Biosketch
Sotiris Plainis completed his undergraduate studies in Optics and Optometry in Greece and UK. These were followed by postgraduate (MSc, 1995; PhD, 1999) and postdoctoral (1999-2001) research at the Department of Optometry & Vision Sciences, UMIST, UK. Since then he has been employed as Principal Research Fellow at the Laboratory of Optics and Vision (LOV), School of Medicine, University of Crete, being a faculty member of two postgraduate courses and having an active research group in visual optics, psychophysics and electrophysiology. Sine 2012 he has been developing an eye movement-based method for the evaluation of visuo-motor and cognitive factors subserving reading performance.
He is appointed as a Visiting Research Fellow at Aston University (since 2018) and had served as an Honorary Lecturer at the University of Manchester (2006-2013). He forms a Faculty member of the Basic Optics course organised by the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ESCRS) and a past member of the Education Committee of the European Academy of Optometry and Optics (EAOO). He is a member of the International Society for Contact Lens Research (ISCLR) and a fellow the British Contact Lens Association (BCLA). Since 2015 he forms an International Vision Impairment (VI) Classifier, IPC. He has published widely in his field, edited a book (“Presbyopia: origins, effects and treatment”, SLACK Incorporated) and is a reviewer of Postgraduate Scholarships of the British College of Optometry.
Selected publications [total 63, h-index 23, citations 1234 (Scopus)]
Resume: 173rd in the “Global optometrist top 200 research ranking”, according to the publication from “Efron et al. Global optometrist top 200 research ranking, Clinical and Experimental Optometry, (2021) DOI: 10.1080/08164622.2021.1878863)”.
Plainis S, Ktistakis E, Tsilimbaris MK. (2023) Presbyopia correction with multifocal contact lenses: evaluation of silent reading performance using eye fixation analysis. Contact Lens and Anterior Eye. DOI: 10.1016/j.clae.2023.101853
Plainis S, Ktistakis E, Sapountzis P, Charman WN (2023) Modelling changes in the prevalence of childhood myopia. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics DOI: 10.1111/opo.13131
Gleni A, Ktistakis E, Tsilimbaris MK, Simos P, Trauzettel-Klosinski S, Plainis S (2019). Assessing Variability in Reading Performance with the New Greek Standardized Reading Speed Texts (IReST). Optometry & Vision Sciences, 96(10):761-767.
Plainis S, Ntzilepis G, Atchison DA, Charman WN (2013). Through-focus performance with multifocal contact lenses: effect of binocularity, pupil diameter and inherent ocular aberrations. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics. 33(1): 42-50
Plainis S, Atchison DA, Charman WN. (2013). Multifocal contact lens profiles and their interpretation. Optometry & Vision Science, 90(10): 1066-1077
Plainis S, Petratou D, Giannakopoulou T, Atchison DA, Tsilimbaris MK (2011). Binocular summation improves performance to defocus-induced blur. Invest Ophthalmol & Vis Sci. 52(5): 2784-89
Plainis S, Moschandreas J, Nikolitsa P et al. (2009) Myopia and visual acuity impairment: a comparative study of Greek and Bulgarian school children. Ophthalmic & Physiological Optics, 29: 312-320
Plainis S, Murray IJ & Pallikaris IG (2006). Road traffic casualties: understanding the night-time death toll, Injury Prevention, 12: 125-28.
Plainis S, Ginis HS and Pallikaris A (2005). The effect of ocular aberrations on steady-state errors of accommodative response. Journal of Vision,5(5), 466-477, http://journalofvision.org/5/5/7.
Murray IJ and Plainis S. (2003). Contrast coding and magno/parvo segregation revealed in reaction time studies. Vision Research, 43: 2707-2719.
Plainis, S. and Murray, I.J. (2000). Neurophysiological interpretation of human visual reaction times; effect of contrast, spatial frequency and luminance. Neuropsychologia, 38(12): 1555-64.
Complete List of Published Work in: ORCID, Pubmed, Google Scholar
Relevant Research Grants (2016-2022)
"A new method, based on eye movement analysis when reading, to evaluate the effectiveness of therapeutic intervention in VEGF-related maculopathy" Novartis investigator award (2016 - 2018).
"Evaluation of a novel measurement method using an eye tracking device to assess quality of reading in different patient groups", AMO Investigator award, with VIROS, Austria. (2017-2019)
"A new method, based on eye movements when reading, to evaluate functional vision in presbyopia correction with multifocal contact lenses", Johnson & Johnson Investigator award (2018-2019)
“Evaluation of functional vision in presbyopia correction with multifocal contact lenses using eye-fixation measures of reading performance: effects of spherical aberration and adaptation” Alcon Investigator award (IIT#52977371) (2019-2020)
“Assessment of reading performance in patients with AcrySof® IQ Vivity toric or non-toric® vs monofocal AcrySof IQ toric or non-toric IOL” Alcon IIT with VIROS, Austria (July 2022-September2023).
"Functional vision of patients with astigmatism following uninterrupted reading on a digital device: comparing toric vs. spherical contact lens correction” Alcon Investigator award (IIT#73072439)" (October 2022-December 2023)