Prof Charles McGhee after receiving the Asian Cornea Foundation Medal earlier this year

Professor Charles McGhee, chair of ophthalmology at the University of Auckland, has capped off a year of honorary mentions by being made a fellow of the prestigious Academy of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. New fellows are appointed each year to the 150-year-old Society for their distinction in research and advancement of science, technology or the humanities.

In the citation relating to his election it was noted that Prof McGhee has grown the University’s ophthalmology team from five to more than 60 staff and doctoral students, spanning clinical and laboratory eye research; is founding director of the New Zealand National Eye Centre; and has been key to developing a new generation of New Zealand ophthalmic clinicians and several streams of ophthalmic research.

“Election to the membership of the Royal Society of New Zealand is one of the highest honours awardable to researchers dedicated to the advancement of human knowledge,” said Professor Trevor Sherwin, associate dean (postgraduate) at the University’s Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. “It is rarely awarded for a single discovery but more usually recognises a life-long contribution of outstanding importance in the field of scientific knowledge. Charles has always pushed the boundaries of current therapeutic practice in ophthalmology alongside his clinical practice and nurtured many young scientists and clinicians along the way who have all contributed to the teams’ efforts. However it is Charles’ leadership which has earned the accolade of membership of the Royal Society and no-one deserves it more.”

Prof McGhee commenced the year as president of the 70,000-strong Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO), before being named as one of the top 100 most influential people in ophthalmology worldwide in the British-based Ophthalmologist’s 2018 Power-List and being awarded the Asian Cornea Foundation Medal by the Asian Cornea Society. Among many other honorary invited-lecturer requests, in June, Scottish-born Prof McGhee was further recognised by his peers when the British Society for Refractive Surgery created an eponymous, biennial, medal lecture in his name.

Royal Society Academy chair Richard Blaikie in announcing the 23 new 2018 fellows said, “The diverse backgrounds and multiple areas of expertise of the newly-elected fellows adds to the breadth of knowledge held collectively by the Academy, which supports the wider work the Society does to inform New Zealanders on matters of public importance.

“On behalf of the Academy and Society, I heartily congratulate all the new fellows. The election process is rigorous and being elected recognises truly stellar achievements in uncovering new knowledge and innovative scholarship.”