SPEAKERS
Thank you to all the speakers for contributing to the ASM program.
Dr Tung Thanh Hoang
Glaucoma & Neuro-Ophthalmology Specialist
Hanoi Medical University
Biography
Dr Hoang, a faculty member of Hanoi Medical University Ophthalmology Department, is the first Vietnamese glaucoma fellow of Sydney Eye Hospital in 2021. He completed his residency in Vietnam and gained a Master of International Ophthalmology from The University of Sydney. In 2018, he was awarded a scholarship to complete the Lancaster Course in Ophthalmology at the Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary. He is also a Clinical Senior Lecturer of Save Sight Institute to foster the collaboration between The University of Sydney and Hanoi Medical University. In 2025, he completed his PhD at Hanoi Medical University, assessing online circular contrast perimetry, a Melbourne-based ophthalmic tool, for glaucoma.
Prof Tengku Ain Kamalden
Head of Department of Ophthalmology
University of Malaya
Biography
Professor Dr. Tengku Ain Kamalden is Professor and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, and vitreoretinal surgeon at Universiti Malaya and Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.
She holds a Masters degrees from Universiti Malaya and the National University of Singapore, and a DPhil from the University of Oxford. She was named among 20 IAMP Young Physician Leaders in 2013 and later a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her honours include the Bayer Global Ophthalmology Award, the Alcon Research Institute Young Investigator Award, and the Fulbright Scholarship.
Her research focuses on ocular microRNA biomarkers, trauma, and retinal disorders. She contributes to the national postgraduate ophthalmology curriculum, serves as an examiner for the Malaysian Conjoint Board and the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (UK), and is a life member of the Asia Pacific Ocular Trauma Society, Malaysian Society of Ophthalmology, and Council Member of the College of Ophthalmologists, Academy of Medicine Malaysia.
Prof Robert McLaren
Professor of Ophthalmology
University of Oxford
Biography
Robert MacLaren is Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford and a Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Oxford Eye Hospital in the UK. He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Fellow and former King James IV Professor of Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Bodley Fellow of Merton College Oxford. He has been a recipient of the ARVO Camras Award for Translational Research, the RP Fighting Blindness Scientist of the Year Award, the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists Keeler Medal and the Macular Society Clinical Service of the Year award. He began his ophthalmology career as a visiting elective student in ophthalmology at the Sutherland Hospital in Caringbah in 1989.
Dr Dan Brettel
CCLHD
Biography
Dr Dan Brettell is general ophthalmologist with a subspecialty interest in eyelid and lacrimal surgery. He works on the Central Coast of NSW
Professor Andrew Chang
Sydney Eye Hospital
Biography
Andrew Chang is consultant vitreoretinal ophthalmologist and the Head of Ophthalmology at the Sydney Eye Hospital. He is the Medical Director of Sydney Retina Clinic. He holds academic appointments of Conjoint Professor Department of Surgery UNSW and Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. Commitment to international ophthalmology includes the role of Secretary General of the Asia-Pacific Vitreoretinal Society (APVRS) and deputy Secretary-General of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO).
Professional awards include the 2022 Tano Lecture of the APVRS, Senior Achievement Award, Distinguished Service Award and the Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award of the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) and the RANZCO Excellence in Teaching Award.
In 2023 his contributions to ophthalmology and retinal surgery were acknowledged in being awarded the Member of the Order of Australia.
Dr Elisa Cornish
The University of Sydney
Biography
Elisa completed her BMedSci(Hons1), post graduate MBBS, GradDipMed(OphthalSci) and PhD at The University of Sydney. Her PhD was laboratory-based on The Development of the Primate Retina. Following this, she completed her MBBS then her FRANZCO training with clinical Fellowships at Sydney Eye Hospital: the Professorial (Uveitis/IRD/Glaucoma/Neuro) (2018) and Medical Retina (2019) Fellowships. Elisa is currently a Staff Specialist at Sydney Eye & Westmead Hospital, and an Associate Professor of the Faculty of Medicine, The University of Sydney.
Dr Mary Daly MD
Virginia Commonwealth University
Biography
Mary Daly, MD, joined Virginia Commonwealth University in April of 2024 and is the Ragnit and Walter J. Geeraets Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology. Dr. Daly obtained her Bachelor of Arts from Harvard College and her Medical Degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She completed a Residency in Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University and a Fellowship in Cornea and External Eye Disease at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, UK.
