David Gartry graduated in 1978 with a first class honours degree in Optometry from Glasgow Caledonian University and completed his pre-registration training at Moorfields Eye Hospital the following year. In 1979 he was awarded the Colebrook and Porter prizes of The British College of Optometrists, the Master’s Prize of The SMC and the J Stephen Dawson Memorial award of The Institute of Optometry. He then read Medicine at University College London where he won several academic awards including the annual national Sir Stewart Duke-Elder prize in Ophthalmology.

He became a Fellow of The Royal College of Surgeons and The Royal College of Ophthalmologists in 1988. The same year, while at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, he became involved in the first research work evaluating the then new excimer laser to treat corneal surface disease and from 1989 to 1992 he held a full-time Iris Fund Research Fellowship investigating its potential clinical applications. In 1989 he became the first surgeon in The United Kingdom to perform photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and was responsible for selection and monitoring of all patients in the St Thomas’ Hospital research trials. This culminated in the submission of his thesis entitled ‘The Development of Excimer Laser Corneal Surgery in the UK’ for which he was awarded the higher degree of Doctor of Medicine from The University of London.

He moved to Moorfields Eye Hospital, London in 1992 and from January 1998 onwards he was responsible for the first LASIK (laser assisted in-situ keratomileusis) research protocols at Moorfields. He has published over 40 scientific papers relating to laser corneal surgery and has spoken at numerous scientific meetings around the world. In 1991 he was awarded The Storz Medal and in 1993 The Iris Fund Triennial Award. He has written several book chapters and co-edited 2 textbooks: ‘Excimer Lasers in Ophthalmology – Principles and Practice’ (1997, Martin Dunitz) and ‘Cataract Surgery’ (2003, BMA publishing). In February 1995 he delivered one of the prestigious discourse lectures to The Royal Institution of Great Britain (a historic scientific society founded in 1799 by Sir Michael Faraday) and following this was made a member of The Royal Institution.