Professor Bill Morgan the new Managing Director of the Lions Eye Institute
The Lions Eye Institute (LEI) is delighted to announce the appointment of highly respected ophthalmologist and medical researcher Professor Bill Morgan as Managing Director.
Professor Morgan has been Acting Managing Director for the past six months, and LEI Chair Peter Forbes said he was a natural choice to lead the Institute as it embarked on the next stage of its 36-year journey.
"Professor Morgan is a highly effective and humble leader, with a strong strategic focus and extensive expertise and experience. He has been a valued ophthalmologist at the LEI for 25 years and also serves on the Board. We are proud to appoint one of our own to this important role," Mr Forbes said.
Professor Morgan said he was honoured to formally take up the position, and excited by the potential for the LEI to grow as both a leading medical research institute and world-class ophthalmic clinic.
"We are fortunate to have a high-calibre team of medical researchers and clinicians who are as keen as I am to build on our strong legacy of ground-breaking scientific discovery and exceptional eye health care," he said.
"My immediate priorities include expansion of our research agenda and capacity, improved service and processes in our eye clinic, and the growth of our community footprint."
Professor Morgan, a glaucoma specialist whose research interests include studying the response of the optic nerve to pressure and the epidemiology of blinding eye disease, said working collaboratively with peer organisations around the world was a priority.
Last week in Jakarta, Professor Morgan and a young Indonesian ophthalmologist, Dr Virna Oktariana, launched a new device that is set to revolutionise the treatment of glaucoma in Indonesia. Professor Morgan and Dr Oktariana were co-inventors of the Virna Glaucoma Drainage Device, an affordable tube that is implanted in the eye to drain away fluid and relieve intraocular pressure.
Professor Morgan was also part of the LEI team that developed the ground-breaking XEN gel stent for glaucoma surgery. The XEN has now been inserted in more than 80,000 patients around the world.
He is a consultant ophthalmologist at the Royal Perth Hospital and Perth Children's Hospital, a Professor and Director, Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science at The University of Western Australia, a Visiting Professor at the University of Udayana and co-director of the LEI McCusker Glaucoma Centre.
Prior to Professor Morgan's appointment, the Institute had only had two Managing Directors since its establishment in 1983 - Professor Ian Constable AO and Professor David Mackey AO.
The LEI is a leading medical research institute and prominent ophthalmic clinic. Established in 1983, the Institute works towards a world without blindness, pushing the frontiers of science to understand, prevent and cure eye disease.
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