Celebrating Women in Research:
Professor Lyndell Lim’s Story
Prof Lyndell Lim
In this inspiring video, Professor Lyndell Lim from the Centre for Eye Research Australia reflects on receiving the AVR Award. She shares her journey into ophthalmology research, shaped by mentors who demonstrated how clinical work can address big research questions. Specialising in uveitis, Professor Lim discusses her groundbreaking contributions to randomised clinical trials, which have advanced treatments for rare ocular inflammatory diseases.
Professor Lim highlights the pivotal role of early grants, including her first competitive ORIA grant, in building her confidence and career. She also emphasises the importance of curiosity, resilience and mentorship in overcoming challenges in research. Recognised as a leader and advocate for women in ophthalmology, she celebrates the progress made and the need for continued efforts to inspire future generations of female researchers.
Video Transcript
(What inspired you and who supported your ophthalmic research journey?)
My name is Lyndell Lim and I’m a professor at the Centre for Eye Research Australia. When we get Awards like this – and I’m very grateful and very honoured to have been awarded this AVR award- is that it’s not possible without a lot of encouragement and help along the way. And so the people who I I know who have really helped me and have really sort of inspired me to think about research include Professor Robyn Guymer as well as Associate Professor Anthony Hall and Professor Justine Smith. These guys have been absolutely instrumental! They’ve showed me that you can be a great person, a great researcher and a great clinician, and showed me how you can actually mix your clinical work into big research questions, and also helped me think about how I can actually answer those questions and that’s how I actually ended up in research.
So my main areas of research are in uveitis, so ocular inflammatory diseases and when I started out as a fellow really in this area, I was sort of told that “look you know clinical trials yes they are the gold standard with regards to testing all of our treatments, but in uveitis it’s way too small, the diseases are you know the disease is so rare, there are so many diseases that we call uveitis, there’s no way you’re going to get a uniform population to be able to test prospectively and a randomised clinical trial that any of these treatments are really going to be proven to work”.
And I’m really proud to say that over the years, through a lot of determination from my colleagues and my group in uveitis research, that there have been some groundbreaking randomised prospective trials in uveitis, which has led to us not only finding new treatments that work in non-infectious uveitis, but we’ve also found the best treatments available to treat specific conditions such as macular oedema; and so that’s something that I’m really proud of being a part of, is to actually say that we as a group have been able to really answer those really important questions and as a result guide clinical management of our patients.
(How has Australian Vision Research as an organisation, supported you as a researcher?)
I cannot understate how important AVR has been in my career development, in that it was actually way back when I first started out as a researcher, that the ORIA grant -which is what AVR used to be called – the ORIA Grant was my first ever competitive grant that I’d ever achieved and that was a huge boost to my confidence, that perhaps I might be able to make it as a researcher in Ophthalmology or just in general. If it hadn’t have happened I’m not quite sure! it was almost like a “sliding doors moment” right that if I hadn’t have gotten it maybe then I might have given up rather than continued to persist, having said that you know all the grants are competitive and you do need a thick skin! But just having that first grant that you know I can still remember it really was a really big thing for me.
(What is your advise for fellow researchers)
Always hold on to your curiosity; always ask those questions and never give up!
I think also having great mentors and supporters or just or even great peers around you to help you along the way is also absolutely instrumental I’ve had fantastic mentors who have really helped me along the way, with regards to you know picking you up when you didn’t get your grant through to asking you questions as to do you really think your project’s feasible – all of those questions – all you know it’s absolutely instrumental.
(How does it feel to be recognised with this award?)
I’m very honoured to have been given this award celebrating women in research. When I started there weren’t many female professors or female researchers, and I’m well aware that there is still a long way to go with regards to have encouraging more women to not only do Ophthalmology, but also to consider research, and I do feel that you know as a lot of people say “you can’t be what you can’t see” and so I’d like to to thank AVR to for thinking of of celebrating women in research and I/m very honoured uh to have received award and I look forward to hearing of all the other women in research in the future who are also stepping up for this award. Thank you