Professor Barbara Pierscionek’s role will include fostering collaborations, embedding research into all aspects of students’ education, and expanding existing research centres and institutes at ARU.
Professor Pierscionek’s research career has seen her work across disciplines focusing on vision science and healthcare ethics. Her areas of expertise include optics and the biomechanics of the eye, development and ageing of the eye lens, anterior eye disease, nanotechnological applications to the eye, intraocular implant design, bioinformatics of lens proteins as well as ethical and legal aspects of Big Data and technology and artificial intelligence in assisted living.
She has published over 150 peer-reviewed research papers, four book chapters and a book on law and ethics for eye care practitioners. Last month, a research paper she published about an innovative model of an eye lens was selected by the prestigious journal Optics and Photonics News as among the best papers of 2020.
Professor Pierscionek has received funding for her research from Research Councils in Australia, the UK and the EU, the Royal Society, the British Council, the Fight for Sight charity and companies including Zeiss, Meditec, and Essilor. She brings a €3.88million EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Training Centre, to support postgraduate students researching optics and mechanics of the eye, and two COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) Action research grants with her to ARU.
Professor Pierscionek joins ARU from Staffordshire University, where she was Associate Dean (Research and Enterprise) in the School of Life Sciences and Education.
Professor Pierscionek said: “This faculty educates a wide range of professionals and as an interdisciplinary researcher, this makes it a perfect fit for me. I am interested in a broad range of sciences and am always open to new collaborations and ideas.
“I would like to see research, teaching, innovation and learning dovetail and be enhanced by working together. I am passionate about public engagement, reducing inequalities and aligning our collective endeavours to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. I look forward to helping existing research strengths grow and developing new areas of research and innovation.”
Professor Nigel Harrison, Dean of HEMS, said: “We’re thrilled to be welcoming Barbara to our faculty. She has an impressive background, both as a researcher and as a leader of a portfolio of research and innovation within a faculty.
“Barbara brings with her national and international links and networks, and experience of collaborative working with partner provider organisations. She has a track record of driving forward research which has impact and makes a difference, and has a passion for integrating research, innovation and education together.”