Sunil Shah announced as BCLA new president

The new President of the BCLA has pledged to “push the boundaries” of modern eye health and lead a new generation of pioneers to revolutionise day-to-day practice.

Professor Sunil Shah was installed as the BCLA’s new President at its AGM in London on Sunday, June 10th – held alongside the BCLA UK Conference and Exhibition.

He takes over from outgoing President Keith Tempany, who enjoyed a productive 12 months at the helm, helping to shine a light on key ‘agenda-setting’ topics such as myopia management and the fitting of contact lenses for children.

Professor Shah, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon affiliated to Midland Eye in Birmingham and Solihull, said: “Taking over as President of the BCLA is a huge honour and I am thrilled and humbled to be given the opportunity to carry on the exceptional work delivered in recent years by Brian Tompkins and Keith Tempany.

“As an organisation, the BCLA is leading the way in providing a 21st century membership association pushing the work of the pioneers who are changing the face of the profession and revolutionising the field of contact lenses and anterior eye.

“These are exciting times, with rapidly evolving technology allowing practitioners and patients to benefit from cutting-edge innovation.“

Professor Shah was recently made a full professor at Aston University and has also been named in the top 100 most influential people in world ophthalmology.

He added: “As president, I will strive to ensure BCLA members benefit from the very latest research and have access to up-to-the-minute thinking on the techniques which make a difference to the day-to-day running of their practice – ensuring they stay one step ahead of the competition and push the boundaries of what is possible in modern eye health.

“I look forward to welcoming members old and new to events up and down the country as we continue to make the BCLA more inclusive and more accessible then ever before. It promises to be a hugely exciting time and I can’t wait to get started.”

Professor Shah, whose clinical interests include complex corneal problems, refractive surgery and dry eye, will now lead the organisation through its next cycle of global events, including BCLA Asia, Visionaries and next year’s BCLA Conference and Exhibition in Manchester.

Outgoing President Keith Tempany said: “The last 12 months have been a whirlwind and unquestionably the pinnacle of my career. Serving as BCLA President has been a huge honour and I wish Sunil well in his new role. It’s the dawn of a bright new era for the BCLA and its members and the future is in safe hands.”

The AGM was held on Sunday alongside BCLA UK in London, the second date of the split-site event that saw hundreds of delegates attend a host of lectures and hands-on workshops, as well as a dedicated dry eye track and an optical assistants course.

BCLA chief executive Cheryl Donnelly said: “As an organisation we have been fortunate enough to have some truly inspirational leaders and Keith has carried on this tradition is his own inimitable style. We look forward to Sunil taking over the reins and carrying on Keith’s hard work, as we head into a busy 12 months for the BCLA.”

For more information about forthcoming BCLA events, including BCLA Asia and Visionaries, visitwww.bcla.org.uk