Associate Professor Lauren Ayton
B Optom, PhD, FAAO, FACO
Lauren is an Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne, where she heads the Vision Optimisation Unit. Her research focuses on retinal disease, including age-related macular degeneration and inherited retinal diseases, and new therapies that could prevent blindness. Lauren has previously led clinical programs in bionic eyes (vision prostheses) in Australia and the USA, and now works on other emerging treatments, such as gene therapy. She has received over $6M in research funding, including prestigious fellowships and prizes, and is a highly published scientist. Lauren is also interested in research translation, and is Director of SPARK Melbourne, a research accelerator program.