Associate Professor Lauren Ayton receives 2022 BioMelbourne Emerging Leadership Award

Associate Professor Lauren Ayton is one of three women named in the 2022 BioMelbourne Network Women in Leadership Awards, receiving the Emerging Leadership Award.

Associate Professor Ayton is an emerging global leader in the field of low vision and blindness research. In particular, she has led teams in academia at Bionic Vision Australia, and industry at Bionic Eye Technologies in the USA to develop vision prostheses or “bionic eyes” for the blind.

In her current role at the University of Melbourne and Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA), Associate Professor Ayton leads a team investigating inherited retinal diseases, which are the most common cause of legal blindness in working-aged Australians. Her research includes new methods for assessing eye health and function, evaluation of progression over time and interventions such as gene therapy.

Associate Professor Ayton is also involved in several start-up companies developing low vision aids to improve quality of life and is the inaugural Co-Director of SPARK Melbourne, a research accelerator at the University.

Associate Professor Ayton is highly involved in professional organisations, including as a board director for the Australian College of Optometry, and patient advocacy groups such as Retina Australia.

The 2022 BioMelbourne Network Women in Leadership Awards were presented by Minister for Innovation, Medical Research, and the Digital Economy Jaala Pulford  at a hybrid event. The other recipients were Dr Emma Ball, head of Illumina for Startups Australia, who was given the Distinguished Leadership Award and George Kenley, co-founder & chief operating officer of Seer who was given the Illumina Inspiring Leadership Award.

Congratulations to all the women who were nominated.