Join Professor Lisa Keay, doctors Kate Gifford, Oliver Woo, and Loren Rose, as well as Shaina Zheng, Tim Thurn, and Björn Drobe for an exclusive peer-to-peer educational event hosted by EssilorLuxottica.
Taking place in Melbourne on Saturday 15 August, you’ll learn about practical approaches to myopia management, dry eye care and early intervention in presbyopia, alongside the expanding role of AI-driven technologies in enhancing patient outcomes and independence.
Through expert-led presentations and shared discussion, this event aims to inspire new thinking, strengthen connections, and empower better care.
‘Transforming care. Elevating lives. A peer-led exchange’ will take place at The Promenade Docklands, from 4pm with dinner and networking to follow. CPD points are currently being applied for.
Through expert-led presentations and shared discussion, this event aims to inspire new thinking, strengthen connections, and empower better care
Register Here
Register by 31 July to attend ‘Transforming care. Elevating lives. A peer-led exchange’.
Venue: The Promenade Docklands
Level 1/78 Newquay Promenade, Docklands VIC 3008
Date: Saturday 15 August, from 4pm–10pm
For further information, email marketing@essilor.cm.au.
Myopia, Presbyopia ad Dre Eye
The day will begin with Dr Drobe speaking on the research and development journey behind Stellest lenses, followed by a 45-minute panel discussion with Mr Drobe, Oliver Woo, Dr Kate Gifford and Dr Loren Rose. Moderated by EssilorLuxottica’s Amy Pillay.
Shaina Zhang and Jason Holland will then discuss evidence-based dry eye before Tim Thurn and Professor Lisa Keay discuss the biology of, and solutions for, presbyopia.
About the Speakers
Dr Kate Gifford BOptom, MBA, PhD is an internationally renowned clinician-scientist optometrist, Visiting Research Fellow at Queensland University of Technology, and co-founder of Myopia Profile, the world-leading educational platform for childhood myopia management. Dr Gifford holds a PhD in contact lenses and binocular vision in myopia and four professional fellowships. She has 100+ publications and has given almost 300 lectures internationally. She is Chair of the International Myopia Institute Clinical Management Guidelines committee. Her experience spans across clinical practice, research, education and professional leadership, both in Australia and globally.
Dr Oliver Woo is internationally recognised as a lecturer, mentor, and educator in myopia management, with significant contributions to orthokeratology in Asia. He has been invited to deliver over 200 lectures on optometry at prestigious international conferences, including the World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) and International Myopia Conference (IMC). He holds positions with the Asian Optometry Management Association, the Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control, the Singapore National Eye Centre, the Education Coordination Group of the Global Symposium on Myopia, and the International Academy of Orthokeratology and Myopia Control.
Dr Loren Rose BSc (HONS) MBBS (HONS) FRANZCO PhD completed her ophthalmology training at the Royal Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne. She then undertook a fellowship in paediatric ophthalmology at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. In 2021, she completed her PhD titled Myopia Progression in Children.
Dr Rose holds academic appointments as a Clinical Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University and Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Canberra, where she lectures and contributes to research. She is also actively involved in ophthalmic training through her Visiting Medical Officer position at Bankstown Hospital and as a Staff Specialist at Westmead Children’s Hospital.
Shaina Zheng is an optometrist, author, international speaker, and founder of Dry Eye Impact, an organisation dedicated to helping clinicians and practices confidently implement and elevate dry eye care.
With a special interest in dry eye disease and ocular surface management, Ms Zheng has built a dedicated dry eye service within clinical practice and is passionate about helping clinicians translate knowledge into meaningful patient outcomes. Her work focuses on integrating dry eye technologies, developing practical systems of care, strengthening patient communication, and building clinician confidence in the diagnosis and management of dry eye disease.
As the author of The Dry Eye Imperative and Vice President of the Dry Eye Society, Ms Zheng regularly presents on dry eye care, implementation, leadership, and practice innovation. Drawing on real-world experience, she helps clinicians and practice leaders successfully integrate dry eye services, adopt new technologies, and deliver sustainable, patient-centred care that improves outcomes for both patients and practices.
Professor Lisa Keay is an epidemiologist and health systems researcher. She has a background in clinical optometry, a PhD and MPH from UNSW Sydney. She is the Head of School at the School of Optometry and Vision Science, UNSW Sydney and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW Sydney. Much of her work has focused on ageing and vision impairment, including a program of research in ageing, and road safety.
Dr Björn Drobe is an optometrist and vision scientist with 30 years of experience in the ophthalmic industry, specialising in myopia management and control in children. He started his career with the French R&D team before moving to Asia in 2007. From 2013 to 2017, he served as Associate Director of the Wenzhou Medical University – Essilor International Research Center (WEIRC), where he led an international research team focused on myopia in children. Since 2016, he has headed the Applied Myopia Research department at Essilor R&D in Singapore. Dr Drobe has been instrumental in developing and clinically testing several generations of myopia control lenses, including the Essilor Stellest lenses, which have demonstrated efficacy in slowing myopia progression and axial elongation over a seven-year trial. He holds more than 60 patents related to myopia control and optical technologies and has authored over 40 peer-reviewed scientific articles.
Tim Thurn is a strategic marketing and professional relations expert with over 43 years’ experience in the optometry industry. After graduating from UNSW, Mr Thurn became a director of a group private practice in Adelaide. In 1988, he joined Essilor and in 2001 accepted a role as an International Product Manager in the Strategic Marketing Department at Essilor’s Paris Headquarters. While in France, he completed his Graduate Business Studies. In 2000, Mr Thurn was appointed Professional Services Director for the Essilor AMERA region covering Asia, the Middle East, Russia and Africa. In partnership with the Brien Holden Vision Institute, he ran Essilor Academy, training more than 45,000 practitioners, university staff and optometry students across 20 countries. The results of this work were published in Clinical and Experimental Optometry. Most recently, Mr Thurn was Medical and Professional Relations Director for EssilorLuxottica ANZ. He has written many CPD and business articles, published two papers in CXO and is a well-regarded speaker.
Jason Holland is a prominent Brisbane-based optometrist, educator, and leading Australian expert in dry eye disease (DED) and meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Mr Holland is the President of the Dry Eye Society and the founder of The Eye Health Centre in Brisbane, an advanced dry eye clinic that manages challenging patients using the latest technology.
The recipient of the Optometry Australia Queensland Optometrist of the Year award in 2018, he has lectured on contact lenses and dry eye in Australia and across South-East Asia.
