Our Team

With over 40 years of optometry experience, Professor Garry Fitzpatrick played a crucial role in establishing Western Australia’s first Optometry program at the University of Western Australia (UWA).

As the inaugural Western Australian practitioner member of the Optometry Board of Australia until 2018, he actively shaped eye health service delivery policies. His commitment extends to remote areas, where he contributed significantly to innovative eye care workforce models.

Professor Fitzpatrick’s philosophy emphasises interprofessional collaboration, addressing healthcare challenges for disadvantaged populations.

As the Foundation Head of the UWA Optometry program, he envisions graduates adaptable to the evolving optometry landscape. Under his leadership, the program marks a new era in eye health care, fostering collaboration between optometry and ophthalmology disciplines positioning Western Australia at the forefront of optometric education and eye health care.

Khyber Alam is an Associate Professor and Course Director of the Optometry program.

He has experience as an accomplished problem-solving and strategically oriented leader, educator, researcher, and clinician.

He is driven by a profound passion for teaching and a strong commitment to academic excellence, which fuels his motivation to be a part of the distinguished faculty at the University of Western Australia.

Khyber finds great fulfillment in sharing his insights and nurturing the minds of the next generation of scholars.

UWA’s reputation as a leading institution for research and education aligns perfectly with Khyber’s aspirations, as it provides an ideal environment for him to contribute to cutting-edge research and collaborate with other esteemed academics across the world.

His interests include neurodegenerative diseases of the retina, public health, vision impairment and its impact on quality of life and the evaluation of healthcare & educational services.

Wilfred is a Senior Lecturer of the UWA Doctor of Optometry course.

Since joining UWA in early 2020, he has been involved in designing, planning, implementing and teaching in the program.

Wilfred is a therapeutically endorsed optometrist who concurrently works at the eye clinic at the Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital. He has over 12 years of high-level clinical exposures to managing complex eye diseases and surgeries within the tertiary system of healthcare.

Wilfred is currently driving the UWA initiatives to provide final year optometry students with hands-on experiences of delivering eye health services within an Aboriginal Medical Service in the Mid-West of WA. Prior to joining UWA, he led the optometry program in Singapore.

Wilfred graduated from The University of Melbourne in 1991, and completed his PhD from QUT in 2001. He holds a Master of Public Health degree from UWA and a post-graduate qualification in ocular therapeutics from UNSW.

Wilfred is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. His clinical interests include public health of optometry, managing eye diseases and ageing eyes.

Elisse is a lecturer at UWA developing students’ learning in binocular vision and transition to clinical practice.

Combining a strong understanding of the underlying evidence base and 20 years of experience in clinical optometry, she takes an active patient-based approach to clinical care and teaching.

Her primary clinical interests are paediatric vision, especially strabismus and amblyopia, myopia management and visual perception.

Previously Lead Optometrist (Paediatric Services) at the Australian College of Optometry, she continues her commitment to public eye care through her work at EHCWA and with refugee and aboriginal patients at the Lions Eye Institute.

Lisa is an optometrist with over 30 years experience as a clinician and practice owner with an interest in specialty contact lens fitting for myopia management and conditions such as keratoconus.

She completed her Bachelor of Optometry with Honours at the University of New South Wales and has completed a graduate Certificate in Ocular Therapeutics. She currently lectures at UWA and is involved in clinical skills instruction and supervision.

Pauline Xu was the previous clinic director of EHCWA and now serves as senior lecturer in the Optometry program.

Pauline is a highly qualified optometrist, having earned a Bachelor of Optometry with Class I Honours from the University of New South Wales in 2007. She furthered her education by obtaining a Master of Optometry and a Graduate Certificate of Ocular Therapeutics.

With a rich background in clinical optometry, teaching at both under and post-graduate levels, and clinical research, Pauline has held significant roles such as clinical research manager at the Brien Holden Vision Institute, clinical supervisor and lecturer at the School of Optometry and Vision Science at UNSW, and lead clinician at the Centre for Eye Health.

Pauline’s expertise spans evidence-based practice, diagnostic imaging, and retina diseases, reflecting her dedication to advancing clinical optometry. Her commitment to collaborative eye care is evident in her multifaceted roles, showcasing a holistic approach to eye health.

Amy is a local optometrist who has made the transition to academia, where she is actively involved in teaching clinical skills to Optometry students.

Her clinical work has encompassed metro, rural WA and international endeavours.

She holds a Bachelor of Vision Science, Master of Optometry and a Graduate Certificate in Public Health and Leadership in Eyecare, and is currently undertaking a PhD in health education. Her research focusses on aligning teaching and assessment of communication and clinical decision making within healthcare curricula.

Amy possesses a deep passion for education, consistently seeking knowledge and embracing the challenges it presents. She is highly enthusiastic about making a positive impact on the lives of her students and patients.

Gavin is an optometrist in clinical practice with a recognised expertise in specialty contact lens fitting for visual rehabilitation in the irregular cornea and in myopia control.

He is a lecturer in the UWA Doctor of Optometry team focusing on topics around anterior eye, contact lenses and myopia control.

He completed a Bachelor of Vision Science at UWA, and then went on to acheive a Bachelor of Optometry from the University of Melbourne as well as a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Clinical Optometry and Postgraduate Certificate in Ocular Therapeutics.

He is a Fellow of the International Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control, and is currently undertaking a PhD where his research is focused on the impact of residual higher-order aberrations in contact lens correction of the irregular cornea.

Jeremiah obtained his Optometry, MPhil and PhD degrees at the University of Melbourne. As the inaugural recipient of the Guelma-Alexander Fellowship in Neuroscience, he undertook his postdoctoral fellowship while based at the Melbourne Brain Centre.

Jeremiah has practiced clinically since 2005 across various private and public settings both interstate and overseas. His clinical interests include glaucoma, neurological conditions and retinal conditions of vascular aetiology.

His research focuses on developing novel biomarkers for the detection of systemic and brain disease such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. He is currently an associate editor for the journal Clinical and Experimental Optometry.

Allison is currently appointed as the UWA/Lions Eye Institute Chair of Optometry Research. She is an AHPRA registered optometrist and has over 25 years of clinical research and teaching experience involving the evaluation of visual function and performance.

Her research interests include improving clinical assessments for eye conditions that are common in older adults such as glaucoma, diabetic eye disease and macular degeneration.

She has made significant contributions to the understanding of visual perceptual disorders in the healthy aging visual system, and in neurological conditions that affect the visual pathways such as migraine and visual snow syndrome.

Her research has developed new methods for visual field assessment, and for combining this information with ophthalmic imaging. Her research is supported by nationally competitive grant funding and industry partners.

Danka Sampson obtained her PhD in biophysics from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland.

Post-PhD, she has been a researcher in three institutions: Lions Eye Institute and the University of Western Australia (2014-2018; 2023-); the University of Surrey (2018- 2021) and University College London (2021-2023), United Kingdom.

Her research focuses on designing and constructing non-invasive imaging instruments based on optical coherence tomography for ophthalmology and developing standardised workflows for ophthalmic image and data analysis.

Beyond research, she is passionate about science communication and developing a more inclusive society. She has been involved in over 30 outreach programs for schools, invited to speak at a number of events encouraging female students to enter STEM, and served as a mentor to female high school and university students.

She has also created a children’s book, “Jesse explores vision impairment,” scheduled for publishing later in the year.