Philanthropy

At Retina Specialists, we believe in charity and collegial work, in order to benefit the wider community.

Dr Dianne Sharp is the founder of Macular Degeneration New Zealand, a prominent charity that supports those affected by age-related macula degeneration. She was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2019 for her work with this charity.

Dr Leo Sheck currently holds the chair of New Zealand Save Sight Society, which is a major funder of New Zealand ophthalmic research.

Associate Professor Andrea Vincent is on the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of Retina International and Retina New Zealand, is Vice Chair of the New Zealand Branch of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO).

Further information can be found in the links below.

Research

Associate Professor Andrea Vincent leads the ocular genetics research group in the University of Auckland. This is the only research group focusing on genetic eye diseases in New Zealand, and has worldwide collaborations. Patients with inherited retinal diseases seen at Retina Specialists will benefit from the opportunity to be included in the Database of Inherited Retinal and Optic Nerve Disease at the University of Auckland, which means they will receive the most up to date information regarding their diseases.

The team in Retina Specialists also run clinical studies on site, in particular those on retinal diseases.