What led you to a career as a medical retina specialist?

I was doing a fellowship in medical retina at Moorfields in London with Alan Bird, MD, with the plan to be a general ophthalmologist in Australia. At the time, in the mid-1990s, there was virtually nothing that could be done for people with AMD. Patients would fly in from all over the world for an opinion on their AMD, and we had very little to offer in terms of preventing vision loss. It seemed clear that AMD was a disease in need of more research, so I stayed on for another year at Moorfields, continued with some of the AMD research there, and then returned to Melbourne to start the Macular Research Unit at the Centre for Eye Research Australia.

What has been one of the most memorable moments of your career?

Being involved in the first large international clinical trial as a principal investigator. I was so keen on getting to work early and having everything organized for the first patient that I wasn’t concentrating on driving and crashed my car in the hospital parking lot. Those concrete pylons have a mind of their own!

<p>Figure. Dr. Guymer and her family (husband Graeme and children Andrew and Gillian) standing outside their church renovation, after a day of laying paving stones.</p>

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Figure. Dr. Guymer and her family (husband Graeme and children Andrew and Gillian) standing outside their church renovation, after a day of laying paving stones.

What was it about clinical retina research that drew you to that career path?

It was clear during my time as a fellow at Moorfields that we were so limited in what we could do for people with AMD, and when seeing patients one at a time in the clinic, there would be a finite number of people one could help in a career. By becoming involved in clinical research, I felt that I would be able to hopefully help many more people. I have always had a career where I see patients in the clinic but also do research. It has worked very well being able to offer people—who just walk into the clinic—either an opportunity to be in a trial of the cutting-edge interventions or an opportunity to be part of our research aiming to better understand disease mechanisms and management.

Can you tell us about your experience being named as a Member of the General Division in the 2018 Australian Queen’s Birthday Honours List?

In Australia, people can be nominated for consideration of being awarded an Order of Australia. This award recognizes Australian citizens and honors them for outstanding service and achievement. I received a Member of the Order (AM) for my “significant service to medicine in the field of ophthalmology, particularly age-related macular degeneration as a clinician, academic and researcher.”1 It was a great honor to receive this award.

What is your favorite hobby outside of work?

I enjoy renovating an old country church as a weekend escape (Figure), going on family holidays, going to the movies, and watching Australian football.

1. Victorian Government. Professor Robyn Guymer AM. Accessed October 6, 2022. www.vic.gov.au/professor-robyn-guymer-am