Staff news

New Staff, New Roles & Farewell’s

We are delighted to have Amy Huynh join the UNSW Optometry Clinic in July 2024 as an Education Focussed Lecturer.  Amy, an experienced Orthoptist is currently working in part time in the UNSW Optometry Clinic in the specialist paediatric clinics. 

Jenny Huamani Davila has joined the UNSW Optometry Clinic as a receptionist/dispenser.  With a wealth of experience, we are excited to have Jenny join our UNSW SOVS family. 

We warmly welcome Dan Pua who previously served on the Clinic Reception but has now transitioned into the School Office on a part time basis in December 2024 as an Administrative Assistant.  We are thrilled to have Dan onboard. 

This year our growing visiting academic staff list grew to over 95 national and international valued members.  This year we warmly welcomed: Dr Ajay Vijay Kumar, Mr Alan Blood, Associate Professor Ann Webber, Dr Cindy Karouta, Dr Dimitra Makrynioti, Dr Divya Ashari Kandy, Dr Elisa Wang, Dr Furqan Maulvi, Dr Jack Phu, Dr Jaya Sowjanya Siddireddy, Dr Karen Lahav-Yacouel, Dr Lewis Williams, Dr Praveen Yerramothu, Dr Rabia Mobeen, Dr Rajiv Raman, Associate Professor Regan Ashby, Dr Samantha Lee, Dr Simin Masoudi, Dr Sindhu Sivankutty, Dr Yoshiaki Tagawa and Dr Moto Itoi to our visiting academic team.  

Associate Professor Sieu Khuu and Dr Sharon Oberstein dove into different roles this year and excitedly took on the task of job-sharing the one-year NEXUS Fellowship.  This role which focuses on teaching innovation projects have Sharon and Sieu working on a wide range of projects including the programmatic approach to learning and implementation opportunities in our School, the assessment procedure and criteria for selection for vision science students into the Master of Clinical Optometry program, and exploring the adaptation of MyExperience surveys for clinical accredited WIL courses. 

We welcomed Dr Kath Watt into the role of Director of Teaching and thank Kath for her many years of service in the Director of Clinical Teaching role at our UNSW Optometry Clinic.  We would also like to take this opportunity to thank Associate Professor Nicole Carnt who stepped in during 2024 to undertake this role. 

At the end of 2024, Scientia Professor Fiona Stapleton was appointed as the new Director of Clinical Teaching in our UNSW Optometry Clinic. 

Associate Professor Pauline Kang was appointed as Deputy Head of School during 2024, and we sincerely thank Associate Professor Sieu Khuu for his outstanding service and contributions to SOVS over the past two terms he served in this role.

This year we farewelled longstanding staff members Dr Simin Masoudi and Dr Jack Phu.  We thank Simin for her valued contributions to the school over the many years that she has been with us and Jack for his dedication and unwavering support of our many students during his time with us.  

We are thrilled to announce that Annita Duong who has been working in multiple roles during 2024 as a Research Optometrist and an Associate Lecturer was welcomed onboard as a new PhD candidate during Term 3 of 2024. 

At the end of 2024 we farewelled Dr Wilson Luu who worked in our UNSW Optometry Clinic following his PhD conferral as a valued Lecturer and mentor to our final year students.  

We bid farewell to Drs Furqan Maulvi and Moto Itoi, researchers who worked closely with Professor Mark Willcox’s team and who will continue to work collaboratively with us through their visiting appointments.

Promotions

During 2024 we were delighted to have two of our staff promoted.  Our congratulations to Dr Pauline Kang who was promoted to Associate Professor and Associate Professor Juno Kim who was promoted to Professor, both effective 1 January 2025. 

These promotions are both very well deserved and a testament to both Pauline and Juno’s hard work and dedication in both education and research. 

National and International Accolades

We congratulate Professor Mark Willcox who has been ranked as one of the top microbiology scientists during 2024.  Mark has been ranked as number #47 nationally and #1520 worldwide.  These rankings are based on H-index papers and citations for academic publications made in Microbiology.  Mark also recently had his 600th paper listed on Scopus which is a feat in itself – well done Mark!

