Jane C. Sowden is a Professor in Developmental Biology and Genetics at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health since 2011 and leads the Eye Development and Repair Research Group. She has been the Theme Lead of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Theme in the GOSH Biomedical Research Centre since 2022. She read Biochemistry at Oxford University and was awarded a PhD in Molecular Genetics at UCL, followed by postdoctoral training at the MRC Human Biochemical Genetics Unit. She was awarded an MRC Career Development Award to work on retinal development at the Institute of Ophthalmology, UCL and moved to the GOSICH as a Lecturer in 1998. In 2007–2013, she was the Lead Scientist for ocular molecular genetics research in the Ulverscroft Vision Research Group. She was promoted to Professor in 2011, was awarded a GOSHCC Research Leader Award in 2012, and was the NIHR Senior Investigator (2016–2020). She led the Advanced Treatments for Malformation and Tissue Damage Theme in the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital UCL Biomedical Research Centre (2017–2022) and was Head of the Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Section at GOSICH (2018–2023). Her current research aims to increase knowledge of genetic causes of childhood eye conditions and to develop novel stem cell and gene-based therapies for inherited causes of childhood blindness and conditions causing deaf-blindness.