, he was appointed an Honorary Professor at the University of Bradford. In terms of quality assurance and assessment, he has served as an external examiner for taught undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Plymouth and Singapore. Leadership roles at Aston include Director of Research of the Optometry and Vision Science Research Group (2010-2017) and Head of the School of Optometry (2016-2021). He has served as a Board Trustee of the College of Optometrists (2016 to date), Chair of their Research Committee (2016-2020), Vice President (2020-2022) and in June 2022, was elected President.

Leon has over 60 full publications and has been awarded over £3 M of funding for his research from UKRI, the EU, charities and a number of multinational organisations. His research is focused on presbyopia and the restoration of ocular accommodation to the ageing eye. He has successfully supervised 14 PhDs/ professional doctorates, 10 PDRAs and has acted as an external examiner for PhD and professional doctorate theses in Australia, Hong Kong, Spain and the UK. He is a recipient of the College of Optometrists Research Fellowship Award, and was awarded the inaugural Neil Charman Medal for research excellence in optometry, optics and vision science.

Visual Function Following Stroke

Ophthalmic Instrumentation

Intraocular Lens (IOL) Technology

Presbyopia

Ocular Accommodation

Ocular Biometry

Myopia

Aston Research Explorer Profile

ResearchGate Citations

Google Scholar Citations

Virtual talks, charity fundraising and cross-university collaboration

College of Optometrists appoints new president and council members

Speaker, 'Achieving High Street Health'

aston-universitys-leon-davies-appointed-chair-of-the-board-of-trustees-at-the-college-of-optometrists

Professor of Optometry & Physiological Optics

  Professor Leon Davies is interim head of the School of Optometry at Aston University He completes his two-year term as president of the College of Optometrists in April 2024 Professor Davies will formally take on his new role at the College of Optometrists’ annual general meeting on 29 April 2024.  Professor Leon Davies, interim head of the School of Optometry at Aston University, has been appointed chair of the Board of Trustees at the College of Optometrists.

The College of Optometrists is the UK’s professional body for optometry, and as well as representing its members, seeks to develop knowledge and skills in the field, define good optometric practice, support optical research and innovation and educate the public on eye health.

Professor Davies has served as a council member and trustee at the College for nine years and began a two-year term as president in 2022. He will formally take on the role of chair at the College of Optometrists’ annual general meeting on 29 April 2024. His term as president will end at this time, and he will also become immediate past president.

The Board of Trustees exists to ensure that the College of Optometrists meets its financial and legal responsibilities as a chartered body with charitable status and works with the chief executive to set the College’s strategy and policies. As chair, Professor Davies will help to guide the College’s strategic direction, foster collaboration and ensure effective governance.

Professor Davies said:

“I am delighted to have been appointed chair of the Board of Trustees at the College of Optometrists at an important time for the College, its members and the wider optometry profession. I look forward to working with the Board of Trustees and senior leaders at the College to define and achieve our strategic aims for the benefit of our members and the patients they serve.”


Aston University’s Leon Davies appointed chair of the Board of Trustees at the College of Optometrists

optometry-researchers-to-improve-understanding-of-short-sightedness-management-strategies-in-kids

Professor in Optometry

  •	Optometry researchers funded to assess the impact of myopia interventions on vision and visual behaviour in children  • Research partnership will improve understanding of myopia management strategies in children • Two-year collaboration between Aston University and industry Researchers at Aston University specialising in myopia - or short sightedness - are starting work on a project with industry partners to better understand how myopia management strategies affect children. 

The research team based in the College of Health and Life Sciences has secured a £500,000 grant to determine the impact of myopia management interventions on vision and visual behaviour in children, for example, looking at how their vision responds to an intervention such as spectacles when they view objects at different distances.

The new grant builds upon the team’s portfolio of research in the field of myopia, where clinical studies are underway with children between the ages of six and 15 years old. The researchers are working on slowing the progression of myopia in children. The interventions under trial include low dose atropine eye drops, contact lenses and spectacle lenses.

Myopia is an eye condition where distant objects appear blurry. It typically occurs in childhood and progresses through the teenage years. It can lead to eye disease in later life, as the eye grows longer with myopia, it causes stretching in parts of the eye. Myopia is becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the world and it has been predicted to affect approximately 50 per cent of the world's population by 2050, based on trending myopia prevalence figures. Myopia is an overlooked but leading cause of blindness, particularly among the working age population.

