Professor Jonathan Crowston

Professor Jonathan Crowston is the Head of the Basic Science Research Division and Professor of Glaucoma at the University of Melbourne's Department of Ophthalmology, which includes the Centre for Eye Research Australia.

He was raised in Austria and educated in the UK, graduating from the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, with an MBBS and an Intercalated Bachelor of Science degree in Immunology.

Professor Crowston gained Fellowship of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in 1994 and performed his Ophthalmology Residency at Moorfields Eye Hospital. He was awarded a PhD at the Institute of Ophthalmology and University College London (2000) to investigate fibroblast apoptosis in conjunctival wound healing. He performed a Glaucoma Fellowship and established an ocular wound healing laboratory at the Centre for Vision Research in Sydney, Australia, before joining the Hamilton Glaucoma Centre at University California San Diego, as a Glaucoma Fellow and Clinical Instructor, and later served as Assistant Professor & Director of the Basic Science Research Laboratories of the Hamilton Glaucoma Centre in 2004.

His current research interests include molecular pharmacology and neuroprotection of the optic nerve in glaucoma. Professor Crowston's research will investigate the cellular processes related to aging that affect the vulnerability of retinal ganglion cells to injury. This work is intended to develop new therapeutic approaches for protecting the optic nerve in glaucoma. Professor Crowston has attracted funding from a wide range of sources for his research, including the Wellcome Trust (UK). Professor Crowston has published numerous peer-reviewed manuscripts in leading ophthalmic journals and co-authored a book on glaucoma surgery.

He has received a number of prestigious awards including the Foulds Trophy and a Keeler Scholarship from the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and received the Pfizer Fellows Award for Excellence in Glaucoma Research.

Professor Crowston has actively participated in ophthalmology departmental teaching, co-chairing the weekly Glaucoma Clinical Seminars as well as the weekly 2004-2005 Glaucoma Basic Science Lecture Series at UCSD, in which he presented two of the lectures. In addition, he served as co-director of the Hamilton Glaucoma Centre Surgical Rounds, transcripts of which are to be published in Glaucoma Today. He has co-chaired the monthly Glaucoma Journal Clubs and bi-weekly Ophthalmology Department Grand Rounds. Additionally, he has been teaching the UCSD ophthalmology residents and post-doctoral Research Fellows during weekly clinics and at the weekly Glaucoma Clinical Conference.

He has also given lectures both nationally and internationally on basic science and clinical research in glaucoma.

Married to Joanna he has two children, James and Zoe. He speaks German, is a qualified ski instructor, a retired cricketer and has a new-found passion for road cycling.