David (Ted) Garway-Heath

Glaucoma UK Professor of Ophthalmology for Glaucoma and Allied Studies, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London; Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Theme lead mentor for research in Vision Assessment and Imaging, National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK

Profile

Since joining Moorfields Eye Hospital in 1991, Ted Garway-Heath has forged an impressive career in ophthalmology and especially in the world of glaucoma research. Within this research field, he is perhaps most well-known as the inventor of the Garway-Heath sectorization map – a clinical diagnostic tool now used across the world for researching the structure–function relationship in glaucoma. He is also the inventor of the Moorfields Regression Analysis algorithm – a pioneering technique that, when used in conjunction with the Heidelberg Retina Tomograph (HRT), enabled objective classification of optic nerve anatomy to assist glaucoma diagnosis. Again, this algorithm was used worldwide (until HRT technology was superseded by optical coherence tomography), revolutionizing how imaging is employed in the clinical management of glaucoma.

Though Garway-Heath is the author of over 200 scientific research papers, one in particular propelled his career forward. After being asked to design a clinical trial by Pfizer, quite unexpectedly, at ARVO 2006 – in just six weeks – Garway-Heath came up with the UKGTS (United Kingdom Glaucoma Treatment Study), the first placebo-controlled trial to assess the effect of intraocular-lowering treatment on vision preservation. With Garway-Heath at the helm as principal investigator, the UKGTS became a landmark trial in glaucoma management – and the first glaucoma trial ever to be published in The Lancet.

From 2017 to 2021, Garway-Heath served as President of the European Glaucoma Society, where he continued to build on the organization’s vision for promoting the best possible outcomes for minimal glaucoma-induced visual disability. In addition to this esteemed role – and many other memberships of professional bodies dedicated to addressing glaucoma – he continues to work as honorary consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital. There, he remains heavily involved in research concerning effective diagnosis, monitoring and management, and identification of risk factors for disease progression; notably has recently secured another major grant from the NIHR Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation funding stream for a large clinical trial to assess a treatment directed at mitochondrial function in glaucoma.

For all these achievements and more – and his continued dedication to tackling vision loss – David (Ted) Garway-Heath has been inducted into The Ophthalmologist Power List Hall of Fame.

Awards & Honors

2004 – Keynote Lecture, Finnish Ophthalmologic Society
2005 – Ron Lowe Lecture, Asian Oceanic Glaucoma Society, Australia
2006 – Keynote Lecture, Belgian Ophthalmological Congress
2008 – Overall winner, Medical Research Council Translational Research Innovation Award
2008 – Gandolfo Lecture, Italian Perimetric and Imaging Society, Italy
2008 – Guest Professor’s Lectures, Seoul National University, South Korea
2009 – Plenary Key Lecture, NHG International Ophthalmology Congress, Singapore
2011 – World glaucoma association research recognition award, senior clinician scientist
2011 – Keynote Lecture, North-American Perimetry Society, USA
2012 – Keynote Lecture, Glaucoma Summer Camp, Hiroshima, Japan
2013 – Keynote Lecture, Atlantic Eye Symposium, Halifax, Canada
2014 – Alcon Research Institute Award for “outstanding contributors to ophthalmic research”
2014 – Distinguished Guest Lecturer, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA
2014 – Keynote Lecture, Japan Glaucoma Society National Congress, Osaka, Japan
2014 – Honoree Award Lecture, International Optometric Glaucoma Society, Denver, USA
2015 – Senior Investigator of the National Institute for Health Research
2015 – Keynote lecture, Danish Ophthalmological Society, Kolding, Denmark
2015 – E. Michael Van Buskirk Lecture, Legacy Devers Eye Institute, Portland, USA
2016 – Keynote Lecture, Spanish Glaucoma Society, Toledo, Spain
2016 – Invited Keynote Lecture, Belgian Ophthalmological Society, Brussels, Belgium
2016 – Keynote Lecture, Chinese Glaucoma/Ophthalmological Society, National Congress Changsha City, Hunan Province, China    
2017 – Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Gold Fellowship
2018 – Gold Medal of Merit for “contribution to Glaucoma”, Greek Glaucoma Society
2018 – Gold Medal Lecture, Greek Glaucoma Society, Athens
2018 – Distinguished Guest Lecturer, Doheny-UCLA International Glaucoma Symposium, Los Angeles, USA    2018 – Keynote lecture, Portuguese Ophthalmological Society, Vilamoura, Portugal
2019 – National Health Service Clinical Excellence Award (Gold)
2019 – Max Forbes Lecture, Department of Ophthalmology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, USA
2019 – Keynote lecture, 50th anniversary of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, Sydney, Australia
2020 – American Glaucoma Society International Scholar Award for “lifetime contributions to glaucoma research, education, and patient care”
2020 – Keynote lecture, UK and Eire Glaucoma Society, Portsmouth, UK
2020 – Keynote lecture, Italian Glaucoma Society, Parma, Italy
2021 – Keynote lecture, 125th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Ophthalmological Society, Osaka, Japan
2021 – Keynote lecture, South Korea Glaucoma Medical Camp, Seoul, South Korea
2021 – Keynote lecture for Honorary Membership of the Belgian Glaucoma Society
2022 – Keynote lecture, 30th Annual Congress of the College of Ophthalmologists of Sri Lanka
2023 – Bruno Boles-Carenini Lecture, Italian Association for the Study of Glaucoma
2023 – Keynote lecture, Danish Glaucoma Society Meeting
2023 – Mooney Lecture, Irish College of Ophthalmologists
2023 – The Ophthalmologist Power List Hall of Fame