Celebrating Two PhD Graduations in Our Lab

This week, we were delighted to celebrate the PhD graduations of two of our lab members, Dr Srikanth Dumpati and Dr Sidra Sarwat. Their achievements reflect years of dedication, innovation, and valuable contributions to eye research.

Dr Srikanth Dumpati advanced new strategies to improve comfort for contact lens wearers, with a particular focus on discomfort associated with meibomian gland dysfunction. His PhD investigated both intense pulsed light (IPL) therapy and lipid nanoparticle-loaded contact lenses as novel approaches to stabilising the tear film and improving wearer comfort. His research demonstrated the potential of IPL as a non-pharmacological treatment and highlighted the promise of lipid-based contact lens technologies, providing important insights for the future development of more effective therapies for contact lens discomfort.

Dr Sidra Sarwat pioneered advanced nanotechnology-based imaging tools for the eye through the development of novel silicon quantum dots (Si-QDs) for real-time, layer-specific imaging of the tear film. Her research aims to transform the diagnosis and treatment of ocular surface diseases, including dry eye disease, and was successfully validated in an in vivo animal model, demonstrating strong safety and effectiveness. During her PhD, she received 19 academic and research awards and published her findings in highly reputed optometry and nanotechnology journals, highlighting the significance and impact of her work.

We warmly congratulate Dr Dumpati and Dr Sarwat on this important milestone and wish them every success in the next stage of their careers.