Mariya Moosajee – Research at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology from NIHR Moorfields BRC on Vimeo.

Current Appointments

Consultant Ophthalmologist, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London and Dubai

Consultant Ophthalmologist, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust, London

Professor of Molecular Ophthalmology and Wellcome Trust Beit Prize Clinical Research Career Development Fellow, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London (UCL)

Group Leader of Ocular Genomics and Therapeutics at the Francis Crick Institute, London

Background

Professor Mariya Moosajee obtained first class honours for her BSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics in 2000, followed by her MBBS in 2003 from Imperial College London. She was also awarded her PhD in Molecular Ophthalmology in 2009 from Imperial College London.

Prof Moosajee completed her Ophthalmology Specialist Training in the London Deanery. In 2011, she was awarded an NIHR Academic Clinical Lectureship at the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, during which she established her own research group in the theme of Development, Ageing and Disease. In 2015, she became a Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, and undertook her clinical fellowship at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in Paediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Retinal Genetics at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Over the past 10 years, Prof Moosajee’s research has focused on investigating the molecular aetiology and disease mechanisms causing congenital eye anomalies and inherited retinal disease. She also has a strong focus on developing novel molecular therapies for genetic eye disease with clinical translation.

In 2016, Prof Moosajee was the first Ophthalmologist to be awarded the prestigious five year Wellcome Trust Beit Prize Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship to unravel the molecular complexity behind ocular maldevelopment and normal human eye development. Alongside this, she has also received a NIHR Rare Disease Translational Research Collaboration Award to support clinical translation of small molecule drugs for the treatment of inherited retinal disease such as Choroideremia and Usher syndrome.

In 2019 she was promoted to Associate Professor at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and elected the President of the United Kingdom Eye Genetics Group.

In 2020, Prof Moosajee was appointed Group Leader of Ocular Genomics and Therapeutics at the Francis Crick Institute and Professor of Molecular Ophthalmology at University College London. She is committed to promoting women in science and was elected President of Women in Vision UK, after founding the network in 2017. She is a founding member of Women Ophthalmologists of the World and is elected Research Lead for this organisation.

Prof Moosajee’s ultimate goal is to improve the lives of patients with genetic eye disease by directly improving molecular diagnosis, understanding the natural history of the disease through deep phenotyping and developing novel treatments to counter these blinding diseases.

Professor Mariya Moosajee is the Medical Advisor for the Microphthalmia, Anophthalmia and Coloboma Support Charity and the Aniridia Network UK Charity.

Qualifications

2015 FRCOphth Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists Royal College of Ophthalmologists, London, UK
2009 PhD Doctor of Philosophy
Molecular Ophthalmology
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
2003 MBBS Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery – Clinical Medicine Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
2000 BSc Bachelor of Science – Biochemistry and Genetics: First Class Honours Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine

Professional Memberships

Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, London (FRCOphth)
Member of the General Medical Council (GMC)
Member of the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
Member of the European Paediatric Ophthalmology Society
Member of the British Isles Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Association
Member of the Genetics Society
Member of the UK Eye Genetics Group
Member of the Medical Protection Society

Awards

2019 Selected as one of the top 10 Champions for Change in The Ophthalmologist Power List 2019. 50 individuals chosen from 2000 international nominations across 5 domains (Champions of Change: Philanthropists, humanitarians and lobbyists pushing for a better tomorrow – for everyone)
2018 UCL Institute of Ophthalmology Certificate of Excellence
The Equality Challenge Team for Citizenship and Collegiality during 2017-2018
2018 Moorfields Star Award for External Achievement
8th Annual Moorfields Eye Hospital Star Awards Ceremony, London
2017 Wellcome Trust Beit Prize
Wellcome Trust
2016 NIHR New Media Competition 2016 – Overall Winner for “Partnership for Sight”
A Public Engagement Film, National Institute of Health Research
2016 Members-in-Training Outstanding Poster Prize
Association of Research for Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Seattle, USA
2016 NIHR BRC Communicating Research Prize
NIHR BRC Moorfields Eye Hospital and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London
2016 Moorfields Star Award for External Achievement
6th Annual Moorfields Eye Hospital Star Award Ceremony, London
2015 Moorfields Star Award for External Achievement
5th Annual Moorfields Eye Hospital Star Award Ceremony, London
2015 The Moorfields Eye Hospital Research Medal
35th Moorfields Alumni Meeting, Royal Society of Medicine, London
2014 The Moorfields Paediatric Ophthalmology Trainee Prize- Best Basic Science Research
Moorfields Eye Hospital, London
2014 The Foulds Trophy- Best Basic Science Presentation
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists Annual Congress
2012 The London Deanery School of Ophthalmology Best Poster Prize
The London Deanery School of Ophthalmology 2nd Annual Conference
2010 The Advanced Medical Optics Prize- Best Scientific Paper
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists Annual Congress
2010 The West London Ophthalmic Research Medal
West London Ophthalmic Research Annual Meeting
2010 The Ophthalmology Trainees Prize- Best Poster
Ophthalmology Section, The Royal Society of Medicine
2009 The European Paediatric Ophthalmological Society- Best Young Scientist Prize
European Paediatric Ophthalmological Society 35th Annual Meeting
2009 The Alan Emery Prize for Medical Genetics
Medical Genetics Section, The Royal Society of Medicine
2009 The Foulds Trophy- Best Basic Science Presentation
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists Annual Congress
2009 The Tim David Prize- Best Presentation
Paediatrics and Child Health Section, The Royal Society of Medicine
2008 The Mammalian Genetics and Development Prize- Best Presentation
The Genetics Society’s 19th MGD Workshop, Institute of Child Health, UCL
2008 The Graduate School of Life Sciences and Medicine Research Prize
The GSLSM Research Symposium, Imperial College London
2008 The Ophthalmology Trainees Prize- Best Presentation
Ophthalmology Section, The Royal Society of Medicine
2007 The Dermot Pierse Prize- Overall Winner of Ophthalmology Trainees Prize
Ophthalmology Section, The Royal Society of Medicine
2007 The Ophthalmology Trainees Prize- Best Poster
Ophthalmology Section, The Royal Society of Medicine