Eyesight pioneer Robyn Guymer AM joins Victorian Honour Roll of Women

Professor Robyn Guymer AM, Deputy Director and Head of Macular Research at the Centre for Eye Research Australia (CERA) has been recognised in the Victorian Honour Roll of Women for 2021.

The Honour Roll cites Professor Guymer as a trailblazer who paved the way for women in ophthalmology and vision research, and for having achieved many ‘firsts’ in her pursuit to save the sight of people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Professor Guymer was one of a handful of Australian women admitted to ophthalmology training in 1995 and later became Victoria’s first female medical retinal specialist at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.

Professor Guymer was also the first Australian-born woman to become a full academic Professor of Ophthalmology.

Early in her career, Professor Guymer cared for patients with age-related macular degeneration at a time where little could be done to help. Frustrated by the lack of options, she embarked on a research career – contributing to international research efforts that have now developed effective treatments to prevent vision loss from the ‘wet form’ of AMD.

Professor Guymer and her team of more than 20 staff and students at CERA are now focused on finding treatments to tackle the dry form of late AMD and earlier stage AMD which still have no treatments or cure.

In 2018, Professor Guymer was awarded the Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to medicine in the field of ophthalmology, particularly age-related macular degeneration as a clinician, academic and researcher.