Retina Australia has announced the recipients of its first-ever Retina Australia Awards, recognising two outstanding contributors to inherited retinal disease (IRD) research and advocacy – Professor Michael Kalloniatis and Dr Sena Gocuk.
Professor Michael Kalloniatis inducted into the Retina Australia Hall of Fame
The 2025 Retina Australia Hall of Fame Award has been presented to Professor Michael Kalloniatis, acknowledging more than three decades of pioneering work that has advanced understanding and treatment of inherited retinal diseases and improved the lives of countless Australians affected by vision loss.
Professor Kalloniatis received his first Retina Australia research grant in 1992 and went on to secure 14 grants between 1992 and 2008. His research has included establishing animal models of retinal dystrophy, leading multiple research teams, and creating a visual psychophysics laboratory.
Currently a professor in the College of Optometry at the University of Houston, Professor Kalloniatis also holds adjunct appointments at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Deakin University, where he continues to teach and supervise future generations of optometrists and vision scientists.
His career includes key leadership roles such as founding the New Zealand National Eye Centre (opened 2008) and serving as Director of the Centre for Eye Health at UNSW from 2009 to 2022.
Professor Kalloniatis joined Retina Australia’s Scientific and Medical Advisory Committee in 2009 and has since represented the organisation at Retina International Scientific meetings worldwide, advising on emerging research and potential treatments.
He accepted the award at the Retina Australia Annual General Meeting.
“I am deeply honoured and humbled to be the inaugural recipient of the Retina Australia Hall of Fame Award,” Kalloniatis said.
“This recognition is a personal milestone and a reflection of the many individuals who have worked alongside me in the laboratory and in the clinic. I share this honour with colleagues, past and present students, and postdoctoral fellows.”
Dr Sena Gocuk named Emerging Scientist of 2025
The 2025 Retina Australia Emerging Scientist Award has been awarded to Dr Sena Gocuk, an optometrist and postdoctoral research fellow at the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) and The University of Melbourne. The national award recognises her excellence in research, leadership, and advocacy in the field of inherited retinal diseases.
Dr Gocuk is a member of CERA’s Retinal Gene Therapy Unit and the Vision Optimisation Unit in The University of Melbourne’s Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences. Her research focuses on clinical and epigenetic mechanisms in IRDs, with a particular emphasis on female carriers of X-linked retinal diseases.
Her groundbreaking 10-year longitudinal study, conducted in collaboration with The University of Oxford and Anglia Ruskin University (Cambridge), has helped to uncover how retinal characteristics change among female choroideremia carriers.
Dr Gocuk’s achievements have previously been recognised through The University of Melbourne Dean’s Award for Excellence in Graduate Research and the Ezell Fellowship Award from the American Academy of Optometry.
An active advocate for women affected by inherited retinal conditions, Dr Gocuk frequently speaks at conferences and patient support forums to promote inclusion of female carriers in future gene therapy trials.
“Dr Gocuk’s research leadership and advocacy exemplify the purpose of the Emerging Scientist Award – to foster and celebrate the next generation of vision researchers,” Retina Australia said.
