The Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology (NLO) was established in Walton Street with a gift from Lord Nuffield in 1942. This location, next to the Oxford Eye Hospital (OEH) founded by Robert Doyne in 1886, led the way in bringing together clinical and non-clinical researchers to understand the mechanistic basis of eye disease for the development of new evidence-based treatments. Indeed, Doyne is known by ophthalmologists worldwide through his description of one of the first cases of a genetic retinal disease, Doyne’s Dominant Drusen, and ocular genetics is an area in which the NLO retains particular strengths to this day. The NLO is a world-leading centre for research and teaching on the eye with broad expertise that includes: ocular genetics and diagnostics; photoreceptor molecular and cellular biology; stem cell biology and therapeutics; genetic disease and gene therapy; gene expression profiling of the normal and diseased retina; in vitro and in vivo retinal electrophysiology; retinal cell imaging using voltage-sensitive dyes; RNAi knock-down of genes in vitro and in vivo; the processes of retinal cell death; in vitro cellular expression of photoreceptor genes; optoelectronic prosthesis for the restoration of sight; biophysics and biochemistry of tears; lens and cataract research; psychophysics; and the clinical and non-clinical monitoring of sleep/circadian physiology and behaviour. The NLO maintains its strong tradition of close cooperative contacts between clinical and non-clinical researchers within the NLO, OEH, NDCN and other partners across Oxford to allow new discoveries on the biology of the eye, and the ocular regulation of brain function, to be translated into clinical practice across broad areas of health. Our research strategy recognises the dual function of the eye as both the receptor organ for vision and for the regulation of sleep and circadian (24h body clock) systems. Eye loss or damage plunges an individual into a world that lacks both vision and a proper sense of time. The NLO is currently the only research centre in Europe, and one of the very few in the world, where these dual functions of the eye are being studied in parallel.