Professor Benjamin Burton

Professor Benjamin Burton is a consultant ophthalmologist with particular expertise in cataract surgery, wet macular degeneration, retinal problems, uveitis, and neuro-ophthalmology. He is currently serving as the President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (2023 – 2026), and practices at Spire Norwich Hospital and James Paget University Hospital.

Professor Burton completed his preliminary degrees at the Cambridge University (1990) and University College London (1994) before undertaking ophthalmology training at the esteemed Moorfields Eye Hospital in techniques such as microincision cataract surgery. In 2007, he transferred to James Paget University Hospital, where he has since set up the age-related macular degeneration service and became clinical lead for said department in 2009; it is now the best-equipped eye unit in East Anglia, having been shortlisted for a national award for excellence in 2012 and is an ideal training ground for junior doctors thanks to its top-of-the-line cataract surgery training simulator. Also within the hospital, he has been elected the Medical Staff Committee chairman (2014), and a member of the hospital management board. He is one of the founders of the East Point Consulting rooms, a private clinic within the walls of the James Paget University Hospital.

Aside from his clinical practice, Professor Burton is an avid educator and researcher. He has been an honorary professor at the University of East Anglia, training Norwich Medical School students and trainees in ophthalmology since 2020. During his nearly ten years as clinical director for research and development at James Paget University Hospital, it was the most research-active department in the hospital. He has partaken in numerous research trials for the latest drugs in treating eye conditions, such as photobiomodulation for dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD)00. His research has been published in over six book chapters and 90 papers, regarding studies about AMD, diabetic retinopathy, and retinal vein occlusions. He has been invited to give lectures in places such as Ukraine and Malaysia.