Prof Pearse A Keane

Prof Pearse A Keane

Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence

Position: Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology

Specialization: Ophthalmology, Artificial Intelligence, Retinal Disease, Medical Imaging

Affiliation: UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Biography

Pearse Keane is Professor of Artificial Medical Intelligence at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and a consultant ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. He is also Director of the INSIGHT health data research hub programme based at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Since 2020, Pearse has been funded by UK Research & Innovation (UKRI) as a Future Leaders Fellow, and in 2023 he became a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator. He is originally from Ireland and received his medical degree from University College Dublin (UCD), graduating in 2002.

Key Research Areas

  • Artificial intelligence in ophthalmology
  • Retinal disease detection and treatment
  • Medical imaging analysis
  • Foundation models in healthcare
  • Health data research
  • Clinical implementation of AI systems

Major Achievements

Google DeepMind Collaboration

In 2016, he initiated a collaboration between Moorfields Eye Hospital and Google DeepMind, with the aim of developing artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms for the earlier detection and treatment of retinal disease. In August 2018, the first results of this collaboration were published in the journal, Nature Medicine.

Age-Related Macular Degeneration Research

In May 2020, he jointly led work, again published in Nature Medicine, to develop an early warning system for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), by far the commonest cause of blindness in many countries.

RETFound Foundation Model

In 2023, he led the development of RETFound, the first foundation model in ophthalmology, published in Nature and made available open source.

Research Leadership

Pearse leads a multi-disciplinary research group of clinician scientists at UCL and Moorfields, focused on developing and implementing AI systems in healthcare. His group brings together expertise from ophthalmology, computer science, and data science to advance the field of medical AI.

Honors and Recognition

  • UKRI Future Leaders Fellow (since 2020)
  • NIHR Senior Investigator (since 2023)
  • Director of the INSIGHT health data research hub programme
  • Multiple Nature Medicine publications for groundbreaking AI research

Educational Background

  • Medical Degree, University College Dublin (UCD), 2002
  • Originally from Ireland