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By Helen Carter
Journalist

Optometry Australia is calling for nominations for the 2020 H Barry Collin Research Medal – and there are just ten days to get nominations in.

The prestigious medal recognises outstanding contributions to the advancement of knowledge in optics, vision science or clinical optometry by a person who is an Australian citizen or a graduate of an Australian optometry school, or who has done a significant part of his or her research in an Australian institution.

The medal is accompanied by a monetary prize of $5,000 and the recipient is required to submit a paper for publication in Optometry Australia’s journal, Clinical and Experimental Optometry.

The award is named after distinguished optometrist, academic and researcher, Emeritus Professor H Barry Collin, who was Editor-in-Chief of Clinical and Experimental Optometry for nearly a quarter of a century. Professor Collin received the Order of Australia for services to optometric education in the South Pacific.

Recipient of the 2019 medal, clinical optometrist and neuroscientist, Professor Erica Fletcher from the University of Melbourne, was awarded her medal at O=MEGA19 in Melbourne.

Professor Fletcher, who specialises in understanding the causes of retinal disease, received the award for her outstanding career research on age related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy.

She was the second female recipient of the award in its 42-year history.

Professor Erica Fletcher

Nominations can be made by a single person or group and must include details of the name, position, qualifications and contact details of both the nominators and nominee. A curriculum vitae and overview statement of no more than 1,500 words on the nature, scope and importance of the research by the nominee is also required. Additional information about the nomination process is available here.

The recipient of the 14th award will be announced in August 2020. Nominations must be received by 29 February 2020 to Optometry Australia Publications and Digital Manager Jess Donald via email, j.donald@optometry.org.au or mail to Jess Donald, Optometry Australia, P.O Box 1037, South Melbourne, Vic, 3205.

Read papers from past winners in our virtual issue.

Medal recipients:

H Barry Collin AM, 1977

Brien A Holden OAM, 1988

Gerald Westheimer AM, 2009

John D Pettigrew, 2010

Anthony J Adams, 2011

Donald E Mitchell, 2012

Robert Hess, 2013

David Atchison, 2014

Nathan Efron AC, 2015

Shaun Collin, 2016

Mark Willcox, 2017

Fiona Stapleton, 2018

Erica Fletcher, 2019

(L-RClinical and Experimental Optometry’s Editor Emeritus Professor Nathan Efron, former Editor-in-chief Emeritus Professor Barry Collin and Deputy Editor Dr Maria Markoulli.

Barry Collin

Professor H Barry CollinAM BSc MAppSc PhD (Melb) DSc (NSW) DUniv (QUT) LOSc FRCPath (Lond) FNZCO FAAO FVCO, held the position of editor of Clinical and Experimental Optometry from 1993 to February 2018.

He was an academic teacher and researcher at the University of Melbourne for 20 years from 1962, and was Head of the School of Optometry at the University of New South Wales from 1982 to 1994. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of New South Wales and a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne.

During his distinguished career he has published more than 130 papers in peer-reviewed journals world-wide, held appointments at the University of Oxford, Harvard Medical School, the University of California at San Diego and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

He received the Order of Australia for services to optometric education in the South Pacific and was awarded the Shorney Prize for research in ophthalmology from the University of Adelaide, the International Optometric and Optical League Medal for research and contributions to optometry, the first H Barry Collin Research Medal, named in his honour and the Vice-Chancellor’s Medal for Teaching Excellence at UNSW.

 

 

 

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Acknowledgement of Country

In the spirit of reconciliation Optometry Australia acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.