Council Members

Prof. Ian Constable

Cit WA MBBS FRANZCO FRCS(Ed) Dip Am.Board Opthal FAICD Hon DSc (Murdoch)

Ian Constable was appointed by The University of Western Australia in 1975 as the Lions Foundation Professor of Ophthalmology.

This came after five years in Boston, USA, as a Clinical Retinal Fellow at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and as a Lecturer at Harvard University where his ophthalmic skills were attracting international attention. He remains recognised as one of the world's leading ophthalmic surgeons.

In 1983 Professor Constable established the Lions Eye Institute in Perth, a leading edge not-for-profit research organisation dedicated to the investigation, prevention and cure of blinding eye disease.

The LEI is now the largest eye research institute in the southern hemisphere with over 100 scientists from more than 30 countries addressing major blinding eye diseases.

As Founding Professor of Ophthalmology, Ian Constable heads the University of Western Australia Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science which is based at the Lions Eye Institute. This unique centre combines the expertise of ophthalmologists and researchers from a broad spectrum of scientific fields.

For almost 30 years Professor Constable has developed close links throughout South East Asia. He is a Past President of the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (2001-2003). Professor Constable continues his membership of the International Council of Ophthalmology, is a Visiting Consultant to Tianjin International Eye Centre, China, Honorary Member of the Indonesian Ophthalmologists Association and Member of Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis.

Pivotal to Professor Constable's approach to preventing blindness and restoring sight is a commitment to scientific research. He is author of well over 350 peer-reviewed papers. Professor Constable is Chairman of the State Science Council in Western Australia, the body that guides scientific development in mining, agriculture, health and the environment. He has also received an Honorary Doctorate in Science from Murdoch University and was a recipient of the University of Western Australia's Chancellor's Medal in the Year 2000.