Selina Powell

Features editor

Selina Powell is the features editor of Optometry Today (OT), where she writes in-depth features for the print journal and is responsible for the development of supplements in collaboration with commercial partners.

Her feature exploring cataract surgery waiting times received international recognition at the 2023 Trade, Association and Business Publications International awards.

Selina also covers eye health research for OT, keeping practitioners up to date with the latest developments.</p>

A crowd of people wearing coats and woolly hats gather close to a field. A girl in a red jacket and pink hat in the centre of the crowd is pointing at the sky. There is an orange stripe of light low across the horizon as the sun sets with darker clouds moving across a light grey sky.

Those who search for the moon

From the Shetland Islands to Jersey, a network of star gazers are making progress towards establishing an Islamic calendar in the UK

10 min read

Practitioner stories 5

A large reddish-brown octopus holds its tentacles up. The undersides of its tentacles are white with rows of protruding suckers

Warming oceans could harm octopus vision

A man in a navy jacket and white shirt stands behind a table and green chair, with one hand resting on the chair

Alex Lloyd Jenkins

Craig MacKenzie on how a new optometry contract is transforming care in Wales

Health services

An older woman’s hand moves pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. She is wearing a gold band on her ring finger, with small diamonds embedded in the metal

Increasing numbers of patients removed from reported waiting list

Health services

A man with a beard in a blue blazer and a white shirt sits at a grey table. His hands are clasped resting on the table. The wall behind him is grey and to the man’s left, the wall is green

The cover story

At the table

OT finds out how political engagement can catalyse change for patients and the profession

22 min read

Health services

A large rock with an underside covered in green seaweed rests exposed on a beach

Seaweed gel as a treatment for retinal detachment

A man in spectacles with a beard and purple turban smiles at the camera. On the screen, the text ‘Harry on stepping forward’ is displayed

Optometrist Harry Singh Bhakar on the rewards of a varied career

Career development

Four people stand outside a blue shopfront with the words Eyecare Express printed in white on the building

“The smiles on their faces have been the motivation”

A calculator, notepad and a laptop are on a white desk

GOS sight test fee to increase by 1.68% from 1 April

Health services 2

A man with brown hair and a beard in a grey exercise t-shirt smiles at the camera. He is standing at the top of the hill, and behind him there is a forest and rolling hills

Optometrist Connor McCann on living with a brain tumour

6 min read

Practitioner stories 1

A diary sits on a white table net to a vase of pink carnations and a glass jar containing different coloured pieces of chalk

Getting to grips with cancellations

Practitioner stories

An electronic glucose monitor, hypodermic needle and white paper strips with metallic ends rest on a white table

Study estimates one in five people with diabetes in India are visually impaired

A graph is shown in a close up of a laptop screen

Search term analysis provides insight on public understanding of myopia

Stethoscope

Gaining systemic health insights from the eye

The components of a computer chip are displayed close up

Professor Pearse Keane on the transformative power of AI

A man stands in snow wearing jeans and a beige jersey next to a fir tree

Reflections on practising as an optometrist in the US

5 min read

Practitioner stories 5

A petri dish is displayed on a black background. On the surface of the petri dish, there are white bacterial growths

Scientists investigate role of gut bacteria in sight loss

Researchers from the UK and China have found gut bacteria in the eyes of patients with a specific genetic mutation that leads to blindness

A young girl walks on a path in the woods wearing a red dress, white cardigan and grey hat with cat’s ears and face

Amblyopia in childhood linked to obesity and heart attack risk

A woman wearing a brown hijab and dark top with a red pattern smiles at the camera

“This month really uplifts my mood”

Practitioner stories

GOC sustains gains in fitness to practise timeliness

Clinical and regulatory

green brown eye

The big picture: ultra-widefield imaging

Three images of video calls are displayed on a blue backdrop. In the first image on the top left a woman in a black hijab smiles while holding a white mug. In the central lower image, a man with a beard and spectacles is pictured. In the third top right image, a man wearing spectacles and a navy shirt sits in a testing room. Behind him is optometry equipment and a flat screen displaying images of a retina.

Ramadan 2024: optometrists share their experiences

Practitioner stories

A child wearing a yellow long-sleeved top draws a pink car using a red pencil.

An overview of myopia management

Making dream machines a reality