Sir William and Lady Stevenson Professor of Ophthalmology, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Auckland, NZ

Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer is recognised as a world-authority in glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology and vision science. She has published over 200 scientific papers and been asked to give hundreds of national and international lectures. Her discoveries have opened new avenues of understanding, leading to novel concepts of optic nerve pathobiology and improvements in clinical care, including novel technologies to identify biomarkers for neurological diseases, tests to diagnose optic neuropathies, and insights into neuronal injury with implications for new therapeutic agents. She created a sustainable world-class environment for optic nerve research in New Zealand and she has built strong collaborations with leading international research institutes such as Stanford (California), McGill University (Montreal), Wills Eye Hospital (Philadelphia), and the University of Melbourne (Australia). She was the first New Zealander recognised as an Honorary Professor of Surgery at Melbourne University.

Prof. Helen has trained dozens of clinicians and scientists and substantially enhancing New Zealand’s clinical, research and training capacity in neuro-ophthalmology and glaucoma. She has been named among the 100 most influential ophthalmologists worldwide (“The Power List 2021, 2023 and 2024”). She is the only New Zealander in the Glaucoma Research Society, an organisation of the world’s top glaucoma researchers, which currently comprises fewer than 80 members globally.