Person
Serpell, Geoffrey Richard Trembath (1923 - 2014)
- Born
- 29 December 1923
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 8 December 2014
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Ophthalmologist
Summary
Geoffrey Serpell was an ophthalmologist who established Australia's first glaucoma treatment unit at the Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne, in 1957. While undertaking postgraduate training in ophthalmology in the United Kingdom he made a significant contribution to understanding blindness of prematurity by demonstrating that using too much oxygen in incubators for premature babies interfered with development of retinal blood vessels. On returning to Melbourne he was appointed to the staff of Prince Henry's and the Eye and Ear Hospitals. Under his direction the Glaucoma Research Unit at Eye and Ear Hospital pioneered new treatments, and provided a service for instrument standardisation. Serpell was active in the Ophthmalogical Society of Australia, serving as President of the Victorian Division, and being the founding curator the College Museum, 1959-1984. He also acted chairman of examiners at the Royal Australian College of Ophthalmologists and the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
Details
Chronology
- 1946
- MB BS, University of Melbourne
- 1946 - 1947
- Career position - Resident Medical Officer, Prince Henry's Hospital Melbourne
- 1948 - 1949
- Career event - Ophthmalmological training at Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
- 1953
- Education - Fellow, Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
- 1954
- Career position - Appointed to the senior medical staff of Prince Henry's Hospital, Melbourne
- 1954
- Career position - Appointed to senior medical staff of the Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne
- 1957 - 1961
- Career position - Founding Director, Glaucoma Research Unit, Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
- 1961 - 1963
- Career position - Director, Glaucoma Research Unit, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital
Related entries
Published resources
Newspaper Articles
- Serpell, Jonathan, 'Ophthalmologist had great vision for research and new treatments', The Age (2015), 44, https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/ophthalmologist-had-great-vision-for-research-and-new-treatments-20150210-13b5hu.html. Details
Resources
- 'Serpell, Geoffrey Richard Trembath (19231229-20141208)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1772676. Details
Helen Cohn
Last modified: 5 December 2016