New Zealand’s first conference dedicated to uveitis, Uveitis Aotearoa 2026, will be held 31 July–1 August at the Clinical Education Centre at Auckland City Hospital, with the option of virtual participation.
The idea to host a meeting arose from discussions within the uveitis team at Greenlane Clinical Centre. “Our team consists of ophthalmologists specialising in uveitis, fellows and registrars, one optometrist and nurse specialists,” said organiser and programme director Dr Jo Sims. “We see increasingly complex uveitis conditions that require multidisciplinary care. One major goal of the meeting is to foster relationships with our medical colleagues and gain knowledge and understanding of newer treatment pathways and the ways we can work more collaboratively.”
Cognisant of the challenges for non-uveitis specialists managing cases in smaller centres or in independent practices, Dr Sims said she and her co-organisers Dr Narme Deva, Associate Professor Rachael Niederer and Dr Priya Samalia believe strengthening national networks will be beneficial to clinicians and patients alike. “Also, we feel a general update with a practical framework will help anyone who manages uveitis cases. These patients can be very challenging and the programme will offer many pearls to aid safer management, with a focus on how to recognise and avoid pitfalls.
“We hope the meeting gives anyone who manages patients with uveitis – from optometrists, ophthalmic nurses, general ophthalmologists, uveitis specialists and some GPs – greater confidence in recognising serious disease, initiating appropriate management and knowing when to seek specialist support,” said A/Prof Niederer. “Our vision is for Uveitis Aotearoa to become an ongoing forum that strengthens collaboration, education and patient outcomes across New Zealand.”
Organisers expressed their thanks to major sponsor Roche and to Vision Research Foundation NZ. For more, see here or contact [email protected] with any queries.
