Current Students
Dr Madeleine Adams - PhD
Thesis title: How does genotype determine the phenotype of age related macular degeneration (AMD) and its responses to treatment?
Supervisors: Paul Baird, Robyn Guymer, Julie Simpson, Luba Robman
Dr Bobby Amin - MPhil
Thesis title: The effect of laser treatment on the progression of early Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Supervisors: Robyn Guymer, Erica Fletcher
Dr Michelle Baker - PhD
Thesis title: Retinal signs and cerebrovascular disease
Supervisors: Tien Wong, Jie Jin Wang, Peter Hand
Dr Rehab Benarous - MPhil
Thesis title: The impact of refractive error on the progression of diabetic retinopathy in a clinical sample
Supervisors: Ecosse Lamouruex, Mohamed Dirani, Tien Wong
Stuart Cantsilieris - PhD
Thesis title: Genetic variants and risk factors associated with age-related macular degeneration
Supervisors: Paul Baird, Robyn Guymer, Maria Schache
Dr Danny Cheung - MD
Thesis title: Retinal vascular changes in children and adults: pathophysiological and prognostic relevance in cardiovascular disease.
Supervisors: Tien Wong
Peggy Chiang - PhD
Thesis title: The global mapping of low vision services in developed and developing countries
Supervisors: Jill Keeffe, Richard Le Mesurier
Gillian Cochrane - PhD
Thesis title: Impact of Vision Impairment on Children with Low Vision
Supervisors: Jill Keeffe, Ecosse Lamoureux
Heather Connor - PhD
Thesis title: Structural and functional changes in the visual cortex and visual pathway in glaucoma
Supervisors: Sarah Hosking, Dave Abbott
Dr Peter Dimitrov - PhD
Thesis title: Predicting progression of age-related macular degeneration
Supervisors: Robyn Guymer, Algis Vingrys
Eva Fenwick - PhD
Thesis title: Development and validation of an instrument to measure quality of life in patients with diabetes and vision threatening diabetic retinopathy
Supervisors: Ecosse Lamoureux, Mohamed Dirani, Gwyn Rees
Dr Swetha Jeganathan - MPhil
Thesis title: Retinal associations of diabetes and vascular disease
Supervisors: Tien Wong, Seang Mei Saw
Dr Jefitha Karimurio - PhD
Thesis title: Control of active trachoma
Supervisors: Jill Keeffe, Richard Le Mesurier
Dr George Kong - PhD
Thesis title: The effect of aging and mitochondrial dysfunction on the optic nerve responses to oxidative stress injury
Supervisors: Jonathan Crowston, Ian Trounce, Bang Bui
Manjula Marella - PhD
Thesis title: Development and validation of a framework to evaluate vision-specific community based rehabilitation (CBR-VI) services.
Supervisors: Ecosse Lamoureux, Jill Keeffe
Dr Anu Mathew - MD
Thesis title: Trachoma in the Pacific Islands
Supervisors: Jill Keeffe, Richard Le Mesurier
Annie McAuley - MPhil
Thesis title: Characterising the Expressional Pattern of miRNA in diabetic retinopathy; a novel class of biomarkers allow the potential for creating a tool for early detection of diabetic retinopathy
Supervisors: Jie Jin Wang, Ecosse Lamoureux, Mohamed Dirani
Dr Thanh Tan Nguyen - PhD
Thesis title: Novel Markers in Pre-diabetes, Diabetes and Diabetic Retinopathy: Static and Dynamic Retinal Vascular Calibre
Supervisors: Tien Wong, Jie Jin Wang, Jonathan Shaw
Paul Sanfilippo - PhD
Thesis title: The heritability of optic disc shape
Supervisors: David Mackey, Alex Hewitt, Jonathan Crowston
Dr Marc Sarossy - MD
Thesis title: Novel quantitative outcome measures for the anti VEGF treatment of retinal diseases
Supervisors: Robyn Guymer, Tien Wong, Robert Shepherd
Dr Bayu Sasongko - PhD
Thesis title: The association of retinal vascular structure with cognitive performance and systemic condition in elderly
Supervisors: Jie Jin Wang, Tien Wong
Dr Cong Sun - PhD
Thesis title: Effect of Genetic, Environmental, and Systemic Factors on Retinal Vascular Calibre
Supervisors: David Mackey, Tien Wong, Jie Jin Wang, Katrina Scurrah
Nazim Uddin - MPhil
Thesis title: A statistical model to explore the role of small vessel changes on pathways to cardiovascular disease (CVD)
Supervisors: FM Amirul Islam, Jie Jin Wang
Nicole Van Bergen - PhD
Thesis title: The role of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation dysfunction in optic neuropathies
Supervisors: Jonathan Crowston, Ian Trounce
Dr Christine Wittig-Silva - PhD
Thesis title: Cross linking for Keratoconus
Supervisors: Graeme Pollock, Grant Snibson
Recent Graduates
Dr Ana Cama
 Titled ‘Low vision services for children in Fiji,’ my research was a public health, operational research project using central Fiji as a prospective case study. It was in line with the Fiji Ministry of Health’s vision, and was implementing a priority area identified in Fiji's National Eye Care Strategic Plan. The intent of this research was to critically evaluate the low vision service for children in the Central Medical Area in Fiji, by establishing a low vision clinic and monitoring and evaluating it over six months. Outcomes of this research included prevalence estimates of visual impairment in children 0-18 years in Fiji and a low vision service for these children that is:
- Accessible, based on coverage relative to prevalence
- Effective, as measured by quality of life outcomes and use of Low Vision Devices
- Affordable and sustainable, with successful collaborative work of the Fiji government and NGOs
- To be used as a model for developing similar services in other parts of Fiji and the Pacific.
