VisionBridge CIC

After 5 years as Director of Development and then Senior Adviser to a leading eye research charity, Julian Jackson launched “VisionBridge” in June 2016, supported by a growing nationwide group of academic researchers, clinician scientists, clinicians and patient advocates. He continues to build on the work he started in 2014 to support innovators, promote eye health, increase the awareness and understanding of sight loss and introduce the extraordinary world of eye research to the public, eye health professionals, patients and the wider Visually Impaired community across the UK. Eye research is still relatively poorly funded and unknown and remains the best kept secret amongst the UK research community, sight loss charities and their supporters, relevant government agencies, eye health professionals and patients and members of the public. This is despite the many impressive breakthroughs and developments delivered by the world class UK eye research community over the last 50 years. At VisionBridge, we believe this situation needs to change rapidly. We need to measurably improve the level of awareness around sight loss and eye health, develop sustainable additional funding streams directly into eye research with a minimum of overheads and running costs as well as streamline and boost the commercial pipeline into emerging technologies, treatments, diagnostics and instrumentation. Launched in 2016, VisionBridge offers a new way forward, comprised of a growing community of corporate innovators, patient advocates, health executives and world class UK based academic researchers and clinician scientists. Members of this group are available to provide talks on research activity and service delivery across a wide range of areas. VisionBridge is focused on sustaining innovation, promoting eye research, raising awareness of sight loss and signposting donations to appropriate eye research funders.