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Head of School of Optometry named world expert in contact lenses

Nov 24, 2021

2 min



Professor James Wolffsohn, head of the School of Optometry at Aston University has been named by Expertscape as a world expert in contact lenses research based on his publications.


Expertscape's PubMed-based algorithms placed professor Wolffsohn in the top 0.1 per cent of scholars writing about contact lenses over the past 10 years.


He is also ranked by the same organisation as a world expert in presbyopia (the loss of eye focus with age affecting near vision), and is one of the top three scholars in the world.


Expertscape is designed to help find the most knowledgeable physicians and health professionals in the world. Expertscape objectively ranks people and institutions by their expertise in more than 27,000 biomedical topics.


James’ research focuses of the development, enhancement and validation of ophthalmic instrumentation to optimise contact lens comfort and fitting. He is also pioneering the use of contact lenses as a treatment for dry eyes; and developing methods to restore more natural eye focus through intraocular lenses, that are implanted into the eye as part of cataract surgery; as well as pharmaceutical approaches.


Professor James Wolffsohn said: “I am delighted that our research in the field of contact lenses and presbyopia has had the desired impact and is widely read and cited.

“Working together with colleagues in industry, we are able to accelerate product innovation, development and validation, leading to enhanced quality of life in patients.”


James has published over 280 peer reviewed academic papers and given numerous international presentations.


His main research areas are the development and evaluation of ophthalmic instrumentation, contact lenses, intraocular lenses and the tear film.


A contact lens is a corrective, cosmetic, or therapeutic lens usually placed on the cornea of the eye. Contact lenses usually serve the same corrective purpose as conventional glasses, but are lightweight and virtually invisible. It has been estimated that about 125 million people use contact lenses worldwide.


Presbyopia is the loss of eye focus with age which is usually noticed by ~45 years of age when reading glasses or another form of refractive correction is needed. It has a marked emotional effect being one of the first apparent signs of ageing.


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