Profile – Dr Marianne Coleman, University of Melbourne

Dr Marianne Coleman

Name:

Dr Marianne Coleman

Job Title:

Clinical Eyecare Research Fellow

Place of work / study:

University of Melbourne & Australian College of Optometry (National Vision Research Institute)

Area of research:

Visual function and access to eyecare for people living with dementia

How is your work currently funded:

Dementia Australia Research Foundation; Victorian Optometrists Training and Education Trust

Tell us a little about yourself:            

I’m an orthoptist (it means “straight eyes” in Latin) – you can call me an optimist if you like! I’m the eyecare professional you’ve probably never heard of. We are based in hospitals and specialise in diagnosing and treating problems with moving the eyes around and using them together as a pair to judge distances. We support people with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, who may develop double vision or problems with reading. My research aims to break down barriers to accessing routine eyecare experienced by people with dementia and their carers/supporters.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself:           

I moved to the UK when I was 13 and lost my Australian accent very quickly. I thought it would come back strongly when I moved to Melbourne, but it didn’t, so everyone is shocked when I tell them I was born in Perth!

Why did you choose to work in dementia?

When I worked in the NHS, I saw many older adults, yet rarely people living with dementia. I wondered why, so I started looking things up. That was how I found out about the huge access inequalities people with dementia experience when accessing eyecare. My first project looked at depth perception, but when doing home visits for this, people with dementia shared with me their experiences of going to the optometrist or the hospital eye service. These stories inspired my current work.

What book are you reading right now? Would you recommend it?

I just bought the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes aka the Hunger Games prequel by Suzanne Collins. I’m only a few pages in so I’ll have to get back to you on that recommendation, but I did have it recommended to me!

Follow @MPOrthoptics