The two-year programme of research is being led by an internationally recognised team of academics from the School of Optometry, including Professor Leon Davies, Professor Nicola Logan, Dr Amy Sheppard, and Professor James Wolffsohn. The research grant will also support the appointment of two clinical research optometrists. 

Professor Leon Davies, professor of optometry and physiological optics at Aston University and president of the College of Optometrists said: “As Aston University has an established, internationally recognised track record in myopia research, we are pleased to be able to continue our work in this area to further our understanding of myopia management strategies for the benefit of patients.”  Professor Nicola Logan, professor of optometry and physiological optics, at Aston University added: “As an advocate for evidence-based advancements, this research collaboration will further our scientific understanding of myopia progression. The work will increase our knowledge and better facilitate translation to clinical practice to manage young children more actively with myopia.”  

Optometry researchers to improve understanding of short sightedness management strategies in kids

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  School of Optometry ophthalmic equipment will furnish three polyclinics – presented by Canon Medical for the duration of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Aston University clinical and academic staff volunteers are part of a team running the clinics The polyclinics presented by Canon Medical are due to open to athletes on 22 July.  Aston University optometrists and dispensing opticians from its School of Optometry have been preparing various pieces of ophthalmic equipment needed to furnish three eye health polyclinics presented by Canon Medical at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The polyclinics presented by Canon Medical will be hosted at the Birmingham 2022 villages at the University of Warwick & University of Birmingham.

The equipment, which is on loan from the School of Optometry, includes slit lamps, ophthalmoscopes, visual field screeners and tonometers.

It was loaded up on Saturday 16July and Monday 18 July and was then transported to the three sites in preparation for the opening of the service on 22 July.

Athletes and the wider Birmingham 2022 community will be able to access emergency eye care at the clinics. Athletes who need emergency access to glasses and contact lenses will also be able to get them from the polyclinics.

The service is being run by volunteers who have had role-specific training provided by the Games medical team. Aston University’s volunteers are academic and clinical staff from the School of Optometry.

Leon Davies, professor of optometry & physiological optics at Aston University, has led the clinic set up and is also a polyclinic volunteer. He said:

“It is an honour to support the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games through loaning our ophthalmic equipment, and I am proud of my colleagues who have volunteered to help run the clinics.  “We are excited to provide athletes’ eye care whilst they are here in Birmingham. We appreciate some may have travelled long distances so on arrival might need to seek advice regarding a range of eye health issues. This could include anything from dry eye (due to a long flight), seasonal problems affecting eye health, or an issue with their spectacles or contact lenses.”  The polyclinics presented by Canon Medical will be open every day from 7am – 11pm from 22 July to the end of the Games on 10 August.

For more information about the School of Optometry including our research and courses, please visit our website. 

Aston University ophthalmic equipment loaned to polyclinics – presented by Canon Medical - at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

The College of Optometrists has launched a new vision which sets out its ambitions for the future of the profession, and its plans to put the optometric workforce at the forefront of eye care provision, education and research.

The new vision puts optometrists at the heart of patient-centred eye care, ensuring that optometrists’ expertise and competencies are fully recognised, and their skills are utilised in new, funded models of care. As part of this, the College will be working with its members and key stakeholders in gathering data and insights to better understand the current eye care workforce and future needs. This will enable optometrists to play a central role in the delivery of evolving eye health services. 

For more information on the College’s workforce vision, visit:
https://coptom.uk/AdvancingOptometryYT

Advancing Optometry: Our vision for the future

Aston University optometrists and dispensing opticians from its School of Optometry have been preparing various pieces of ophthalmic equipment needed to furnish three polyclinics presented by Canon Medical at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The polyclinics presented by Canon Medical will be hosted at the Birmingham 2022 villages at the University of Warwick & University of Birmingham.

The equipment, which is on loan from the School of Optometry,includes slit lamps, ophthalmoscopes, visual field screeners and tonometers.

Aston University Optometry supporting the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

Dr Leon Davies demonstrates how to perform applanation tonometry. This video shows you how to calibrate and use both a Perkins and Goldmann tonometer. Dr Davies gives tips on preparing the patient and obtaining an accurate reading.

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OT skills guide: Applanation tonometry

Essilor teams up with Aston Villa and Aston University to tackle poor vision.

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