We study the mechanisms of vision development in health and disease using child-friendly vision tests and brain imaging, to develop better treatments for sight loss and improve quality of life.
We study the mechanisms of vision development in health and disease using child-friendly vision tests and brain imaging, to develop better treatments for sight-loss and improve quality of life.

We are a non-profit research unit at University College London’s Institute of Ophthalmology. We are situated within the Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre at Moorfields Eye Hospital, the oldest and largest centre for treatment, teaching, and research into eye diseases in Europe.

Our mission, in collaboration with Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Institute of Ophthalmology, is to push the boundaries of knowledge in treating currently incurable eye conditions and to improve our understanding of the development of the eye and brain in children.

We study the development of vision in children, from infancy into adolescence–using brain imaging, virtual reality, and computer games, to explore how we see the world around us. Our lab also develops novel eye tests to use in young children, helping diagnose and prevent serious eye conditions early on and investigates mental health and wellbeing in young people with vision impairment.

Join us in our endeavor to create a brighter and clearer future for young minds and their vision!

Learn about our research →

Join the Adventure! Become a Research Hero!

Calling all young adventurers! Come be part of our exciting research at the Child Vision Lab. We're searching for curious kids like you to explore how you see the world. Through awesome experiments, we unravel the mysteries of vision and help others with visual impairments. Join us now by visiting our participation page!

Help us with our research!

Join the Adventure! Become a Research Hero!

Calling all young adventurers! Come be part of our exciting research at the Child Vision Lab. We're searching for curious kids like you to explore how you see the world. Through awesome experiments, we unravel the mysteries of vision and help others with visual impairments. Join us now by visiting our participation page!

Help us with our research!

Stay in Touch!

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A picture of Dr Tessa Dekker
Dr Tessa Dekker
Principal Investigator
I am a cognitive neuroscientist studying how we learn to see. We investigate how the brain integrates visual information with other types of input to build a coherent experience of the world, how these processes are influenced by eye disease, and by groundbreaking treatments that can reverse sight loss.
Our Funders

We are grateful for the support of our funders, who make our research possible.

Recent Publications

Chow-Wing-Bom, Hugo et al. (2024)
An fMRI-based Approach for Measuring Contrast Sensitivity Across the Visual Field in Visual Cortex.
   Open access link Web link doi: 10.1101/2024.10.29.619403
Crossland, Michael D. (2024)
Vision Impairment: Science, art and lived experience.
   Open access link Web link doi: 10.14324/111.9781800086227
Shenyan, Oris et al. (2024)
Visual hallucinations induced by Ganzflicker and Ganzfeld differ in frequency, complexity, and content.
Scientific Reports, 14(1).    Open access link Web link doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-52372-1
Contact us:
Telephone: +44 (0)20 7608 6819
E-Mail: [email protected]
Postal address:
Child Vision Lab
UCL Institute of Ophthalmology
11-43 Bath Street
London
EC1V 9EL
United Kingdom