Location
The University Department of Ophthalmology
and Ophthalmology Department, Auckland District Health Board are based on two separate
sites - the Department of Ophthalmology occupies the fourth floor of building 504
on the Medical and Health Sciences Campus, Grafton and the Ophthalmology Department,
ADHB is located approximately 5kms away at the Green Lane Clinical Centre site.
Shuttle buses run between the sites every 15 minutes. A population of more than
2.0 million use the tertiary ophthalmology services provided within Auckland.
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History
The University Section of Ophthalmology was created as a sub-division of the Department
of Surgery in 1968. The foundation Clinical Reader was Dr Hylton LeGrice OBE, until
Dr Gillian Clover was appointed as the first Sir William and Lady Stevenson Senior
Lecturer in Ophthalmology in 1983. Dr Clover was appointed to Associate Professor
in 2000 and retired from her academic position in 2001.
A significant donation by the industrialist and philanthropist Dr Maurice Paykel,
augmented by generous support from the local ophthalmic community and other donors,
allowed the establishment of the first Chair of Ophthalmology in New Zealand in
1997. The department expanded significantly in 1998 following the appointment of
Professor Charles McGhee as the foundation Maurice Paykel Professor and Chair of
Ophthalmology. He relocated from the University of Dundee, Scotland, with several
of key staff in 1999.
The ophthalmology team has expanded from a team of 4.5 in 1999 to over 50 staff,
research students and honorary staff (refer staff page for further detail) in 2010.
Significant appointments since 1999 include Professor Colin Green (2005), the first
recipient of the W & B Hadden Professor of Ophthalmology and Translational Vision
Research in 2005. Colin is an eminent cell biologist with an international reputation
in research into wound healing particularly the eye, skin and nervous system. Professor
Helen Danesh-Meyer was initially appointed as the Sir William and Lady Stephenson
Associate Professor in 2001 and thereafter appointed to full Professor in 2008.
Professor Danesh-Meyer has an international profile for research in glaucoma and
neuro-ophthalmology and provides clinical services in the public and private sectors.
All academic ophthalmologists hold posts with Auckland District health Board (ADHB).
Dr Sue Ormonde, Senior Lecturer, is currently the Clinical Director of the Department
of Ophthalmology, ADHB.
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The Department of Ophthalmology Today
The Head of Department is Charles NJ McGhee, The Maurice Paykel Chair of Ophthalmology.
Professor McGhee, a leading corneal expert, heads a large research team primarily
focussing on corneal diseases. He also provides tertiary clinical services in both
the public and private eye care sectors. Professor McGhee also holds an honorary
Professorial position at the Chinese University of Hong Kong
The University of Auckland Department of Ophthalmology occupies an entire floor
in the Pathology Building on the FMHS campus and accommodates academic, laboratory
and general staff as well as the New Zealand National Eye Bank, Glaucoma New Zealand,
and the New Zealand National Eye Centre. Research and teaching facilities consist
of; 2 fully equipped laboratories, a state of the art wet-lab facility, clinical
examination rooms, a teaching laboratory and a confocal microscope. There is also
a University of Auckland Department of Ophthalmology research room at the Greenlane
Clinical Centre.
The department is based within the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. The medical
school enrols 160 students currently in each of 6 years and Ophthalmology is taught
in second, third and fifth year, this number is gradually increasing over the next
few years to a total of 250 students per annum. A large University Department of
Optometry and Vision Science is also based within the medical school and collaborative
research and teaching is inherent to the relationship between Ophthalmology and
Optometry under the banner of the New Zealand National Eye Centre.
Clinical research interests of the Department of Ophthalmology include cataract,
corneal transplantation, refractive surgery, keratoconus, tear film abnormalities,
glaucoma, neuro-ophthalmology, inherited eye diseasesvision in childhood and diabetic
eye disease. Laboratory based interests include: in vivo confocal microscopy, in
vitro confocal microscopy of keratoconus, corneal topography, pharmacokinetics of
ocular drugs, genetics of inherited retinal and corneal dystrophies, gap junction
channels in the cornea, molecular basis of lens transparency and tear film physiology.
The department currently holds approximately $2 million in research grants and from
1999 to 2008 received research grants totalling over $13.5 million.
