PEOPLE ON THE MOVE

People ON THE MOVE A wrap on the latest appointments and industry movements within the Australian ophthalmic sector.

AUSTRALIAN LEADING WORLD COUNCIL OF OPTOMETRY FOR NEXT TWO YEARS Former head of the School of Optometry and Vision Science at Queensland University of Technology, Associate Professor Peter Hendicott, has started his two-year term as president of the World Council of Optometry (WCO). His appointment was made official at the council’s annual general meeting in late 2021. According to Optometry Australia, he is only the second Australian to lead the WCO in its 94-year history, after Dr Damien Smith assumed the presidency from 2002 to 2004.

CYLITE BRINGS OPTICAL PHYSICIST ON BOARD FOR OCT DEVELOPMENT Melbourne OCT manufacturer Cylite has further expanded its R&D team with the appointment of optical physicist Dr Clare Manderson. She has spent her career applying optical physics to solve problems in engineering and biomedical science by adapting and building laser-based microscopy and super-resolution imaging systems from the ground up. The company believes her skill set is ideally suited to OCT, with her PhD being completed in the field of coherent diffraction imaging. QUALIFIED ORTHOPTIC NURSE JOINS BAUSCH + LOMB Caroline Gash has joined Bausch + Lomb as surgical territory manager and will support Western Australia. Trained in the UK as a registered nurse and later completing her Diploma in Ophthalmic Nursing at, Sunderland Eye Infirmary, she migrated to Perth in 1996 and is a qualified ophthalmic nurse with now some 28 years’ experience in the field. She has worked various major ophthalmic facilities in both the UK and Perth and is passionate about ophthalmology. OPTOMETRY AUSTRALIA PRESIDENTIAL REIGN COMES TO AN END Optometry Australia’s national president Mr Darrell Baker has stepped down after serving in the role since 2018, and has retired from a 10-year stint on the national board of directors. The board subsequently appointed former deputy president Mr Murray Smith as president. Smith was president of Optometry Victoria, leading its amalgamation with Optometry South Australia in 2018. Ms Margaret Lam, from NSW, has been appointed deputy president.

OPHTHALMOLOGIST TO HEAD UP NEW CERA OCULAR ONCOLOGY UNIT Honorary researcher Dr Rod O’Day has been appointed to lead a new Ocular Oncology Research Unit at CERA. He is a consultant ophthalmologist at the Eye and Ear, specialising in ocular oncology, and recently returned from the UK after training to build his clinical skills treating eye tumours. “The main aim I have with my research is to develop better techniques to estimate how malignant an eye tumour is. We will develop various techniques to help us better distinguish between a benign mole and a malignant melanoma." BAUSCH + LOMB APPOINTS OPTOMETRIST AS SURGICAL TERRITORY MANAGER Stephanie Bahler has joined Bausch + Lomb as surgical territory manager. She will provide ophthalmic surgical technical, product and business support across Western Australia. Bahler is an optometrist with over 15 years' experience across clinical, management and business commercial roles. She is currently the president of Optometry WA. Her industry experience, coupled with her passion for community eye health, has provided her with the solid foundation to support the ophthalmic surgical setting.