Department of Ophthalmology

The Department of Ophthalmology comprises the largest single ophthalmic research and teaching group in New Zealand. It has close relations with NZ National Eye Bank, Glaucoma New Zealand and the editorial office of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, which are all located within the department. It is a founding partner of the New Zealand National Eye Centre in conjunction with the School of Optometry and Vision Science. The 70 plus member team includes a number of ophthalmologists, optometrists and laboratory scientists who pursue research on a variety of projects, particularly; computerised corneal topography, corneal transplantation, in vivo and in vitro confocal microscopy, aspects of refractive surgery, orthokeratology, ocular therapeutics, neuro-ophthalmology, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, ocular malignancy, ocular genetics, dry eye/tear film disorders, lens transparency, the cell biology of ocular healing and other aspects of translational vision research. Collaborative research has been established with vision research cluster groups within Auckland University, particularly the departments of Anatomy, Optometry and Vision Science, Physiology, and the School of Biological Sciences. The Department has close ties with the Auckland District Health Board and all ophthalmologists in the team also have clinical contracts with Auckland Hospital. Undergraduate and postgraduate teaching is a major role of the department particularly in respect to medical, ophthalmology and optometry curricula. Postgraduate research degrees, including MSc, PhD and MD as well as courses towards a Postgraduate Certificate and Diploma can be pursued within the Department.