The New Zealand National Eye Bank, with four members of staff, is located within
the Ophthalmology department and very close clinical and research links are maintained
between the Eye Bank and the Ophthalmology department. The Eye Bank provides tissue
for more than 240 corneal transplants throughout New Zealand each year.
Glaucoma New Zealand, a charitable trust established to eliminate blindness from
glaucoma, is also situated within the department. They have 3 staff who offer a
wide range of services for example; regular communication with members by either
newsletters or public forums and professional education opportunities.
New Zealand National Eye Centre (NZ-NEC) was established in 2008 to form a focus
for researchers in the fields of ophthalmology, optometry, eye health and visual
sciences in New Zealand. NZ-NEC is a unique eye research centre in that includes
the two ophthalmic professions – the Department of Ophthalmology (Faculty of Medical
and Health Sciences) and the Department of Optometry and Vision Science (Faculty
of Science). The stated Vision of NZ-NEC is:
“To become a foremost international vision research, clinical and teaching centre
through excellence, innovation and collaboration”
For further information please visit the sites of our affliated organisations:
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Foundation Clinical Reader in Ophthalmology: Dr. Hylton LeGrice OBE.,
M.B.,FRCS(Eng.), FRACS, FRACO, FRCOphth., DO(Lond.), D.Obst.(NZ)
Hylton LeGrice was educated at Kings School and Kings College in Auckland, and is
a graduate of Otago Medical School. He was awarded both the Sir Carrick Robertson
Surgical Prize and the TWJ Johnston Memorial Prize in Medicine, for final year medical
students at the Auckland Clinical School.
After spending his intern years in Auckland he attended the Royal College of Surgeons
of England, in London. Passing the Part One Fellowship examination, he was appointed
Registrar at the Croydon Eye Unit in London where over a three year period he achieved
comprehensive surgical experience under the tutelage of one of the pioneers of microsurgery
of the eye, Dermot Pierse. Dr. LeGrice then spent the next three years as Senior
Registrar at Moorfields Eye Hospital City Road, London and passed his Final FRCS
examination soon after taking up this post. He was ultimately appointed Senior Resident
Surgeon where he was in charge of the Senior Registrar establishment at Moorfields
City Road.
On returning home he took up the post as a part-time Visiting Specialist Surgeon
to Auckland Hospital, as well as setting up in 1968 his own private consulting practice
in Remuera. In 1970 he was appointed as Foundation Clinical Lecturer and soon after,
as Foundation Clinical Reader in Ophthalmology at the Auckland School of Medicine.
As a solo figure, without even clerical assistance, he established, and then conducted
the first undergraduate teaching programme in Ophthalmology in Auckland. Dr. LeGrice
continued in this teaching post for the next thirteen years until Dr. Gillian Clover
was appointed full-time lecturer in 1983 and ultimately became Associate Professor.
Whilst continuing his private practice and having completed a twenty-year period
as a Visiting Surgeon at Auckland Hospital, Hylton made a decision in 1988 to step
down from the Consultant Staff in order to pursue other interests. For many years
he had been Deputy Chairman of the Visiting Clinical Staff at the Mercy Hospital
in Epsom, and was the Staff representative on the Board of Management of this hospital.
He also stepped aside from this task because of a possible conflict of interests
when appointed in 1984 to the Board of Southern Cross Healthcare - the founder of
private health insurance in New Zealand, and the owner and operator of a nationwide
network of thirteen surgical hospitals. Hylton was also a Ministerial appointment
to the foundation Board of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in 1989, and was Chairman
from 1993 to 1996.
Dr. LeGrice was previously Deputy Chairman and has for the last five years been
the Chairman of the Southern Cross Medical Care Society and Chairman of the Southern
Cross Hospitals Trust. He is presently also a Director of Montana Wines, this country's
largest Winemaker, and also of Metlifecare Ltd., New Zealand's largest Retirement
Village Operator with sixteen Retirement Villages nationwide. He is a Member of
the Institute of Directors.
In the Queen's Birthday Honours List of 1995 Dr. LeGrice was admitted as an Officer
of the British Empire (OBE.) for his contribution to the community in the fields
of Medicine, Education, and Music.
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