Janice Yeoman is a highly qualified and experienced Optometrist and Ocular Prosthetist. With a passion for both fields, she combines clinical expertise, current research, enthusiasm and empathy in the care of her patients.
Janice graduated top of her Optometry class in 2007, achieving first-class honours from the University of Auckland. She later completed a Master of Science (Optometry Specialisation) in 2018, also with first-class honours. She is currently undertaking a PhD at the University of Auckland’s Department of Ophthalmology, investigating scleral shell prostheses. She has received the prestigious Clinical Research Training Fellowship from the Health Research Council of New Zealand to support this doctoral work, with additional support from the Save Sight Society and the Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust.
Motivated by a desire to improve patient care, Janice’s doctoral research addresses a critical gap: scleral shell prostheses are under-researched and under-utilised in New Zealand despite their potential quality of life benefits for people with blind disfigured eyes. Her work therefore focuses on establishing evidence-based guidelines for shell indications, wear and fitting practices to improve health outcomes in scleral shell wearers. Through these efforts, shells are becoming recognised as an increasingly important type of ocular prosthesis to rehabilitate blind disfigured eyes.
In addition to her clinical and research work, Janice is passionate about educating fellow optometrists, ophthalmologists and healthcare professionals on best care practices for people with eye disfigurement or eye loss. She has spoken at multiple national and international conferences and has co-authored papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Beyond her research contributions, Janice has volunteered her expertise in Tonga through EyesForGood, where she created prosthetic eyes for local patients and provided training to the local eyecare team at Vaiola Hospital, Nuku’alofa. She lives in Auckland with her husband and three school-aged children.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor of Optometry (First Class Honours), School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Auckland
- Master of Science (First Class Honours), Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland
- PhD Candidate “Scleral Shell Prosthesis Practice in Aotearoa New Zealand”, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Auckland
- Member of the Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board
- Member of the New Zealand Association of Optometrists
