Professor Harminder S. Dua, CBE

Professor Harminder Dua is the Chair and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Nottingham and is the head of the Division of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. Prior to his appointment in Nottingham in 1994, he was associate professor at the Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA. He graduated in Medicine from the Government Medical College and Hospital, Nagpur.

Professor Dua is an internationally renowned Ophthalmologist who has influenced and continues to influence all aspects of ophthalmology across the globe through his activities related to teaching, training, research and innovation. He is a world authority on cornea and ocular surface disease.

He has taught generations of medical students, 35 home and visiting Fellows and 48 PhD/MD students who have gone on to become distinguished ophthalmologists. Six of his postgraduate fellows currently hold positions as Professors of Ophthalmology and one is a CEO of a company. His corneal surgery course, run at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK, annually for the last 10 years is always fully subscribed and has received the best feedback of all courses.

He has enhanced clinical and basic knowledge in ophthalmology through over 365 publications and over a thousand presentations in international meetings. His H- index is 68 and his total citations are over seventeen thousand. His surgical innovations, including Fine Needle Diathermy (FND) occlusion of corneal vessels, Sequential Sector Conjunctival Epitheliectomy (SSCE), Alcohol Delamination in management of recurrent corneal erosion syndrome and classification of chemical burns of the ocular surface (Dua Classification) are practiced internationally and have changed clinical practice.

His discovery of the pre-Descemet’s layer (Dua’s layer) as a definite part of the surgical anatomy of the cornea has improved posterior lamellar corneal surgery, made Deep Anterior Lamellar Keratoplasty (DALK) safer and led to the innovation of three new operations namely DALK-Triple, Pre-Descemets Endothelial Keratoplasty (PDEK) and suture management of acute hydrops in keratoconus. This paper alone has over 355 citations with further scientific evidence published independently by researchers in this field.

He has served ophthalmology nationally and internationally as President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK (2011-14); First Chair of the Clinical Council for Eye Health Commissioning, England (2014-15);  Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Ophthalmology (2007-14); President, European Association for Vision and Eye Research Foundation (EVER, 2010-2014); President of EuCornea, the European Society of Cornea and Ocular surface disease specialists (2011-12) and of EVER, the European Association for Vision and Eye Research (2008). He served on the International steering committee of the second Dry Eye Workshop and was member of the ‘Definition and Classification committee’ (DEWS II, 2015-17) and is Immediate Past Master of the Oxford Ophthalmological Congress. He has made significant contributions in each of these positions. As one of the four founders of EuCornea, he brought to Europe an organisation that has sparked the imagination of numerous trainees and specialists who attend and support EuCornea meetings every year.

He currently serves as Editor in chief of the Journal of EuCornea, Board member of  of the International Council of Ophthalmology, Civilian consultant adviser to the Royal Air Force and President of The European association for vision and eye research Foundation (EVERf, re-appointed 2017). He is member of the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis and the American Ophthalmological Society, and Trustee of the Sussex Eye Foundation.

He has received over 125 international awards and honours for his work. Professor Harminder Dua was appointed a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to eye healthcare, health education and to ophthalmology in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in June 2019.