Fiona Jane Stapleton

Scientia Professor Fiona Jane Stapleton is a distinguished faculty member at the School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney. She is a clinical scientist with expertise in epidemiology, basic and clinical research in corneal infection, dry eye and contact lens related disease. Professor Stapleton serves as President of the International Society for Contact Lens Research and is Academic Lead of the Sage Athena Swan initiative at UNSW.

Her academic background includes a PhD from City University and Moorfields Eye Hospital in London for research on contact lens-related disease, an MSc from University of Manchester, and BSc (Hons) in Optometry from University of Wales, Cardiff. She completed a post-doctoral fellowship at University College London.

Professor Stapleton's research spans contact lenses (development of antimicrobial lenses and infection prevention), epidemiology of contact lens-related infections, and dry eye studies affecting up to 50% of Asian populations. Her work combines basic research on Meibomian gland cells with clinical applications to address significant public health concerns.

• Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (2018)
• Life Fellowship from the British College of Optometrists (2019)
• Glenn A Fry Award from American Academy of Optometry Foundation (2018)
• Top Australian researcher in Ophthalmology and Optometry (2020-2021)

With over 300 peer-reviewed publications and 20 textbook chapters, Professor Stapleton contributes significantly to her field. She teaches Clinical Ocular Therapeutics courses and supervises numerous graduate students working on corneal infections, dry eye mechanisms, and contact lens innovations. Her leadership extends to editorial boards of three international journals and multiple professional organizations.