- TFOS global ambassadors and international chapter affiliate
Australia
Laura Downie
Laura Downie is a tenured Senior Lecturer in the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She completed her undergraduate optometry degree (2003) and doctorate (2008) at the University of Melbourne. Following completion of her PhD, Laura pursued her professional aspiration by further developing her specialist expertise in anterior eye disease through a five-year period in clinical practice. In 2014, Laura became the first optometrist to be awarded a prestigious National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Translating Research Into Practice Fellowship for a project to enhance the translation of evidence into the clinical care provided to people with age-related macular degeneration. In her current academic role, Laura provides didactic and clinical training to Doctor of Optometry students, leads the specialty Cornea clinic at the University of Melbourne eye care clinic, and heads her own research unit, the Downie Laboratory: Anterior Eye, Clinical Trials and Research Translation Unit, which includes research higher degree student supervision. Her cross-disciplinary research spans three primary domains: laboratory-based science (animal models of disease), clinical research (Phase II to IV clinical trials) and research translation (focusing on evidence-based practice and the implementation of research into clinical practice). Laura has earned an international reputation as a leading clinician-scientist, as evidenced by the 2014 Irvin and Beatrice Borish Award from the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), the pre-eminent optometric body worldwide. She was one of 150 international experts who contributed to the TFOS DEWS II Report, participating on the Management and Therapy subcommittee, a global initiative aiming to achieve international consensus on DED. She also maintains active engagement with the eye care profession, having been an invited speaker at more than 40 national and international conferences since 2010. She also continues to contribute to journal editorial boards, as a peer-reviewer, and as a clinical mentor to students and junior staff. On a personal note, Laura is also an accomplished classical violinist and pianist.