The Optimisation of Visual Performance in Athletes Using Custom-Made Lenses

Visual performance is increasingly recognised as a critical determinant of athletic success, particularly in fast-ball sports where millisecond decisions determine competitive outcomes (Laby & Kirschen, 2021). Marginal gains by elite athletes can make the difference between winning and losing, with both psychological and physical benefits. Despite professional athletes demonstrating superior baseline visual capabilities compared to the general population, many compete with suboptimal optical correction, potentially limiting their performance ceiling (Laby et al., 1996; Erickson, 2020).

The project aims to work in three areas:

1. Perform vision screening of professional athletes to identify visual defects, especially refractive correction and anisometropia (unequal refractive error between eyes), which may particularly impact depth perception and binocular coordination.

2. Offer the most suitable visual correction to the athlete; often this will be standard soft contact lenses but may include specialist lenses that manage higher order visual aberrations.

3. Train athletes to improve reaction times and hand-eye or foot-eye coordination using specialised vision testing, including time-release visual acuity, dynamic acuity, contrast sensitivity, eye-tracking, and ocular dominance assessment (Dalton et al., 2015). Improvements in these visual abilities will be monitored alongside sport-specific performance metrics.

This research will generate effect size estimates to inform future larger-scale studies and develop evidence-based guidelines for implementing vision correction protocols in elite sport.

References

Dalton K, Guillon M, Naroo SA. Ocular Dominance and Handedness in Golf Putting. Optom Vis Sci. 2015 Oct;92(10):968-75.

Erickson, G. B. (2020). Sports Vision: Vision Care for the Enhancement of Sports Performance (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann.

Laby, D. M., & Kirschen, D. G. (2021). The visual function of baseball players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 39(15), 1675-1686.

Laby, D. M., Rosenbaum, A. L., Kirschen, D. G., et al. (1996). The visual function of professional baseball players. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 122(4), 476-485.

Candidates should have been awarded, or expect to achieve, EITHER:

a] a First or Upper Second Class award in their Undergraduate Degree (Bachelors or UG Masters) from a UK institution, in a subject judged by Aston to be relevant to the proposed research.

OR

b] a Merit (or above)* in a Postgraduate Masters degree in a relevant subject AND an Undergraduate Degree (Bachelors or UG Masters), both from UK institutions.

*where appropriate.

Qualifications from overseas institutions will be also considered but performance must be equivalent to that described above, and the University reserves the right to ascertain this equivalence according to its own criteria.

Financial Support

This project covers the Home tuition fees. Candidates who do not have Home status will be responsible for the difference in tuition fees. Currently, the difference between ‘Home’ and the ‘Overseas’ tuition fees is £17,712 for 2026/7.  

Overseas Applicants

Overseas applicants may apply for this studentship but will need to pay the difference between the ‘Home’ and the ‘Overseas’ tuition fees. Currently, the difference between ‘Home’ and the ‘Overseas’ tuition fees is £17,712 for 2026/7. As part of the application, you will be required to confirm that you will provide this additional funding. Please indicate this on the application form in the funding section.
 

Apply through our PhD application form.

When applying:

• For University College, please select Health and Life Sciences
• For Degree Programme, please select Research Health Sciences (including Optometry, Pharmacy, and Psychology Research Areas) and your preferred entry date.

Apply now

If you require further information about the application process please contact the Postgraduate Admissions team at pgr_admissions@aston.ac.uk

Supervisor: Professor Shehzad Naroo

Associate Supervisor: Professor Leon Davies

Contact information

For formal enquiries about this project contact Professor Shehzad Naroo at s.a.naroo@aston.ac.uk

PhD programmes are for those who are seeking to develop greater in-depth knowledge in a specific area. Completing this level of study is about making an original contribution to knowledge, making new discoveries and developing lifelong skills. 

Studying a PhD is great route into academia and industries that are centred on research and innovation. Areas with a demand for very high level and specialised research skills often demand PhDs.

In addition to this specialist knowledge, PhD education will help you to develop a set of valuable transferrable skills. The very nature of studying an intensive research degree will enable you to become a team player, develop problem-solving skills, analytical thinking, and advanced presentation and communication skills.