Quick Facts
Biography
Keryn Anne Williams AC (born 5 September 1949) is an Australian medical scientist who works in the field of ophthalmology. She is a Principal Research Fellow in the School of Medicine at Flinders University. Her research interests include corneal transplantation, ocular inflammation, ocular immunology and eye banking.
Early life and education
Williams graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Science with first class honours in 1971. In 1974, she completed her doctoral thesis, Immunochemical studies of human cell surface antigens, and flew to Britain on the day she handed it in. In England, she worked as a researcher at the University of Oxford with the Australian surgeon Peter Morris. Morris recommended her to his acquaintance Doug Coster, the first professor of ophthalmology at Flinders University, who hired her to work there as a research fellow in 1981.
Honours and achievements
In 2017 Williams was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for "eminent service to medical science in the field of ophthalmology through the research and development of corneal transplantation, as an academic and mentor, and as a supporter of young women scientists".
Her achievements include:
- 1971 BSc (Hons) (First Class), University of Melbourne
- 1974 PhD, University of Melbourne
- 1982 Co-founder of the Eye Bank of South Australia
- 1985 Founder and Scientific Director, Australian Corneal Graft Registry
- 1997 Principal Research Fellow, Department of Ophthalmology, Flinders University of South Australia
- 2009 MSc, Victoria University of Wellington
- 2011 Professor, School of Medicine, Flinders University of South Australia
- 2012 NHMRC "Ten of the Best"
- 2016 Elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences
- 2017 Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)