Miss Kathleen Holmes was a woman of many talents, but perhaps her greatest legacy was co-founding Glaucoma Australia alongside Dr Ivan Goldberg. After spending her early years working internationally as a business executive, Miss Holmes eventually returned to Australia where she began to experience significant visual loss. Having been successfully treated by Dr Ivan Goldberg for glaucoma in 1983, Miss Holmes set out to raise awareness about eye disease – even initially opening her house to allow volunteers to work together from her lounge room. Together, Miss Holmes and Dr Goldberg went on to establish the organisation now known as Glaucoma Australia. In 1996, Kathleen was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for her services to community health, particularly through Glaucoma Australia. Today, Glaucoma Australia continues to award the ‘Kath Holmes’ scholarships in her honour.
The Glaucoma Australia 'Kath Holmes' scholarships assist trainees from Australia to attend, while the ANZGS scholarships assist trainees from developing countries.
We are delighted to award the 'Kath Holmes' scholarship to 4 ophthalmology registrars each year.
- 1 trainee is awarded $2,000 for the best presentation by a Registrar
- 3 trainees are awarded $1,000 to assist with travel expenses to glaucoma related meetings
The scholarship will help fund my second glaucoma fellowship at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Alabama. This is a part of the US which has some of the most challenging glaucoma cases and I hope to learn as much as possible before coming home to Australia.Dr Alp Atik
Glaucoma Australia is committed to supporting research in an effort to eliminate glaucoma blindness. You can contribute to this research by making a tax deductible donation today.