Damehood for leading ophthalmologist

Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer – the first ever female professor of ophthalmology in NZ – has been appointed Dame Companion of the Order of New Zealand in the King’s New Year’s Honours.

World-renowned for her pioneering contributions to surgery, research and community service, Professor Danesh-Meyer is the Sir William and Lady Stevenson Professor of Ophthalmology at University of Auckland.

In 2024, she was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi, New Zealand’s highest honour for scholarly achievement, in recognition of her trailblazing research on the interactions between the brain and the eye. For example, her work has revolutionised the treatment of sight-threatening pituitary tumours through her discovery of a non-invasive test now used worldwide to plan neurosurgery and to monitor patients.

More than twenty years ago, Professor Danesh-Meyer co-founded (and she continues to chair) Glaucoma New Zealand, a highly influential 15,000-member not-for-profit organisation that shapes public policy on vision and health through evidence-based education and advocacy.

Her other community eﬀorts include leadership of Vision Research Foundation (which she founded to support early and mid-career New Zealanders in vision research), and Women in Vision (a national forum empowering female ophthalmologists, optometrists and students).

She received the Paul Harris Rotary Medal, one of the highest awards of Rotary International, in recognition of her exceptional community service.

Professor Danesh-Meyer is also a global leader in ophthalmology. She is the only New Zealander to have been elected President of the Neuro-ophthalmology Society of Australia, and has been awarded the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists’ highest award (the College Medal) for outstanding service.