Welcome

Cassandra joined Optometry South Australia Board in 2017, and played a key role in the formation and development of the Early Career Optometrists South Australia group. 

Cassandra is a Deakin University graduate who now lives in Adelaide. She works with the policy and advocacy team at Optometry Australia; clinically in an ophthalmology practice and is a writer for the education website Myopia Profile. She is also an associate lecturer at Flinders University and undertaking research in children's vision.

Meet our Guest speakers

Dr Jaz Aujla is a comprehensive general ophthalmologist, with subspecialty fellowship training in medical retina. He grew up in Brisbane and completed optometry at QUT in 2007. This was followed by medical school at University of Queensland and ophthalmology training based in South Australia. In 2019, Jaz was awarded the KG Howsam medal for the top performance in the final RANZCO fellowship examinations.

Jaz is now based in Adelaide and currently works in private practice at Specialist Eye (Golden Grove and North Eastern Community Hospital) and Hills Eye Centre (Mount Barker). His public hospital appointment is at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Jamie Craig, an ophthalmologist-scientist, is a Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor at Flinders University and a Senior Consultant at Flinders Medical Centre. As an NHMRC Level 3 Investigator Grant holder, his research focusses on the molecular genetics of blinding conditions including glaucoma, congenital cataract and diabetic retinopathy. He established and leads two national ophthalmic disease registers, ANZRAG (advanced glaucoma) and RADAR (diabetic retinopathy), which have identified disease-causal and disease-associated genes, driven changes in clinical practice, and improved patient outcomes. He has published over 440 peer-reviewed articles and co-founded Seonix Bio to commercialise the glaucoma polygenic risk profiling saliva test.

Jolly graduated from the University of Sydney in 1996 and trained in ophthalmology at Sydney Eye Hospital and Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital from 2001 to 2004. Thereafter he undertook fellowship training in medical and surgical retina for 2.5 years. He is involved in research and training in medical retina and vitreo-retinal surgery at the South Australian Institute of Ophthalmology and the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He has published papers in peer-reviewed journals and is also a reviewer for ophthalmic journals. His main interests include macula degeneration, macula surgery, diabetic eye disease and uveitis.

Jolly is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, the Australian and New Zealand Society of Retinal Specialists, the American Society of Retinal Specialists, and the Oceanic Retina Association.

Dr Aanchal Gupta is an expert refractive, cataract and corneal surgeon at IVISION LASER. She performs all forms of vision correction including SMILE, LASIK, PRK, phakic implantable lens surgery and refractive lens-based surgery.

She was recently awarded the very prestigious fellowship to the World College of Refractive Surgery and Visual Sciences which has been awarded to only select refractive surgeons around the world.

She was the first surgeon in South Australia to perform several new procedures including new presbyopia correcting IOL implants, PresbyMAX, CAIRS, DMEK, DSO and topography-guided PRK with cross-linking.

Dr Gupta is a RANZCO College Councillor, a Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Adelaide, and is the Australian and New Zealand Ambassador for the World Refractive Surgery Alliance.

Rebekah is a therapeutically endorsed clinical optometrist with particular interest in ocular disease management and complex contact lens fitting. She graduated in 2015 from Flinders University as dux of her class and spent nearly 5 years working as the Senior Clinical Optometrist in a private ophthalmology practice. During this time she gained expertise in the management of acute and chronic anterior eye disease including ocular emergencies, red eyes, post-surgical complications, corneal disease and glaucoma. Since 2021 she has expanded her skills with Adelaide Eye Care, developing hands-on experience in the fitting of custom soft and rigid contact lenses of all modalities.

She continues to enjoy providing care to complex patients with both keratoconus and many other ocular conditions.

Philip is a clinical Optometrist practicing in Norwood Adelaide and Glenunga. He graduated in Optometry at the University of Melbourne in 1986.  He is a member of Optometry Australia, the Cornea & Contact Lens Society of Australia and the Orthokeratology Society of Oceania.   Philip is a highly experienced and skilled Ortho K practitioner and has special interests in Dry Eye and challenging Contact lens fits.

