Dr Ian MacCormick

Senior Clinical Lecturer

Biography

Background

I became interested in the microvasculature of the retina and brain, and how one might reflect the other, during medical school at Edinburgh.

During Ophthalmology training I had the privilege of studying retinal manifestations of paediatric cerebral malaria at the Malawi-Liverpool-Wellcome Trust. Paediatric cerebral malaria is an severe acute type of cerebral small vessel disease, a complication of severe P. falciparum malaria, and is the archetypal syndrome in which the retina 'mirrors the brain'. Working as part of a interdisciplinary team spanning Malawi, the UK and USA, I helped to show that in this syndrome retinal vessel leakage is very strongly associated with severe brain swelling and death. This research was recognized by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in 2023 with the Ulverscroft award.

I returned to Edinburgh as a SCREDS lecturer in 2018, and I work on retinal biomarkers of dysfunction in small blood vessels in the brain - particularly in cerebral small vessel disease. This involves collaboration with experts in various types of medical imaging, image analysis, and clinical science.

Qualifications

BSc (Neuroscience), MBChB, PhD, FRCOphth

Responsibilities & affiliations

Senior clinical lecturer at the University of Edinburgh

Honorary consultant ophthalmologist at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, Edinburgh

Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists

Registered specialist with the General Medical Council

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Current PhD students supervised

Kendig Sham (Jointly with Stuart King and Chris Lucas)

Nouhoum Diallo (Jointly with Alex Rowe)

Past PhD students supervised

Jamie Burke (jointly with Stuart King and Kenny Baillie)

Research summary

My research interests include:

 

  • Retinal manifestations of systemic disease
    • Particularly disease of the CNS microcirculation, e.g.,
      • Cerebral small vessel disease
      • Severe malaria

 

  • Understanding retinal variables as valid surrogates of systemic disease
    • Surrogate methodology
    • Causal inference

 

  • Analytical methods to convert medical images into useful information about disease
    • Image segmentation
    • Using spatial data to infer causal processes 

 

My publications can be found on Google Scholar and Pubmed:

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WgHmDd4AAAAJ&hl=en

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1p19C6uMr5xAd/bibliography/public/

Affiliated research centres

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