Dr Arun J. Thirunavukarasu
MA MB BChir (Cantab.)
I am an Academic Foundation Doctor and Clinical Research Fellow at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and University of Oxford. I also serve as the 'AI & Oculomics' Section Editor at Eye News, Academic Editor at PLOS Digital Health, and as a Rising Leader Fellow of the Aspen Institute UK.
I read medicine with Distinction and neuroscience with Double-First Class Honours at University of Cambridge, graduating as a Scholar of Corpus Christi College. I then won an Academic Foundation Programme post at University of Oxford as first-ranked candidate nationally. I am an active researcher with 50+ international presentations and peer-reviewed publications, and my work has been cited over 2,500 times. I have won several academic prizes for my work, including awards from Royal Society of Medicine, Royal College of Ophthalmologists, and Lord Mayor of London. My work has been featured by the Financial Times, Sky News, BBC News, Der Spiegel, and others.
I am pursuing a keen interest in academic and clinical ophthalmology, and hope to begin specialty training in 2025. My research spans digital innovation and artificial intelligence, and I am especially interested in using technology to improve eye care through evidence-based medicine.
Awards and Prizes
2024
Wallace Foulds Prize • Royal College of Ophthalmologists
Bell Session Presentation Prize • Oxford University Clinical Academic Graduate School
NFDPD Poster Prize • United Kingdom Foundation Programme Office
RCOphth Essay Prize for Foundation Doctors (second prize) • Royal College of Ophthalmologists
DIAMOND Challenge 2nd Prize • The Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention Society
2023
Cunning Prize in Medicine • Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Dorothy Knott Prize • University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine
CAT Prize • University of Cambridge Department of Paediatrics
2022
Elective Report Prize • University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine
2021
John Fry Prize • Royal Society of Medicine
Paediatric Innovation Prize • Royal College of Ophthalmologists
2020
Sowton Scholarship & Title of Scholar • Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
2019
Sowton Scholarship • Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
Grants
2025
Academic Clinical Fellowship • National Institute for Health and Care Research
2024
Young Innovator Grant • Asia-Pacific Tele-Ophthalmology Society & Asia-Pacific Ocular Imaging Society
HealthSense Research Fund • HealthSense
2023
Academic Foundation Programme Grant • Oxford University Clinical Academic Graduate School
INSPIRE Bursary • University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine
2022
Binks Trust Award • Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh
Gordon Bursary • Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge
Lord Mayor 800th Anniversary Award • City of London Corporation
BMDST-RSM Student Elective Award • Royal Society of Medicine
Elective Bursary • Royal College of Physicians
Desmond Hawkins Award • University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine
2019
Travel Award • Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge
Top Publications
Talks, Panels, and Outreach
Upcoming
8 July 2025, Oxford Ophthalmological Congress (Oxford): Semi-automated identification of blind glaucoma patients that are unregistered for a certificate of visual impairment
20 May 2025, Royal College of Ophthalmologists Annual Congress (Liverpool): Identifying blind glaucoma patients with a semi-automated algorithm: a cross-sectional survey revealing missed certification of visual impairment
2 May 2025, Royal College of Psychiatrists (Exeter): The potential and perils of generative artificial intelligence in mental healthcare
23 March 2025, University of Oxford (Oxford): Choosing a career in ophthalmology
Recent
4 March 2025, Encode (Oxford): AI For Science Salon
3 March 2025, Osler House Medical Student Society (Oxford): Specialised Foundation Programmes
1 February 2025, Cambridge University Ophthalmology Society (online): Setting up to succeeed in ophthalmology
15 December 2024, APTOS-APOIS 2024 (Hong Kong): Translating Language and Vision Models into Clinical Applications
14 December 2024, APTOS-APOIS 2024 (Hong Kong): Roundtable Discussion
10 December 2024, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (Westminster): Large language models in medicine
An enormous thanks to all of the colleagues, collaborators, and mentors that make my work possible!