She is a leader in the emerging field of virtual eye care delivery systems with expertise in data privacy and bioethics. In January of 2026, she has been recognized internationally with an appointment to the Society for AI in Vision and Ophthalmology’s (SAIVO) Ethics and Policy Committee.
Prior to her arrival at VCU in Richmond, Virginia, Dr. Daly served as the Chief of Ophthalmology at the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System from 2005-2022. During that time, she championed transformative and expansive changes which improved continuity and quality of care, enhanced the educational curriculum for over 200 residents, expanded the number of clinical fellows, established new research initiatives, and instituted a full-time research fellowship program. In February, 2022, she joined the Veterans Integrated Systems Network 23 (VISN 23) Technology Based Eye Care Services Program (TECS), through which she continues to provide eye care to our Veterans and also serves as co-chair of the Community for Innovation in Vision Care (CIViC) workgroup. The program is at the cutting edge of technology-based medical applications and aims to increase Veterans’ access to state-of-the-art vision care through a virtual delivery care model.
Dr. Daly spearheaded the first cataract and vitreoretinal surgical simulation lab in the VA system and was a clinical champion of the VA’s Ophthalmic Surgical Outcomes Data Pilot Program. Her research in virtual reality training and ophthalmic surgical outcomes align with her clinical initiatives to establish outcomes-based programs for training, comparative assessment, enhancement of quality of care, and ultimately, toward the elimination of avoidable blindness. She brings this innovative and state-of-the-art training with her to Richmond, establishing VCU Ophthalmology’s residency program as the first in the United States to offer an ‘A-to-Z’ Virtual Reality Lab with slit-lamp, indirect ophthalmoscopy, and retinopathy of prematurity simulators at VCU, in addition to the long-established cataract surgery simulator at the Richmond VA Hospital.
Dr. Daly has served as an examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology, as a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Basic and Clinical Science Course (BCSC) External Disease and Cornea Section Committee, and as an editor for the Cornea/External Eye Disease Section of the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Eyewiki (online eye encyclopaedia).
Her track record of fostering a strong ethical culture through leadership is long standing. She served for many years on the Veterans Affairs Boston Integrated Ethics Committee and completed a Fellowship in Bioethics at Harvard Medical School. She was the 115th President of the New England Ophthalmological Society, one of the oldest continually meeting subspeciality societies in the country. Soon after joining VCU Health, she was appointed to a Clinical Chair seat on the Medical College of Virginia Physicians’ (MCVP) Board of Directors, and began her service to the Board in July of 2025.
Dr Craig Donaldson
Sydney Eye Hospital
Biography
On finishing the Sydney Eye Hospital ophthalmology training programme, he completed Strabismus and Paediatric ophthalmology fellowship training at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. Craig is currently head of the Strabismus and Paediatric Unit at Sydney Eye Hospital and teaches both strabismus and cataract surgery in adults and children. He is a senior staff specialist at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and a visiting medical officer at Sydney Children’s Hospital. From 2010-2017 he was director of training of Registrars at Sydney Eye Hospital and from 2012 -2018 President of the Australian and New Zealand Strabismus Society. He is the current RANZCO NSW State Branch Treasurer and a Federal RANZCO Councillor. Craig has authored numerous journal articles, book chapters and lectured extensively in Australia and internationally.
He has been awarded a Member of the Order of Australia AM for services to ophthalmology and medicine and in March 2019 awarded the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology prevention of blindness award in Asia.
Dr Hamish Dunn
Biography
Dr Dunn is a comprehensive ophthalmologist working in regional NSW with subspecialty training in glaucoma and oculoplastics. He completed a glaucoma fellowship at Westmead Hospital, and his PhD at Sydney University in 2022 undertaking research to optimise fundoscopy amongst non-ophthalmologists.
He has more than 40 peer-reviewed publications and his current research interests include surgical consent, glaucoma surgical outcomes, and nursing-led fundus photography in ED.
He has worked with Glaucoma Australia and Sight for All. Hamish worked on a UNICEF project in Guyana, South America prior to medicine, and during medical school was Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME), which is now the most successful programme of its kind in the country.
Assoc Prof Ian Francis OAM
Biography
Ian is an experienced Ophthalmologist. He has authored over 335 publications.
Ian has two major research and management interests. These are in Macular Degeneration, and in all aspects of Neuro-ophthalmology. The latter especially involves collaborative care for patients with Temporal Arteritis, for which he has developed new diagnostic techniques, and new surgical approaches for Temporal Artery Biopsy.
