Professor Konstantinos Balaskas is a highly distinguished Consultant Ophthalmologist and a world-renowned pioneer in Medical Artificial Intelligence (AI), specialising in Medical Retina. He is a passionate champion for empathetic, inclusive eye care that harnesses cutting-edge digital technologies to actively prevent vision loss from prevalent, sight-threatening conditions like Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Diabetic Retinopathy. Prof Balaskas’s commitment to innovation has seen him serve in major leadership roles, including Director of the Moorfields Ophthalmic Reading Centre and the Moorfields Clinical Artificial Intelligence Lab, and he currently holds the prestigious title of Full Professor of Ophthalmology and Medical Artificial Intelligence at University College London (UCL).
Prof Balaskas established his expertise through rigorous training across Europe. He graduated from the Medical School of the University of Athens before completing his specialty training and Medical Doctorate at the Jules Gonin Eye Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland. He then undertook two senior sub-specialty Fellowships in Medical Retina at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and the world-renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital. Following these, he was appointed Consultant Ophthalmologist at both institutions, dedicating his career to both clinical excellence and academic advancement, reflected in his rapid promotion to Full Professor at UCL. His extensive research portfolio, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), focuses on multi-site clinical trials evaluating digital health technologies, including telemedicine and Medical AI. His research group has been instrumental in pioneering sophisticated AI technologies for conditions such as AMD, Geographic Atrophy, and Retinopathy of Prematurity. His impact is widely recognised, including consecutive awards as a Best Principal Investigator by the NIHR, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists Ulverscroft award (2024), and the HSJ award for Best Digital Innovation (2022).
