Dr Katie Edwards is a research optometrist with specific expertise in epidemiological and clinical investigations of the anterior eye.  She completed her PhD at the University of New South Wales in 2008.  Prior to postgraduate studies, she worked as a research optometrist on pre-market trials of contact lenses at the CRCERT (Cooperative Research Centre for Eye Research and Technology), UNSW.   Her doctorate was on a population based epidemiological study investigating the incidence of and risk factors for contact lens related microbial keratitis in Australia and New Zealand.  This study has impacted on the prescribing of contact lenses both in Australia and internationally. The research generated from this study was recently incorporated into an evidence-based clinical guidelines brochure for optometrists in the UK and Australia.   Dr Edward is currently working on translational research into ophthalmic markers of diabetic neuropathy in the LANDMark Study (Longitudinal Assessment of Neuropathy in Diabetes using novel ophthalmic Markers) and she has developed and piloted the techniques to map the dynamics of corneal subbasal nerve plexus. Through her work on the LANDMark study, Dr Edwards has demonstrated that the central corneal sub-basal nerve plexus has potential to be used as a non-invasive marker for even mild levels of diabetic neuropathy and was the first to publish wide-field montages of the sub-basal nerve plexus in diabetic neuropathy, showing that the deficit is widespread, and that it may be more marked in peripheral areas of the cornea, and is pursuing further work in this area.