In 2007, he was awarded a PhD entitled ‘The Watery Eye’. In 2024, he completed and submitted his DSc, entitled ‘Cataracts in Medicine for 2020: Translation of aetiology, associations, and management into surgical and visual outcomes.’.
Ian chairs the second-weekly Saturday morning Sydney Ophthalmology Writers Group (WG) at his Rooms in Chatswood, teaching Ophthalmology to WG members, who are undergraduates in Medicine, or newer graduates. Collaboration at WG occurs from senior colleagues in Ophthalmology and Medicine. WG’s primary aim is for members to gain publications in order to assist in RANZCO training selection.
A/Prof Michael Hennessy
Prince of Wales Hospital
Biography
Associate Professor Michael Hennessy has provided Public and Private sector eye health care for 31 years in various settings. His private practice is in Bondi Junction. He is a part time staff specialist ophthalmologist at South Eastern Sydney Local Health District, working both in the Eye Clinic at Prince of Wales Hospital (POWH) and at Sydney Eye Hospital. During his time at POWH, he has also been the Director of Ophthalmology registrar training and part of the management team for the eye clinic as well as the Outback Eye Service – an eye care initiative for western NSW managed by POWH.
For 31 years he has been a visiting Ophthalmologist at the Lightning Ridge Health Service (FIFO) and has performed Ophthalmic surgery at Bourke Hospital since 2005.
A/Prof Hennessy has had active roles in RANZCO committees. In the last 20 years he has POWH with the Ophthalmology Network of the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI‐ON), a statutory authority of the NSW Ministry of Health. Of the many issues that have been the work of the ACI-ON, his passion has been to improve public sector eye care pathways including the referral of patients with cataract to NSW public hospitals.
Dr John Kennedy
St Vincent’s Private Hospital
Biography
Dr John Kennedy is immediate past chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at St Vincents Private Hospital. He has held a number of senior positions in RANZCO, including chairman of the NSW branch, two terms as federal councillor, and is currently a member of RANZCO’s Code of Conduct Committee. Since 2018 he has been the inaugural chairman of the Australian and New Zealand Eye Foundation (ANZEF).
He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in the UK, and also a member of the American, European and Australasian societies of cataract and refractive surgery.
In 2022 he was appointed as a Board member of the Sarks Macular Degeneration Research Foundation.
A/Prof Mitchell Lawlor
The University of Sydney
Biography
A/Prof Lawlor is a glaucoma surgeon and specialist in diseases of the optic nerve. He has a PhD in bioethics from the University of Sydney and completed his ophthalmology training at Sydney Eye Hospital. He has dual fellowships in glaucoma and neuro-ophthalmology, both at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
A/Prof Lawlor is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Sydney Eye and RPA Hospitals and a clinical academic at the University of Sydney. He is the Chief Investigator of “Fight Glaucoma Blindness!” an international registry of glaucoma outcomes that provides real world evidence of the safety and efficacy of a range of glaucoma treatments.
Dr Li-Anne Lim
Sydney Eye Hospital
Biography
Dr Li-Anne Lim is an ocular oncologist, cataract surgeon and general ophthalmologist. She has a special interest in managing adult and paediatric patients with eye cancers and simulating lesions. Following her training at Sydney Eye Hospital, she undertook further subspecialty fellowship training at Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, USA. Li-Anne works at Sydney Eye Hospital, The Children’s Hospital Westmead and Chatswood Private Hospital.
Dr Ridia Lim
Sydney Eye Hospital
Biography
Dr Ridia Lim is a senior glaucoma specialist from Sydney. She is the head of the glaucoma unit at Sydney Eye Hospital. She is a senior lecturer at University of Sydney.
She has held secretary and Vice Chair positions at ANZGS. She is the lead glaucoma Visionary and a Board Director for Sight For All. She is passionate about improving patient outcomes, surgical innovations, and teaching.
Prof Peter McCluskey AO
The University of Sydney
Biography
Peter McCluskey is currently a Professor of Ophthalmology at The University of Sydney and Director of the Uveitis unit at Sydney Eye Hospital. He was the Chair of Ophthalmology and director of the Save Sight Institute at The University of Sydney from Mar 2009 – Dec 2025.
He is an internationally recognised inflammatory eye disease specialist. He is an active clinician with a large uveitis clinic at Sydney Eye Hospital and clinics at St Vincent’s Clinic and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
Peter McCluskey is an author of more than 370 peer reviewed papers, 27 book chapters, 2 apps and 4 books. His H-index is currently 69 (google scholar) and his work has been cited more than 15,000 times.
