Advancements in Macular Degeneration Research

Professor Robyn Guymer, Deputy Director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Melbourne, discusses groundbreaking research on age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Supported by Australian Vision Research (AVR), she highlights the progress made in early intervention tools that aim to prevent severe vision loss. Professor Guymer emphasises the critical need for collaborative efforts and funding to further advance research in Australia, advocating for a unified electronic medical record system to facilitate data sharing across clinicians and researchers. She also calls for continued donations to support young ophthalmologists and further life-changing innovations in eye care.

Hello, my name is Robyn Guymer. I’m deputy director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia and Professor of ophthalmology at the University of Melbourne.


(How does Australian Vision research advocate for ophthalmology?)

Australian Vision Research clearly advocates for research and I think have put at the forefront of our minds research, and I think like advocating to government and our stakeholders about the importance of research, it clearly is the body that we have in Australia to do that.

But more specifically, I think in terms of the funding and the research, to give young ophthalmologists that first chance at their first grant to get them enough money to start on their research journey, has traditionally been very important role that AVR plays.

(What excites you about the future of ophthalmic research?)

So my area of research, which is age related macular degeneration, I think we’re at a really important point now and very excited that we now have all the tools to be able to intervene early in disease. 
So up until now we’ve had to wait for someone to run into problems with their vision and try to make the best of the bad deal. But we now have all the tools and a better understanding of the cause that make the degeneration so that we can now start to intervene early to try and stop people getting to that point where they need all those invasive treatments with injections for the rest of their life.

So I think right now we’re poised to make a big jump forward in that disease that I’ve devoted my life to. 
And what we need is to have a mechanism where we can much more easily work together. And so I think AVR is positioned perfectly to help us join forces and one of the crucial things we need is an electronic medical record. Ideally one that is the same around Australia, but at least have an electronic medical record, and also an ability to interact with other eye care clinicians, our optometrists and orthoptists. Unless we can work together and share our data, we’re gonna be so far behind the rest of the world.

And if AVR could do anything to help us combine forces, then I see that as a major role that they can play. 


(What is your message to Australian Vision research supporters and stakeholders)

A key message for stakeholders would be that Australia really punches above its weight in terms of its research, and the quality of the research, and the the impact that research has. and I think to reassure them that any funding or any philanthropy that they may wish to donate to our researchers, is  going to go much further if you donate it in Australia than elsewhere because of the high quality of our clinicians and our researchers.