Ophthalmology wall of fame

The annual Excellence in Ophthalmology and Vision Research prize evening celebrates talented personalities early in their ophthalmic careers as well as remembering ophthalmologists from yesteryear whose names grace a number of the awards.

This year’s event was held at the medical and health sciences campus at the University of Auckland in March and was well attended by staff, researchers, benefactors, students and the friends and families of the award winners.

Professor Charles McGhee, head of the ophthalmology department, opened the evening by welcoming everyone and thanking benefactors and clinical contributors, including Associate Professor Bruce Hadden and Dr Wendy Hadden, for their contribution to the department and to furthering ophthalmology in New Zealand. He updated the audience on the annual activities of the department, detailing how with nearly 300 undergraduates and a growing number of PhDs, the department continues to grow and evolve each year.

William MacKenzie Medal

This year, the William MacKenzie Medal was presented to Himanshu Wadhwa by Professor Trevor Sherwin.

This award is for early excellence in eye research and recognises a significant contribution made by a medical student towards a research project that has reached publication status. Judges consider the recipient’s contribution, originality and importance of the article (as well as the standing of the journal in which it is published).

Wadhwa, a previous recipient of the Tom Cat Trust summer studentship award, undertook a fascinating research project investigating how corneal stem cell-enriched spheres implanted into keratoconic tissue behave to assess their therapeutic potential.

He presented his research at the Healthex conference, a student-organised conference designed to promote research activity and excellence among postgraduate students, and the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) conference last year, and was the top-ranked student during his 2014 thesis year.

Arthur Thomas Paterson Scholarship

The Arthur Thomas Paterson Scholarship was presented to junior research fellow Dr Chee Foong Chong by Dr Shaun Dai.

This scholarship was set up to assist newly qualified Kiwi ophthalmologists continue their post-graduate studies overseas, so they can return with new skills to serve the New Zealand population.

Dr Chong has published research on visual impairment among New Zealand children and produced one of the best databases of it's type in the world, explained Dr Dai. He has also published several other publications in paediatric ophthalmology while completing his medical training.

Calvin Ring Prize

The Calvin Ring Prize was presented to fifth year medical student, Lize Angelo by Dr Peter Ring, son of Calvin Ring, one of the forefathers of New Zealand ophthalmology whose own father fortuitously won a horse race and was able to pay for his son to attend medical school.

The Calvin Ring Prize recognises the best all-round undergraduate medical student in clinical ophthalmology and was established to encourage interest and awareness of ophthalmology among medical students in memory of Dr Calvin Ring who believed ophthalmology in Auckland needed an academic focus. Selection for the award is based on excellence in examination, clinical knowledge and diagnostic and management skills.

Angelo, who was also a summer studentship recipient in 2016, undertook her schooling in England, New Zealand and South Africa and was described by Ring as a ‘well-rounded student”, involved in volunteer work at hospices and also the charity, Habitat for Humanity.

On accepting the award, Angelo said she had been inspired by the many passionate people she has met in ophthalmology and hopes to continue her endeavors and see where ophthalmology will take her.

Gordon Sanderson Scholarship

Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer presented the first Gordon Sanderson Scholarship to Hillary Goh for her research investigating nailfold capillary abnormalities in glaucoma (see full story in April’s NZ Optics).

The scholarship was set up last year in memory of the late and much-admired Associate Professor Gordon Sanderson to further research into glaucoma. It is available to students from Auckland, Otago or Sydney Universities, recognizing A/Prof Sanderson’s former teaching hubs.

PhD Presentation

The invited PhD presenter for this year’s Excellence in Ophthalmology awards was Dr Akilesh Gokul who took to the podium to discuss his research on keratoconus.

Summarising three years of research in 10 minutes is no easy feat, but Gokul conquered it well, describing how his ‘Aotearoa Research into Keratoconus (ARK)’ project looked at the demographics and clinical characteristics of keratoconus in New Zealand.

The research surveyed Kiwi optometrists and showed that a large number of keratoconics reside in Auckland and Wellington with Maori and Pacific island patients having the highest mean corneal K readings and more severe disease. Corneal cross-linking can stabilise the disease for at least 10 years by creating more covalent collagen bonds and strengthening the cornea. Gokul's research evaluated an accelerated cross-linking methodology, which he illustrated elegantly in his presentation. While cross-linking can prevent disease progression and reduce the corneal transplant rate, Gokul explained “early detection is a major challenge in keratoconus with many patients presenting too late to benefit from the procedure.”

Summer Studentships

Dr Ilva Rupenthal, director of the Buchanan Ocular Therapeutics Unit at Auckland University, presented this year’s Summer Students with their awards. The award recipients were:

Spheres of Influence, Catherine Tian (Tom Cat Trust)
Influence of high glucose and inflammation on barrier properties of retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE) cells, Charisse Kuo
Differentiation of transition zone stem cells into corneal endothelial cells, Hannah Ng (Eye Institute)
Comparison and review of visual field referrals to ADHB glaucoma clinic, Catherine Kwak
Crystallin protein modification and spatial mapping in an aging lens model, Jerry Shen
Evaluating the long-term usability of ex-vivo bovine corneas for drug delivery applications, Darshan Shrestha (Buchanan Charitable Foundation)
The effect of erythropoietin on the vasculature of the premature sheep retina: a cellular and molecular characterisation, Muthana Noori
Nailfold capillary abnormalities in glaucoma, Hilary Goh (Gordon Sanderson Scholarship from Glaucoma New Zealand)
Review of glaucoma referrals to ADHB glaucoma clinic, Tess McCaffrey
Confirmation of UV filter distribution in the aging human lens, Arwa Ibrahim (Molecular Vision Laboratory)
To give or not to give? Should I provide feedback during acuity measurement, Maggie Xu
Monitoring age-related changes of the vitreous of the eye using MRI, Louisa Howse
Evaluating the utility of an eyelid massage device for the management of meibomian gland dysfunction, Jasmine Feng (NZAO Education and Research Fund)
Effect of temperature on the thickness of the human ocular choroid measured with optical coherence tomography, Sungyeon Kim
The effect of virtual reality on the tear film and ocular surface, Joyce Wong
Adaptation of jumping spider behaviour to a modified focal environment, Aimee Aitken (Paul Dunlop Memorial Research Scholarship, NZAO)
Visual impairment in stroke in a New Zealand context: patient characteristics in the CBR Stroke Recovery Clinic, Carla Fasher