Celebrating passion for dry eye and specialty contact lenses

The talents of eye care professionals around the world were celebrated at the BCLA Celebrates award ceremony, held during the BCLA Clinical Conference and Exhibition (5–7 June).

Awards recognised optometrists working in myopia management, dry eye, and hospital settings.

Indie Grewal, dispensing optician and optometrist and past-president of the BCLA, was recognised as Myopia Management Practitioner of the Year, an award sponsored by Topcon Healthcare.

The Dry Eye Practitioner of the Year title, sponsored by BiB Ophthalmic Instruments, went to Etty Bitton, and Madhumathi Subramanian received the award for Hospital Optometry Practitioner of the Year.

The BCLA Industry Award was granted to Eaglet Eye while the BCLA Da Vinci Award went to Julia Bodas-Romero.

Antonio Calossi received the prize for the Diane Gould photography competition, while Mizuki Hashimoto was named the winner of the poster competition. The awards evening also saw 23 new fellows inducted.

The BCLA Medal was awarded to Shehzad Naroo, and will be held until 2027 as he was on Hajj Pilgrimage. Two medal addresses will be delivered at the next conference, when the BCLA will mark its 50^th anniversary.

Advancing dry eye management

Etty Bitton, professor and head of the dry eye clinic at the School of Optometry at the University of Montreal, Canada, told OT receiving the award for Dry Eye Practitioner of the Year was “incredibly humbling,” and paid tribute to colleagues and mentors who had shared their knowledge and “collective passion” for dry eye with her.

Having spent the early years of her career focused on contact lens practice and observed the impact of dry eye symptoms on their ability to wear the contact lenses, Bitton shared: “It was clear that dry eye was not limited to seniors and contact lens wearers.”

Advancements in knowledge, such as through the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society reports, have influenced Bitton’s clinical approach to evidence-based practice, and in 2012, Bitton inaugurated the first dedicated dry eye clinic in an optometry school in north America.

She said: “Since, I have witnessed firsthand how dry eye profoundly affect patients’ daily lives, impacting vision, comfort, and overall quality of life.”

“Addressing dry eye disease requires compassion, dedication, and a willingness to listen to the often-overlooked concerns of patients, all the while keeping abreast of technological and therapeutic advancements,” she added.

Reflecting on the BCLA award, Bitton said: “This honour fuels my ongoing commitment to continue to advance dry eye management through research, compassionate clinical care, and inspiring education for students and colleagues.”

I have witnessed firsthand how dry eye profoundly affect patients’ daily lives, impacting vision, comfort, and overall quality of life

Collaborative care in hospital optometry

A hospital optometrist at Sankara Nethralaya, a specialty eye care hospital in India, Madhumathi Subramanian has a particular focus in specialty contact lenses.

Madhumathi Subramanian is handed an award at the BCLA Celebrates event. She stands with Richard Smith, from Bausch + Lomb and the ACLM, and Sarah Farrant, president of the BCLA

Subramanian explained: “We see a high volume of patients – over 6000 with regular corneas and 4000 with irregular corneas annually – which provides a robust clinical experience.”

Subramanian told OT that receiving the Hospital Optometry Practitioner of the Year title was “truly a humbling and fulfilling moment in my professional journey,” adding: “It’s a recognition, not just of individual effort, but of the collaborative, patient-centred care, we deliver every day at our hospital.”

“For me, this award symbolises the value of consistency, clinical dedication, and a deep-rooted passion for specialty contact lenses,” Subramanian said.

As an associate professor at the Elite School of Optometry and The Sankara Nethralaya Academy, Subramanian supervises undergraduate and master’s students, guides clinical research projects, and provides training in contact lens fitting and low vision rehabilitation.

This award symbolises the value of consistency, clinical dedication, and a deep-rooted passion for specialty contact lenses

Sumbramanian is also involved in research and has served as co-investigator in three FDA-approved trials and led observational studies on specialty lens outcomes.

Subramanian shared that the BCLA award is a motivation to “keep pushing boundaries” in research, education and patient care.

Reflecting on her role, Subramanian shared: “Working in a hospital setting demands multidisciplinary coordination, evidence-based practice, and a strong sense of clinical judgment. It allows me to be part of life-changing interventions – from restoring functional vision in patients with severe ocular surface disease to improving the quality of life in those with complex visual needs.”