Bahá’í Ophthalmologist receives prestigious Fellowship
An Auckland Bahá'í, Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer, who is a Professor in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Waipapa Taumata Rau The University of Auckland, has received another prestigious award in recognition of her services to the medical field. She was one of twenty-three new Ngā Ahurei a Te Apārangi Fellows who were elected to the Academy of the Royal Society Te Apārangi at the end of March 2025. The Fellowship recognises researchers, scholars, and innovators throughout Aotearoa New Zealand who have achieved excellence in their various disciplines across science, technology, and the humanities.
The Royal Society website states:
“Being made a Fellow is an honour that recognises distinction in research, scholarship, or the advancement of knowledge at the highest international standards. Fellows can use the post-nominal ‘FRSNZ’ after their name to indicate this honour. ... Their election demonstrates the excellence of New Zealand research, innovation, and scholarship and shows the contribution our nation’s Fellows make on the world stage across a diverse array of subjects. … Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer CNZM is a clinician-scientist ophthalmologist working at the frontier of research on eye–brain interactions. She has uncovered the underlying pathology behind conditions and improved their clinical management. One example is her discovery of a non-invasive imaging biomarker for sight-threatening pituitary tumours that is now used for patients worldwide. She was part of a team which showed that neurons in the retina can be killed by opening of membrane channels causing neuroinflammation, and rescued by blocking the channels. Another achievement was to identify that loss of retinal-nerve fibre can be used as an imaging biomarker to diagnose and stage Alzheimer’s disease.”
Educated at Logan Park High School in Dunedin and Otago University Medical School, Professor Danesh-Meyer is an internationally recognised eye surgeon and vision scientist. She has received multiple awards for her contributions, including the College Medal, the top recognition awarded by the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists for outstanding professional contributions, and the Paul Harris Rotary Medal for community service. Two years ago, when Professor Danesh-Meyer received the honour of being made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Glaucoma New Zealand wrote:
“Professor Helen Danesh-Meyer of Auckland, one of the world’s leading eye surgeons, has been made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to ophthalmology in the King’s New Year honours list. Professor Danesh-Meyer has had a ground-breaking career as the first female Professor of Ophthalmology and the second female Professor in any surgical speciality in New Zealand. She is currently the Sir William and Lady Stevenson Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Auckland, where she is the Head of Academic Neuro-Ophthalmology and the Glaucoma Research Unit of the New Zealand Eye Centre. Cited in the honours list for her service to the community, Professor Danesh-Meyer has founded major organisations to advocate for the rights of patients, promote public health and science, and inform government policy. She is the chair and co-founder of “Glaucoma New Zealand”, founded twenty years ago and now comprising 15,000 members. It is the official advocacy organisation for patients in New Zealand with glaucoma.”
Professor Danesh-Meyer responded: ‘It is a tremendous honour to be recognised in this way. It’s a recognition of the wider team involved in our patient empowerment and professional education efforts, shining a light on the need for joined up approaches involving patients, healthcare professionals, higher education and government sectors to tackle important chronic conditions of ageing such as glaucoma.’
A colleague at the time described her in the following way:
‘Helen is a person of incredible vision, excellence and energy, who will take the momentum of this most deserved recognition to drive forward initiatives to advance science and public health.’
Professor Danesh-Meyer is also the Chair of the Vision Research Foundation a charitable trust which she founded, dedicated to fostering vision research.
The New Zealand Bahá'í community heartily congratulates Helen on the well-deserved recognition she has received for her dedicated service to wider society, sustained over many years.
The photos below were taken during the awarding of the Fellowship to Helen in late April 2025.
PROFESSOR HELEN DANESH-MEYER CNZM, MBChB, MD, PhD, FRANZCO, FRSNZ
