Professor Peter van Wijngaarden
Professor Peter van Wijngaarden completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with Honours at Monash University in 1999. He was the recipient of the Australian Medical Association Prize for highest aggregate marks in the final examinations and the Sophie Davis Prize as the student with the highest aggregate marks throughout their degree.
Following his medical residency, Professor van Wijngaarden undertook a PhD in vascular biology of the retina at Flinders University in the laboratory of Professors Keryn Williams AC and Doug Coster AO. Thereafter he completed specialist training in ophthalmology, winning the KG Howsam Prize as the outstanding candidate in the Fellowship examinations. He was an NHMRC Overseas Based Clinical Fellow in the laboratory of Professor Robin Franklin FRS at the University of Cambridge (2011 to 2013) where he contributed to fundamental research discoveries relating to brain and spinal cord repair in multiple sclerosis that have been translated to human clinical trials.
Returning to Melbourne in 2013, Professor van Wijngaarden commenced as a Principal Investigator at the Centre for Eye Research Australia and Research Fellow at The University of Melbourne. His research has focused on the discovery of novel biomarkers of eye and central nervous system diseases using a new type of retinal imaging technology. His team was the first to show that hyperspectral retinal imaging could be used to detect signs of Alzheimer’s disease. He is the Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Enlighten Imaging, a start-up company that is commercialising this technology.
Professor van Wijngaarden was a co-investigator of the National Eye Health Survey, the first nationwide study of the prevalence of eye diseases in Australia that defined national eye health policy priorities. He is Co-Founder and Clinical Director of KeepSight, a national eye check reminder program for people with diabetes to prevent avoidable blindness. Led by Diabetes Australia, the program has more than 600,000 registrants.
Professor van Wijngaarden has been an active contributor to health and medical research leadership, serving as Deputy Director of the Centre for Eye Research Australia from 2017 to 2024. During this time, he was a Director of Australian Vision Research and a member of the Medical and Research Committees of the Macular Disease Foundation of Australia. Since mid-2024, Professor van Wijngaarden has been Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the largest brain research institute in Australia. Professor van Wijngaarden is committed to advancing discovery neuroscience and facilitating the translation of knowledge into new diagnostics, devices and therapies.
As a proud graduate of Monash University, Professor van Wijngaarden continues to draw inspiration from his academic mentors and colleagues.