Welcome to People on the move – February 2024, Insight’s monthly bulletin to keep the Australian ophthalmic sector updated on new appointments and personnel changes.
If you’d like to tell the market about a new person in your company, practice, or clinic, please send the person’s name, position, image and a short description about their role to editor Myles Hume for consideration at myles.hume@primecreative.com.au.
A/Prof Michael Goggin & A/Prof Fred Chen – Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology
RANZCO has welcomed A/Prof Michael Goggin (left) and A/Prof Fred Chen as the two new Editors-in-Chief for its Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology journal.
Replacing Professor Justine Smith who served in the role for four years, Goggin practises at Ashford Advanced Eye Care and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in South Australia. He is an Associate Professor at the University of Adelaide and has been working in the field of ophthalmology since 1984. His primary interest is refractive lens surgery and excimer laser vision correction and he is an internationally recognised authority on the analysis and surgical treatment of astigmatism. He has published widely in international, peer-reviewed journals for decades and continues to research, publish and present his work. He runs a fellowship, providing training in the subspecialty of refractive and cataract surgery.
Meanwhile, Chen is a clinician researcher in retinal diseases at the Lions Eye Institute. Trained in vitreoretinal surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, he returned to LEI in 2010 to establish the Ocular Tissue Engineering Laboratory. For more than 10 years, he has been at the forefront of LEI’s work to understand dry age-related macular degeneration, inherited retinal diseases, natural history of disease progression, genotype-phenotype correlations, structure-function associations and multimodality retinal imaging. He has also made major contributions on the application of stem cell technology for rare retinal diseases.
Goggin sees scientific publication changing rapidly in the relatively near future with the advent of generative and other forms of AI. “The productivity dividend from this technology seems so very promising but I feel we need to see if it delivers. It hasn’t done so universally so far, in my view. Its problems are still large but I’m hopeful it will benefit ophthalmology patients greatly in the long run,” he said.
Board appointments – Vision 2020 Australia
Vision 2020 Australia has appointed Kylie Harris, Leah Cameron and Damian Papps to its board.
Kylie Harris is the Director of Operations at the Australian College of Optometry. Starting her healthcare career as an optometrist, she has held numerous board positions within eye health, including Optometry Australia, Optometry Victoria and currently holds the position of Sight for All Vice Chair.
Leah Cameron is a Trawlwoolway (Palawa) woman from Tasmania and the Founder and Principal Solicitor of Marrawah Law. Since forming the firm in 2013, her philosophy of doing law differently she has been the driving force behind Marrawah Law’s growth into one of the largest Indigenous owned and operated law firms in Australia today.
Damian Papps the Executive Director of See Differently and has a strong commitment to social impact and mission driven initiatives. He has three decades of global financial services experience with skills in strategy development, governance and corporate advice.
“The Vision 2020 Australia Board now has its full complement of directors, which is representative of our diverse sector and provide the skills, expertise and characteristics to further drive our strategic aims,” the organisation stated.
Sam Pender – Opticare
Sam Pender is joining Opticare as the Business Development Manager for Queensland. After nine years working in the optical industry, he has experience across retail, customer service, and business development roles. “Sam’s wealth of knowledge is a fantastic addition to the Opticare family. Here’s to new beginnings and exciting collaborations ahead,” Opticare said.
Flavia Milici – Opticare
Opticare has appointed Flavia Milici as its Business Development Manager for NSW. She has a background in the optical lens and equipment industry, and knowledge in behavioural optometry. Her professional journey encompasses a decade in eyewear commerce between Europe and Australia. She has held diverse roles within the independent space, including optical dispenser, technician, optometrist, and vision therapist. “Her deep multifaceted experience equips her with a unique perspective and the ability to provide customised recommendations and guidance, ensuring informed decision-making for your business,” Opticare said.
Dr Jane Edmond – American Academy of Ophthalmology
Dr Jane Edmond has began her one-year term as the 128th President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). Specialising in paediatric and neuro-ophthalmology, she brings a wealth of leadership experience currently serving as the Inaugural Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Texas, Director of the Mitchel and Shannon Wong Eye Institute, and Vice Dean of Professional Practice. Her top priorities are addressing workforce shortages and “protecting patient safety at a time when non-physicians are attempting to expand their scope-of-practice into eye surgery”.
More reading
People on the move – December 2023
People on the move – November 2023
People on the move – October 2023
