OV/SA 2025 Award recipients announced

The 2025 OV/SA Awards were presented on 17 November in Melbourne. We warmly congratulate the 2025 Award recipients, Janelle Scully and Ching Yi Wu, as well as Life Member, Richard Lindsay on their invaluable contributions to optometry.

OV/SA Life Member, Richard Lindsay

Richard Lindsay was awarded OV/SA Life Membership, in recognition of his exceptional technical expertise as an optometrist, particularly in managing complex corneal conditions with contact lenses. Richard has relentlessly pursued the highest standards of eye care since graduating in 1984. Read his story here.

OV/SA 2025 Optometrist of the Year, Janelle Scully

Janelle Scully is a talented clinician with expertise in ocular disease management and paediatric optometry, providing compassionate care to complex and marginalised communities.

She is currently the Manager of Ocular Disease and Diagnostic Services at the Australian College of Optometry (ACO) Eye Health, which provides around 60,000 consultations each year, targeting vulnerable communities who would otherwise struggle to access eye care.

Janelle has been at the forefront of expanding the optometry scope of practice and relationship-building with public and private ophthalmology over the past 10 years. The following initiatives are a testament to her leadership in these areas:

• Glaucoma collaborative programs: Janelle leads crucial glaucoma services at the ACO, facilitating care for those who may face barriers to accessing public ophthalmology services. She has been pivotal in developing collaborative models with institutions such as the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, bridging the gap between optometry and ophthalmology. She is an early completer of Optometry Australia’s Glaucoma Advanced Practice Recognition (APR) program.
• Public health eye care programs: Janelle has coordinated diabetes eye screening programs within public hospital interdisciplinary endocrinology clinics. She has strengthened the visibility and impact of public optometry by integrating it with other disciplines.
• Rural and First Nations eye care: Through collaborations with organisations such as the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service and the Brien Holden Foundation, Janelle has provided culturally appropriate services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in metropolitan Melbourne, rural Victoria as well as the Barkly region in the Northern Territory.

Janelle is a dedicated mentor and educator, having supervised final-year optometry students from various Australian universities for over 15 years. She plays an invaluable role in preparing future optometrists to confidently manage complex ocular diseases.

These achievements, coupled with her status as a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and the Australian College of Optometry, and completion of the Health Sector Leadership Program (Leadership Victoria), underscore Janelle’s dedication to evidence-based practice and lifelong learning.

OV/SA 2025 Rising Star of the Year, Ching Yi Wu

Dr Ching Yi Wu’s journey from clinical practice to discovering a new type of immune cell in the mouse eyelid showcases a career defined by innovation and a commitment to advancing eye care. She is an accomplished optometrist and researcher, with an impressive list of achievements at such an early stage of her career.

Ching Yi graduated in 2015 and then worked full-time in clinical practice for five years, also teaching at the Australian College of Optometry (ACO). She recently completed a joint PhD program at the University of Melbourne and the University of Manchester as a Cookson Scholar. Her research explored the relationship between daily changes in ocular surface immune cells and eye discomfort, leading to the discovery of a new type of immune cell, which she named meibomian gland orifice immune cells (MOICs). MOICs may have significant implications for understanding the development of meibomian gland dysfunction and new anti-inflammatory treatments.

Currently, Ching Yi is leading collaborations across various medical disciplines to study the human ocular immune system, in the context of systemic diseases. She recruits participants for studies that collaborate with clinicians and researchers in neurology, neuroimmunology, endocrinology, psychology, immunology, and ophthalmology, thereby cultivating interdisciplinary research and advancing the field of optometry.

Ching Yi readily communicates complex science to broader audiences, resulting in her winning Melbourne University’s Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry, and Health Sciences’ PitchFest. She is an author on three peer-reviewed publications and currently has four manuscripts under review or in preparation. She has presented at multiple national and international conferences and secured her first independent research grant from the International Society of Contact Lens Researchers to investigate contact lens discomfort, just months after submitting her PhD thesis.

As a graduate researcher advisor, co-supervisor and highly regarded demonstrator, Ching Yi is committed to mentoring the next generation of eye care professionals and researchers.