Scientia Professor Fiona Stapleton was honoured during 2024 with the International Society for Contact Lens Research (ISCLR) Ruben Medal.  This award, voted by previous recipients recognises Fiona’s outstanding contributions to contact lens-related research.

Dr Daisy Shu received two international awards during 2024 – the American Society for Investigative Pathology (ASIP) Young Investigator Leadership Award and the ASIP Dani and Erik Zander Junio Faculty Scholar Award.  Wonderful recognition for one of our excellent early career researchers. 

Tanzina Akter a current PhD candidate under supervision of Professor Mark Willcox and Scientia Professor Fiona Stapleton received the Joe and Janet Barr Early Career Cornea and Contact Lens Research Award from the American Academy of Optometry for her outstanding research of Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis.

PhD candidates Rehana Khan Tajuddin Mohamed Akthar Khan and Samrat Sarkar received prestigious and highly competitive American Academy of Optometry Ezell Fellowships. 

During 2024 Emeritus Professor Eric Papas was named as the 18th recipient of the prestigious H Barry Collin Research Medal from Optometry Australia.  Eric was bestowed this honour for his exceptional achievements and significant contributions in cornea and contact lens research. 

Senior Lecturer Lily Ho and PhD student Judy Nam received Optometry Australia LOOK International Scholarships.  Lily took the opportunity to travel to the US to observe advancements in optometric care, from collaborative models between optometrists and ophthalmologists to laser and minor surgical procedures.

Judy travelled to the UK mid-2024 to explore telehealth and AI in eyecare – which was a unique opportunity to look at optometric advancements in eye care that are not yet readily available in Australia. 

UNSW Awards

This year our staff were acknowledged with UNSW Awards.

We congratulate the following staff members and teams:

• Scientia Associate Professor Nicole Carnt on being awarded an Arc PGC Faculty of Medicine & Health Research Supervisor Award 

• Our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee (Mark Willcox (chair), Nicola Kapo, Katariina Pakarinen, Lisa Feng, Amir Hali, Revathy Mani, Wilson Luu, Parthu Kalaiselvan, Michele Madigan and students: Mohammadreza Moniritilaki, Xiaona Ping, Umme Urmi and Justin McNamara) who received the Diversity award at the End of Year Faculty of Medicine & Health annual awards.  The SOVS EDI Committee is committed to fostering an inclusive environment through strategic initiatives, cultural celebration days, and educational sessions. Their efforts in promoting diversity and inclusion are evident in their active participation in various awareness events and their commitment to addressing issues faced by staff and students.

• Lisa Keay who was part of the team who won the Global Health Impact Award - for their work on revamping the content and format of instructions provided with child restraints. 

Annually we also celebrate and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our UNSW SOVS Staff.  Congratulations to the following staff members who received School awards at the end of 2024:

• Tracy Kane – Demonstrates Excellence

• Regine Chapman-Davies – Drives Innovation

• Ashley Ang – Builds Collaboration

• Nicole Kapo – Embraces Diversity

• Debbie Huber – Displays Respect

• Sheela Kumaran – Academic Excellence: Research 

• Lily Ho – Academic Excellence: Education

• Daisy Shu – Social Engagement

• Revathy Mani – Global Impact

• Donna La Hood – Student Experience

• Xiaona Ping – HDR Student of the Year

• Mark Willcox – SOVS Citizen of the Year 

This year we were delighted to add to new categories to our staff awards – the HDR Student of the Year and the SOVS Citizen of the Year.  The HDR Student of the Year recognised Xiaona Ping for her unwavering commitment of supporting her cohort and the SOVS Citizen of the Year was awarded to Mark Willcox who epitomises the values of our mission statement of “advancing vision and eye health in society through world-class, innovative, multi-disciplinary education and research”.  Congratulations to all awardees!

Summary

2024 was a year of growth, recognition and transition for a few of our staff to new roles.  The dedication and hard work of our staff were celebrated through various awards, highlighting their invaluable contributions to the field and community both nationally and internationally.  We are delighted that UNSW School of Optometry & Vision Science continues to advance in education and research, driven by the collective efforts of its talented team.  

As we step into 2025, UNSW School of Optometry & Vision Science is excited about the opportunities ahead.  Building on the successes of 2024, we are committed to continuing our mission of advancing vision and eye health through world-class, innovative, multi-disciplinary education and research.