03 September 2025
Moorfields Eye Hospital ophthalmologist and University College London Institute of Ophthalmology academic, Professor Pearse Keane, has received the Gabor Medal from the Royal Society.
Keane received the award for “pioneering, developing and facilitating retinal image analysis using artificial intelligence (AI) for diagnosis of ocular and systemic disorder.”
The Gabor Medal, which is awarded annually in honour of Nobel Prize-winning physicist Dennis Gabor, recognises distinction in interdisciplinary work between the life sciences and other disciplines.
Keane has contributed to research that develops AI methods for retinal image analysis – using this technology to identify early markers of a broad range of conditions, including dementia, stroke and heart disease.
He said that he was “deeply honoured” to receive the Gabor Medal.
“I have always drawn inspiration from the Royal Society’s founding ethos of bringing together scientific minds from different disciplines to tackle the biggest challenges facing society. In that spirit, I would like to thank the many talented and driven scientists who have been part of my journey, especially three inspirational champions of my work: Eric Topol, Alastair Denniston and Sir Peng Khaw,” Keane highlighted.
Invisibility cloak pioneer, Professor Sir John Pendry, was recognised for his work on metamaterials with The Copley Medal – which the Royal Society describes as the ‘world’s oldest scientific prize.’
In 2006, Pendry proposed the idea of an ‘invisibility cloak’ that uses metamaterials to guide light around an object – making it invisible.
The honour was first awarded in 1731, with past recipients including Louis Pasteur, Dorothy Hodgkin, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Charles Darwin.
Royal Society president, Sir Adrian Smith, highlighted that this year’s award and medal winners have made outstanding contributions to science.
“They have done so by furthering our understanding of the processes that govern the world around us, changing the practices of academia to build a more robust and inclusive research environment, and engaging new audiences,” he said.
The full list of Royal Society medal and award winners is available online.
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