Dr Alan Johnston Curriculum vitae

Dr Johnston is a former Reader and Associate Professor in the Department of Optometry at the University of Melbourne.  He obtained his undergraduate degree in Optometry in Melbourne then worked three years in private optometry practice before completing his Master of Science degree, then a PhD in visual ergonomics.

Academic experience

Alan had overseas appointments as Assistant Professor at the Colleges of Optometry of Ohio State University and the University of Houston, as well Visiting Fellow at the Centre for the Partially Sighted at Santa Monica in California.  He has wide teaching experience in Optometry at the University of Melbourne and continues to lecture at conferences in Australia and overseas.  Over his academic career he supervised about 18 students to MOptom, MSc and PhD degrees, published over 100 papers and articles and one 300-page clinical teaching manual.

Low Vision background

Alan was one of the first sessional optometrists at the Kooyong Low Vision Clinic of the Association for the Blind.  He was an organiser of the 1980 and 1990 Low Vision Ahead Conferences, events that established the world’s premier triennial low vision conference now held at a new world venue on each occasion.  Alan became a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry in 1968 and a Diplomate of the Low Vision Section of that Academy in 1985.  He is still one of only three clinical Diplomates of that section from outside North America.  He was awarded the William Feinbloom award of the American Academy of Optometry in 1999 for his international contribution to the development of low vision care.

International low vision consultancies

The Hong Kong Society for the Blind invited Alan to help establish a Low Vision Clinic in 1984.  This led to a World Health Organisation appointment in 1986 for the International Low Vision Conference held at Beijing’s Tong Ren Hospital.  In 1987, he was appointed to the United Nations Development Program in China to participate in the development of low vision services at the Tianjin Eye Hospital.  He has visited China and Hong Kong on many occasions to continue his educational involvement, and is now an Honorary Professor in the Department of Optometry and Ophthalmology at the Wenzhou Medical College.  He continues his consultancy work for the Hong Kong Society for the Blind.  In recognition of this international work, Alan received the Ivor J Lewis award of the Australian Optometrical Association in 1989 and was honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Australia Day honours list of 1997.

Low vision administrative and clinical consultancies

Alan joined Vision Australia Foundation as its Director of Research in mid 1999 and participated in service development, including additional international consultancies in Hong Kong, in Indonesia under the auspices of AusAID, and in New Zealand for the Royal New Zealand Foundation for the Blind.  In October 2001, Alan resumed consulting at Highton Eyecare, his private practice of optometry.  Here, he developed a full-service, family optometry practice as well as low vision prescribing for patients with special needs.  He began as a sessional consultant to Melbourne Eye Specialists, an ophthalmological practice at St Vincent’s & Mercy Private Hospital in Melbourne in 2003, but moved to his new East Melbourne practice after its establishment in 2008.

In January 2002, he established Alan Johnston Vision Consulting to provide advice on magnification and visual ergonomics to industry and vision service organizations.  He develops custom vision devices for magnification in commercial applications and offers advice on vision use and efficiency in industry. 

Recent work has been the development of simple, low contrast reading charts in both English and Mandarin Chinese. He continues to be a regular academic visitor to the Wenzhou Medical College.