Professor Ben Burton
MA MRCP FRCOphth
Cataract Surgeon
Researcher
Teacher
Published Medical Author
President RCOphth
Professor Ben Burton is a distinguished Consultant Ophthalmologist with a profound dedication to eye care. With an extensive career that spans 3 decades, Professor Burton has become a recognised expert in various ophthalmological specialties, including cataract surgery, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, uveitis, and neuro-ophthalmology. His remarkable journey through academia, clinical practice, and research has resulted in his election as President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. This role enables him to be an ambassador for enhancing patient outcomes and advancing the science of ophthalmology on a national and international stage.
Recipient of 14 Awards and Prizes
80+ Research Papers Published
Education and Training
I was born in Newcastle, educated in Bristol, and then studied Medicine at Cambridge University, before spending fifteen years working in London in world famous institutions such as Moorfields Eye Hospital, St Thomas’s Hospital and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery
East Anglia
I relocated to the wonderful city of Norwich with my wife and four children in the early 2000s to settle down for good. We have since added two labradors to the family for good measure.
I have brought experience of the very best of London Specialist quality care with me to become a full time NHS Consultant Opthalmologist at James Paget University Hospital in Great Yarmouth, where I help serve clinics in both Suffolk and Norfolk. In return have relished the wonders within the countryside, the sea and the people of East Anglia.
Values
Throughout my working life I have remained deeply committed to the NHS. I have continually worked in hospital settings, and constantly updated my research and training, to keep up with the very latest technological or medical innovations. I have shared this knowledge with the fantastic team I lead at James Paget, so we deliver the best quality eye care we can to our region.
However, it is not possible to always meet patient demand or need, so I conduct an additional private practice out of James Paget University Hospital in order to provide the level of care that patients need, in a timely and effective manner.
Presidency of Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
In December of 2022 I was elected as President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. I had the honour of taking up this three year position in May 2023, and am proud to be the spokesperson for British eye care on a national, European and international stage. I will still be performing my duties as a Consultant serving East Anglia.
Hobbies and Interests
In whatever free time I have, I enjoy time with my family, travelling and walking around the region. I have specific interests in history and horticulture, so a perfect morning would be encountering some historical sites while walking the dogs, pottering around an exotic garden centre, and rounding it off with a warming late pub lunch.
Awards and Published Research
I have had the good fortune of being a recipient of many medical awards over my career. For further details, if interested, please follow this LINK.
I have also worked on editorial boards, reviewed articles and have had book publications and published medical papers. These can be seen through this LINK.
Medical Research
Finally, I have been privileged to work on many Research Projects over my three decade career. Currently I am working with Professor Carding of UEA on The Motion Study, around investigating the role of the gut mirobiome within the development of dementia. For more information on this and my other research areas, please follow this LINK