Ben Thompson

Dr. Ben Thompson completed his BSc and PhD in the Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Sussex, UK. He then completed postdoctoral fellowships in the Department of Psychology, UCLA, USA and the Department of Ophthalmology, McGill University. Prior to joining the University of Waterloo, Dr. Thompson was an associate professor in optometry and vision science at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, where he now holds an honorary professorship within the Liggins Institute.

Dr. Thompson is currently a professor and the director of the School of Optometry at the University of Waterloo, Canada, and CEO and scientific director of the Centre for Eye and Vision Research in Hong Kong, a collaborative initiative between The University of Waterloo and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

• Vision Rehabilitation

• Neuroscience

• Ocular Biology

• Technology and Optics

Dr. Thompson’s research is concerned with human visual cortex development and plasticity, particularly in promoting plasticity to improve outcomes for patients with brain-based visual disorders. This has led to an interest in amblyopia, and to the development of two new and highly promising approaches to treatment.

Approved Ph.D. supervisor.

• PhD (Sussex)

• BSc (Sussex)

• Director, Centre for Eye and Vision Research, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

• Cross-appointed to the University of Waterloo Faculty of Health

• Adjunct Professor, Deptartment of Ophthalmology, McGill University

• Honorary Professor, School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland

• OPTOM 243 - Neurophysiology of Vision
  • Taught in 2025
• OPTOM 628 - Special Topics in Vision Science
  • Taught in 2023
• OPTOM 650 - Research Methodology for Vision Science
  • Taught in 2025
• OPTOM 682 - Visual Motor Neuroscience
  • Taught in 2024

* Only courses taught in the past 5 years are displayed.

• A list of publications is available through Google Scholar.