2025 Grant Family Fund Award Recipient

Macular vascular disease: software standardisation and data harmonisation to accelerate the development of new imaging biomarkers and therapies 

Dr Danuta Sampson is an internationally trained physicist and senior scientist at the Lions Eye Institute. She holds honorary appointments at the University of Western Australia, University College London and the University of Surrey, UK.  

Dr Sampson is dedicated to advancing global eye health by developing methods to standardise data analysis to uncover new retinal disease patterns and improve clinical care. Her leadership in optics and vision science has earned her several prestigious international awards and the Western Australia Young Tall Poppy Science Award for excellence in science research and communication. She is committed to inspiring the future generation of scientists, and to communicating the importance of optics and vision science to the general public.  

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A) is an imaging technique that can detect eye diseases including neovascular age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. Dr Sampson and her team of collaborators aim to standardise the computer software used to analyse OCT-A images, to enable faster, more accurate and consistent image processing and diagnosis reporting, so that the information can be shared across hospitals and clinics.   

By improving the accuracy of the imaging, and enabling data sharing, Dr Sampson’s research will help support better monitoring of macular disease progression, and ultimately improve the management of people with macular conditions.   

Published: 11 August, 2025