He is a dedicated teacher who has received distinguished service awards from APAO, RANZCO and AAO for his teaching contributions.
On Australia Day 2020 he was made an Officer in the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to Ophthalmology and the community.
In 2021, Peter McCluskey was awarded a Doctor of Science in Medicine by the University of NSW.
Peter McCluskey is currently the RANZCO President.
Dr Michael Rossiter-Thornton
Sydney University
Biography
Dr Michael Rossiter-Thornton is a Sydney-based cataract & refractive surgeon. He teaches refractive surgery at Sydney University where he also holds a Masters in International Security, does cataract surgery aid trips to south east Asia, is a fellow of the European Board of Ophthalmology (FEBOS-CR), and is doing a PhD through the London Vision Clinic, UK.
Dr Esra Sanli
Gold Coast University Hospital
Biography
Dr Esra Sanli is a Prince Of Wales trained ophthalmologist who currently works on the Gold Coast. She did her sub-specialty oculoplastic training with Dr Richard Caesar at Cheltenham General Hospital in the UK.
She practices in Tweed, Southport and at the Gold Coast University Hospital.
She is thrilled to be able to share her experience and knowledge with her colleagues at the NSW branch ASM.
Dr Matthew Spargo
Sydney Children’s Hospital
Biography
Dr Matthew Spargo is a Sydney-based consultant ophthalmologist with subspecialty expertise in paediatric ophthalmology and adult strabismus. He completed his ophthalmology training at Prince of Wales Hospital and Sydney Children’s Hospital, before undertaking fellowship training in Paediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus at Oxford University Hospitals, Cheltenham General Hospital and Birmingham Children’s Hospital in the United Kingdom.
He is a Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick, and Director of Ophthalmology Training for the Prince of Wales Network (RANZCO). Dr Spargo holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Sydney and is a Conjoint Associate Lecturer at the University of New South Wales. He has published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national scientific meetings, with ongoing interests in complex strabismus, paediatric ocular disease and surgical education.
Dr Peter Sumich
Cataract and Eye Laser Surgery
Biography
Dr Peter Sumich is a Cataract and Refractive Surgeon from Parramatta, Sydney. He has a special interest in refractive cataract surgery and LASIK Laser Eye Surgery for vision correction. He has performed over 10,000 cataract and refractive surgery procedures and has over 20 years of surgical experience.
Dr Sumich is the President of the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists (2017- ) and the Past Chairman of the Independent Ophthalmologists Association (2008-2011). He is a member of The Australian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons where he was appointed as a member of their “Council of 100” which comprises 100 international thought leaders who advise on future direction and strategy.
Dr Sumich graduated with Honours from NSW University in 1990. He did his Residency at Royal North Shore Hospital and then trained there as an Emergency Medicine Specialist being awarded the Medal in the Primary Sciences Exam. He transferred to eye surgery in 1997 and later graduated from Sydney Eye Hospital in 2001. He was honoured to be appointed as the Professorial Senior Registrar in his final year at Sydney Eye Hospital and worked with the Sydney University Department of Ophthalmology which deals with complex eye disease.
After gaining Fellowship with the Royal Australian College of Ophthalmologists he was awarded the Sir Norman Rose travelling scholarship in 2001 and furthered his surgical experience by living in England where he underwent a Corneal and Cataract Surgery Fellowship at Bristol Eye Hospital. In recognition of his high level of training, the Royal British College of Ophthalmology granted him registration as a specialist eye surgeon in Britain.
Prof Nitin Verma
Hobart Eye Surgeons
Biography
Clinical Professor Nitin Verma AM,OTL,CStJ.is a practising comprehensive ophthalmologist in Hobart Tasmania, Australia.He is the immediate past president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and chairs a number of key committees, Steering committee: Vision 2030 and beyond (RANZCO), Global Eye Health Committee (RANZCO), International Society for Manual Small Incision Cataract Surgery (Aus NZ Chapter), Gateway Committee, Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO)and is a director of Vision 2020 Australia.
Nitin is actively engaged in clinical ophthalmological research and undergraduate and postgraduate education at the University of Sydney, The University of Tasmania and The University of Timor Leste. His research interests include international health, macular disease and teleophthalmology.
