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2024 Joanne G. Angle Award:
Justine R. Smith, FRANZCO, PhD, FARVO

 

Justine Smith, FRANZCO, PhD, FARVO

This year, ARVO bestowed its highest service honor to Justine R. Smith, FRANZCO, PhD, FARVO, who was named the 2024 Joanne G. Angle Award recipient. The award recognizes an outstanding leader who has made significant and continuous contributions in support of the Association’s mission.

 

“It is a tremendous honor for me to be joining a highly respected group of ARVO leaders who have been recognized for their service to ARVO in Joanne Angle’s name,” says Smith.

 

An ARVO member for over 20 years, Smith initially joined the Association on the encouragement of her doctoral supervisor, Keryn Williams, PhD, and eventually became quite involved as a volunteer. "My first ARVO Committee was the Members-in-Training Committee, at that time chaired by Gary Abrams, MD," Smith recalls. She also shared one of her greatest highlights as a volunteer was being involved in ARVO's strategic planning. "Joanne brought me on board the Strategic Planning committee when I was still an early career researcher, and I recall it was exhilarating to play a part in planning where the organization would go next."

 

Since then Smith has contributed in various capacities to a number of other committees and working groups, including the Annual Meeting Program Committee [representing the Immunology/ Microbiology (IM) Section and serving as chair], the ARVO Foundation Awards Committee, the ARVO-EBAA Eye Bank Working Group, the Global Mentorship Working Party and the Leadership Development Working Group, which she chaired. In addition, she has been a member of the editorial board for ARVO journal Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (IOVS) and the ARVO Board of Trustees, where she held the leadership roles of President (2013 - 2014) and Executive Vice President (2017 - 2022). 

 

Drawing from her many experiences, Smith advises other members interested in volunteering to not be shy to put your name forward, even if you feel inexperienced. “Volunteering at ARVO has many benefits to you, as well as the organization. You will meet new people from all over the world, junior and senior, and you will learn new skills as you contribute to the agenda.”

About Justine R. Smith, FRANZCO, PhD, FARVO

Justine R. Smith is a Distinguished Professor at Flinders University and a Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist at Flinders Medical Centre (Australia). She leads a research team focused on mechanisms and outcomes of inflammatory eye diseases, and runs a uveitis clinic for patients with these conditions. Smith is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Professors, and an elected Chair of Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis. Science and Technology Australia named Smith a ‘Superstar of STEM’ role model for women working in the STEM disciplines. She is a major contributor to professional organizations within eye and vision, including the International Ocular Inflammation Society and the International Uveitis Study Group. She is the outgoing Editor-in-Chief of Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology — the first woman ever to lead a Q1 ophthalmology journal. Smith was recognised in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours as a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to ophthalmology, particularly research and education.