Faculty

Professor John Marshall is best known for inventing and patenting the revolutionary Excimer laser for the correction of refractive disorders with in excess of 75 million laser based procedures now having been undertaken worldwide. For this innovation he has been recognised by colleagues throughout the world and by honours and awards from professional institutions. He cofounded the first company to receive FDA approval for laser refractive surgery. He also created the world’s first Diode laser for treating eye problems of diabetes, glaucoma and ageing. His lifelong studies of the ageing retina have led to the development and patenting of a revolutionary new laser, 2RT, which is proving successful in the treatment of dry AMD. He has however kept a very low media profile.

Professor John Marshall was the Frost Professor of Ophthalmology and is Director responsible for Enterprise and Innovation at the Institute of Ophthalmology, University College, London in association with Moorfields Eye Hospital.  He holds Emeritus Professorships of Ophthalmology at both Kings College London and University College, London, University College, London. He has been Honorary Distinguished Professor University of Cardiff, Honorary Professor the City University and Honorary Professor Glasgow Caledonian University. His research over the past almost 60 years has ranged over a number of ocular problems but has concentrated on the development of lasers for use in ophthalmic diagnosis and surgery, the inter-relationships between light and ageing, together with the environmental mechanisms underlying age-related, diabetic and inherited retinal diseases.  This work has resulted in over five hundred research papers, 44 book chapters and 7 books.

He continues to play a very active role in industry having served on the board of Avellino, a genetic diagnostic company, and is now the chairman of their Executive Scientific Advisory Committee. He is a director of AlphaRet, the company building and distributing the 2RT Laser for AMD, which is currently undergoing multicentre clinical trials. In the world of start-ups he is director of scientific affairs of Xenia in relation to using pig corneal tissue to treat disease and refractive problems, a senior scientific consultant to Toku Eyes concerning the role of AI, and to Excelsius in developing novel refractive lasers. He also consults for a number of the major international companies in the field of ophthalmology. Outside ophthalmology, he is currently executive chairman of a company using nano technology to diagnose prostate cancer by using a device, rather like a pregnancy test, dipping male urine to give a colour change if a particular protein marker is present; the system will also be capable of simultaneously giving a response for PSA.