Dr Alyra Shaw

Biography

Dr Alyra Shaw is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Vision and Eye Research, Contact Lens and Visual Optics Laboratory, at QUT.

Dr Shaw graduated from the QUT with a Bachelor of Applied Science in Optometry in 2001. She then worked in optometry practices for three years before returning to QUT in 2005 to commence PhD studies. Under the supervision of Professor Michael Collins, her PhD thesis “Eyelid pressure on the cornea” was completed in 2009 and was funded through an Australian Postgraduate Research Award and a Cornea and Contact Lens Society of Australia Award.

In her thesis, novel methods were developed to quantify the contact region and pressure distribution between the upper eyelid and the ocular surface. This work is important for understanding the eyelid’s role in tear distribution and the interaction between the eyelids and contact lenses on the eye. Dr Shaw’s thesis was awarded a QUT Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award in recognition of the exceptional contribution and standard of excellence demonstrated in postgraduate research practice.

Her current research interests include:
* investigation of eyelid pressure and contact with the ocular surface
* corneal topography
* dry eye
* contact lens discomfort
* conjunctival autoflorescence
* research ethics
* clinical trials

Recently Dr Shaw has been associate investigator on several clinical trials including Johnson and Johnson Vision Care funded projects and Cylite's HP-OCT Capella topographer and aberrometer instrument.

Dr Shaw has presented at national and international conferences and regularly peer reviews for a number of journals including Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, Optometry and Vision Science, Clinical and Experimental Optometry and Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science. She is also a member of the Optometry Australia, Cornea and Contact Lens Society of Australia and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Dr Shaw also enjoys teaching within QUT's Master of Optometry course lecturing and tutoring primarily within the contact lens program.