CPD Update 2025
Title: Glaucoma, Genetics and the Future of Care
Date: Tuesday 4 March 2025, 6:30–8:30pm
The 2025 UNSW School of Optometry & Vision Science Alumni Evening marked World Glaucoma Day with a forward-looking exploration of how advances in clinical care and genetics are reshaping the landscape of glaucoma management. The hybrid event drew strong engagement from across the profession, welcoming approximately 50 attendees in person and 101 online, creating a vibrant forum for dialogue between clinicians, researchers and alumni.
The evening opened with welcome remarks by Dr Daisy Shu, SOVS Alumni Engagement Coordinator, who highlighted the importance of early detection, innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration in reducing preventable vision loss. Framed around World Glaucoma Day, the event underscored how emerging tools such as genetic testing and polygenic risk scores are beginning to shift glaucoma care from reactive treatment towards proactive risk stratification and prevention.
Associate Professor Andrew White set the scene by reflecting on the evolving understanding of glaucoma as a complex, multifactorial disease shaped by both genetic and environmental influences. He explored how advances in genomics are redefining risk prediction and enabling earlier, more personalised approaches to disease monitoring and intervention.
Building on this foundation, Elizabeth Wong offered a clinical perspective on the expanding role of optometrists in glaucoma co-management. She highlighted how technological advancements such as OCT, visual field testing and corneal biomechanics have strengthened optometrists’ capacity to detect, monitor and co-manage glaucoma in close collaboration with ophthalmology, reinforcing their role in long-term patient care.
The discussion then turned towards the practical integration of genetic testing into clinical workflows, with Professor David Mackey AO sharing insights from his extensive experience in glaucoma genetics. He explored how genetic screening is influencing real-world decision-making, from identifying high-risk patients to informing surveillance strategies and family counselling, demonstrating the growing clinical utility of genomic tools.
Associate Professor Owen Siggs extended the conversation into the future of glaucoma care, examining how advances in DNA profiling and risk prediction models are shaping emerging therapeutic directions and the potential for precision medicine in preserving vision.
The evening concluded with a dynamic panel discussion that brought together the speakers alongside Maree O’Brien, President and Board Chair of Glaucoma Australia, whose presence added valuable consumer and advocacy perspectives to the clinical and research dialogue. Drawing on her strong personal connection to glaucoma and leadership within Glaucoma Australia, Maree highlighted the vital role of community awareness, regular eye testing and patient education in reducing the burden of preventable glaucoma blindness. Her contribution reinforced the importance of collaboration between professional bodies, advocacy organisations and clinicians in driving meaningful change.
Audience questions explored the feasibility of implementing genetic testing in routine practice, its cost and accessibility, ethical considerations in communicating risk, and how optometrists can integrate genetic insights without generating unnecessary patient anxiety. The discussion reinforced the critical role of optometrists as key players in early detection, patient education and coordinated referral pathways.
The 2025 Alumni Evening showcased the exciting evolution of optometry as a profession increasingly embedded in multidisciplinary, precision-based healthcare. By spotlighting the intersection of clinical practice, genomics and patient advocacy, the event reaffirmed UNSW SOVS’s leadership in advancing innovative, evidence-based and collaborative models of eye care.