In recognition of decades of philanthropic works Nitin was awarded the Order of Australia and the Order of Timor Leste in 2010.He received the Distinguished Service and The Meritorious Service Award for the Prevention of Blindness, from the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology ; The RANZCO College medal and distinguished Service Award, as well as the Pride of Australia Role Model Award (2006). He was made a Companion of the Royal College of Australian Surgeons in 2014.
In 2006 Nitin was appointed Honorary Consult for East Timor in recognition of his dedication to the Timorese people. He is now the dean of the Consular Corps in Tasmania. In 2013 he was Hobart’s Citizen of the Year and a finalist for Tasmania’s Australian of the Year.
Nitin has authored/co-authored more than 50 academic publications, written several book chapters on teleophthalmology. He has presented or been a contributor at many academic conferences; including invited lectures such as the Hollows Lecture at the RANZCO Annual scientific meeting in 2013 and the LP Aggarwal oration at the Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences in 2012 and 2022. He delivered the National Institute of Health Global Health Vision Oration in 2023.
Dr Patrick Versace
Sydney Eye Hospital
Biography
Doctor Patrick Versace is a cataract and refractive surgeon with more than 25 years’ experience as a specialist ophthalmologist. He holds appointments as a senior lecturer in Optometry at The University of New South Wales and Staff Specialist ophthalmologist at The Prince of Wales Hospital Randwick and Sydney Eye Hospital providing clinical service and registrar surgical training.
After gaining Anaesthetic qualifications in London Dr Versace completed his specialist ophthalmology training with Sydney Eye Hospital to become a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.
Prior to embarking on a sub-specialty career path Dr Versace worked in a clinical teaching capacity with ‘Project Orbis’ as an ophthalmic anaesthetist travelling through Central and South America – a formative experience leading to an ongoing commitment to skills exchange teaching programs such as time in Myanmar teaching modern phaco cataract surgery.
Dr Versace has been involved in numerous clinical trials and is often an invited speaker at international meetings – most recently as Gold Medal lecturer at the Nethradhama meeting in India. He regularly contributes to the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery giving lectures and participating in symposia.
As a member of the TGA Ophthalmic Clinical Advisory Group and specialist advisor to the ACMD (Advisory Committee for Medical Devices – Canberra) Dr Versace contributes to the safe introduction of new technologies to Australia – a fruitful use of experience gained working with the development of new IOL technologies both clinically in Australia and at a research level in Europe.
As an early adopter of LASIK in Australia, Dr Versace has been deeply involved in the development of laser technology for vision correction surgeries. He sat on the Zeiss advisory board for several years as Presbyond was being introduced and has recently been involved in trialling new Femtosecond laser platforms for lenticule based refractive correction.
Dr Versace’s approach to practice and surgery is customised, collaborative care using appropriate and modern technology in a safe environment.
Prof Stephanie Watson
Sydney Eye Hospital
Biography
Professor Stephanie Watson OAM FARVO is Head of Ophthalmology and leads the Corneal Research Group at The University of Sydney and Head of the Corneal Unit at the Sydney Eye Hospital. As Chair, Australian Vision Research; Chair, Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists NSW Branch and Secretary to the Asia Pacific Ophthalmic Trauma Society, Professor Watson contributes to policy and advocacy. Professor Watson has generated over 244 Scopus publications and $14M in funding. As well as discovering new knowledge the research has changed practice and enabled the training of over 80 next-generation eye experts. The Medal of the Order of Australia was awarded for services to ophthalmology and Gold Fellowship of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). In 2019, Professor Watson became a Fellow of the Academy of Asia-Pacific Professors of Ophthalmology (AAPPO) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales.
A/Prof Andrew White
Westmead Hospital
Biography
Clin A/Prof Andrew White B.Med.Sci(hons) MBBS PhD FRANZCO is a glaucoma oriented clinician scientist ophthalmologist at Westmead Hospital. He was the Sydney Eye Hospital Network Trainer of the Year for 2025. He has had 19 Fellows trained locally and has trained overseas Glaucoma Fellows at part of Sight for All. He is Director of the Centre for Vision Research at the Westmead Institute of Medical Research where he runs a laboratory developing new treatments for glaucoma. He was awarded First Class Honours in Medical Science in 1995 and a combined MBBS/PhD degree in 2002 from the University of Sydney. He also previously undertook research work at the Max Plank Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Gottingen, Germany and the State University of New York (SUNY) and the University of Cambridge where he was a Honorary Lecturer.
