Hirdesh, a passionate optometrist and seasoned professional with over 19 years of experience in the optical industry, serves as the Professional Development Manager at Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Australia & New Zealand since 2019. In this pivotal role, he focuses on enhancing optometry clinical education, driving growth in the contact lens category, and improving visual and lifestyle outcomes for patients.

Hirdesh's journey in the optical industry has been marked by diverse roles, including Professional Services Manager, Contact Lens Buyer, Optometry Learning & Development Consultant, and Clinical Optometrist. His comprehensive experience blends both professional and commercial acumen, evident in his successful initiatives and projects throughout his career.

Dr Bao Nguyen is a Lecturer and Research Fellow at the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences at The University of Melbourne. Her expertise is human visual neuroscience, spanning healthy development and ageing, neurodegeneration and neurological disorders. She is a passionate advocate for optometry education, previously serving on the Education Committee and as an Education Consultant for Optometry Australia. She was the first optometrist to be awarded the BioMedVic Early Career Clinician Researcher Award and is a current recipient of a Momentum Fellowship at The University of Melbourne.

Thi is clinician-researcher with a passion for glaucoma. Thi graduated from Flinders University in 2015, and worked in metropolitan practices until 2017 when she began her research with Prof. Jamie Craig at Flinders University. She has a special interest in glaucoma genetics and risk factors for glaucoma progression. Clinically, Thi runs a glaucoma clinic at Flinders Medical Centre where she manages patients with early glaucoma. Thi also works in the student led optometry clinic, Health 2 Go.

Esmeralda is a therapeutically endorsed clinical optometrist and a member of the ECOVSA committee. She graduated from Flinders University and has since completed a Specialist Certificate in Anterior Eye and Dry Eye Disorders through the University of Melbourne.

Esmeralda currently works at Adelaide Eye Care where she is involved in a range of RGP, scleral and OrthoK contact lens fitting in addition to managing complex anterior eye disease. She is also the Clinical Optometrist at Northern Eye Specialists (an ophthalmology clinic) where she is involved in the co-management of a range of disease including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy and vein occlusions.

Mitch is a seasoned low vision optometrist with over 12 years’ experience. He is passionate about finding unique solutions for patients with low vision as part of the multidisciplinary team at See Differently (formally the Royal Society for the Blind). Mitch also consults at Optical Superstore and oversees their optometry division in SA, VIC, NSW and WA.

Jacqueline graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2012 and commenced working as a lecturer at Flinders University in 2016. She has a keen interest in improving timely access to eye health care in Australia, having recently developed an innovative model of care which sees public ophthalmology patients in the student-led optometry clinics at Health2Go. Recently having completed the World Council of Optometry program in leadership and advocacy, Jacqueline continues to advocate for better eye health outcomes for patients and diverse placement experiences for students. In 2023, Jacqui was honoured to be awarded OVSA’s Optometrist of the Year award.

Dom Willson

Dom owned and managed a successful independent optometry practice employing dozens of optometrists, dispensers and admin staff over a 21-year period, and has also worked as both employee and locum for corporate and independent practices in city and country locations. He has worked everywhere from a grind lens lab in Oxford in the UK, to a bush clinic in a tin shed in remote NT.

Now in his role as Professional Services Advisor for Optometry Australia and drawing on his broad clinical and practice ownership experience, Dom regularly provides OA members with advice in diverse areas such as employment contracts, salary negotiations, working as a locum, Medicare item number usage, and many other topics.

Dom has recently moved from NSW to Adelaide to live and looks forward to getting to know the South Australian optometry scene!

Michael Yapp

Michael is currently the Head of Clinical Operations at the Centre for Eye Health (CFEH) and has been working at the Centre since its inception in 2009.  Prior to this, Michael had a diverse range of clinical experience, working in private practice before undertaking locum work Australia-wide and in the UK, as well as running an optical charity and working in two different ophthalmology practices.

Michael’s interest in optometric education started early in his career when he was a staff optometrist at UNSW. Since then, he has continued to be involved in a wide variety of optometric education programs both through his work at the Centre and invitations to speak at Optometry conferences in Australia and overseas. 

Most recently, Michael has taken on a concurrent role at Optometry Australia, advocating for the advancement of the Optometry profession with the ultimate goal of developing future opportunities for collaborative care and enhanced scope of practice for optometrists.