This research project was made possible with funding from AusAID, CERA, Vision CRC and Lions Low Vision Initiative.
Studying here was highly recommended by fellow work colleagues who believed in the environment and atmosphere of the work place, plus the professional and social attitudes of staff members were great. Personally, I feel privileged and blessed to have had immense assistance and support from my supervisor, other academics and research colleagues who are all brilliant, approachable, helpful, friendly and easy to work with.
Dr Christine Chen
 I received my medical degree from the University of Melbourne in 2001 and completed an internship and surgical residency year at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. I have received numerous research awards in the past including the Melbourne University Prestigious scholarship (Grace and Ernst Matthaei Scholarship). I joined the Ocular Genetics Unit as a PhD student at the Centre for Eye Research in 2003. My research project was the Genes in Myopia (GEM) study. Myopia, also known as short-sightedness, is one of the most common eye conditions. The aim of the project was to identify genetic factors involved in myopia. The project involved recruiting families with myopia, performing heritability analysis, qualitative and quantitative linkage analysis of this complex trait.
I chose to do my PhD at CERA because it is very well set up for a variety of ophthalmic and vision research, including low vision services delivery, identifying genetic causes, new diagnostic techniques and treatments for a variety of eye conditions such as age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, retinal vascular diseases and myopia. The centre has strong partnership with major eye and research institutions such as the University of Melbourne and the Eye and Ear Hospital. The centre also has many national and international collaborators. The staff at the centre are committed to the elimination of vision loss and blindness in our community through research and teaching.
Dr Elaine Chong
 Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible blindness in Australia. To date, the aetiology of AMD remains unknown and its treatment options are limited. Interest in diet, as a modifiable risk factor for AMD, has emerged in recent years from several observational studies showing conflicting associations between lutein, zeaxanthin and other antioxidants as well as different types of fats with AMD. My PhD project aimed to further investigate these associations in a large 10 year prospective cohort study; tapping into the Victorian Cancer Council's Melbourne Collaborative Cohort Study, which comprises of 41,528 volunteers recruited from 1990-1994 where baseline dietary data was collected. In the current follow-up of the cohort (2003-2006), retinal photos were taken and graded for AMD. The cohort comprised of an elderly ethnically diverse group with Southern Europeans deliberately recruited to diversify the dietary range, which was exactly suited for a study of diet and AMD.
Dr Mohamed Dirani
 PhD Project – The Heritability of Myopia – A Twin Study. Myopia, or 'short-sightedness' is a complex eye condition and therefore is influenced by both genetic and environmental exposures. Twin studies have been used to support a genetic basis to myopia by reporting a higher similarity for myopia status in identical twins compared to non-identical twins. We recruited and examined more than 1200 identical and non-identical twins of both genders (aged between 18 to 88 years) through the Australian Twin Registry (ATR) making this study the largest twin study in the world to investigate refractive errors and ocular biometrics in a adult twin population. Our results support a strong genetic component to myopia by showing that an identical co-twin has an 80% chance of developing myopia if their twin has myopia versus a 40% chance if you are a non-identical co-twin. The results from this study have been presented at international ophthalmology conferences. Findings have been published in leading eye journals. It is our intention to use our twin data for genetic linkage analysis, which will help in identifying gene(s) responsible for myopia development.
After exploring several eye research institutes in Australia, I was drawn to the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) as it is an established eye research centre and is well recognised for its leading research in several eye conditions. CERA has a wide range of research areas and is well resourced for both laboratory and clinical based research. For these reasons, I applied for the PhD project as part of CERA’s graduate research program. The supervision of my project was excellent and the feedback on my work has been invaluable.
Dr Heathcote Wright
 Heathcote completed his degree in medicine at the University of Queensland in 2000. He then worked for three years in regional Queensland where he developed an interest in Indigenous Health. In 2003 he undertook a diploma of Ophthalmic Basic Sciences while working as a surgical registrar at Cairns Base Hospital, and in 2004 he moved down to Melbourne to commence a placement as PhD student at the Centre for Eye Research.
Whilst undertaking preliminary work in the Northern Territory, Heath found out about a government initiative to build swimming pools in remote communities. Trachoma is predominantly a disease of poor personal and community hygiene and we hypothesised that if children were to swim in a well-maintained pool on a regular basis it may help to reduce the prevalence of trachoma.
In 2003 research from Western Australia suggested a health benefit of swimming pools for Aboriginal children living remote communities. However this project did not look at trachoma. Heathcote’s project involved determining the prevalence of trachoma and other common infectious diseases of childhood before and after the construction of the swimming pool. He also assessed the burden of trachomatous blindness amongst older Aborigines, monitored the effect of mass antibiotic distribution as a community wide response to trachoma, attempted to determine some of the impediments to establishing sustainable trachoma control programmes in the Northern Territory, and developed a CD that teaches health professional how to grade trachoma. During his PhD candidature Heathcote published seven papers, wrote two book chapters and presented his work at numerous national and international conferences. |
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