Following nibbles and drinks, the 2025 Excellence in Ophthalmology and Vision Research awards at the University of Auckland were introduced by Professor Charles McGhee, the long-standing Maurice Paykel Chair of Ophthalmology and founding director of the New Zealand National Eye Centre. Despite the ups and downs of recent years, it’s always important to take time to celebrate our achievements, said Prof McGhee. “These awards celebrate our success and the future, and the basis for our success usually starts with students.”
In his address, Prof McGhee acknowledged 2023–2024 had been another difficult year in many respects, not least because of cutbacks, continuing and worsening patient backlogs, ongoing global political woes and changes to RANZCO’s training process, which was putting off clinical PhD candidates. That said, the ophthalmology department continues to grow with the kind support of its sponsors, he said, resulting in new professorships, senior faculty members and research fellows. In 2024, the department secured more than $5 million in research funds, giving a total of more than $60 million over the past 20 years, he said.
