Dry Eye Society to Conclude 2026 Melbourne Education Program with Expert Panel on Dry Eye, Eyelid Disease and Contact Lenses
The Dry Eye Society (DES) will wrap up its 2026 Melbourne education calendar on 1 September with a members-only evening combining clinical CPD and a multidisciplinary panel on dry eye and ocular surface disease.
The event, to be held at Chin Chin in Melbourne's CBD from 6pm, will offer two hours of Clinical Continuing Professional Development, featuring a lineup of speakers drawn from both ophthalmology and optometry.
Melbourne oculoplastic surgeon Dr Justin Friebel will open proceedings with a presentation on lid abnormalities associated with dry eye disease. Dr Friebel trained at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital before undertaking fellowships in the UK and Canada, and has built a practice focused on eyelid disorders, ocular surface health and reconstructive surgery.
He will be followed by therapeutically endorsed optometrist Dr Leigh Plowman, who will address where the prescription medicine Xiidra fits within current dry eye management protocols. Plowman, a contributor to Optometry Australia's inaugural Dry Eye Guide and a regular magazine columnist on dry eye disease, brings more than 20 years of clinical experience to the topic as well as his own lived experience of the condition.
Rounding out the formal program, Richard Lindsay & Associates optometrists Jacinda Van and Michaela Rossi will present on contact lenses for dry eye management, drawing on their shared interest in specialty and scleral lens fitting for complex corneal presentations, including keratoconus and corneal ectasia.
The night will close with a live panel Q&A, giving attendees the chance to put clinical cases to the speaker line-up directly.
Program
- Lid Abnormalities Associated with Dry Eye — Dr Justin Friebel MBBS (Hons), FRANZCO
- Xiidra: Where Does It Fit in Dry Eye Management? — Dr Leigh Plowman BOptom (Therapeutic Endorsement)
- Contact Lenses for Dry Eye — Jacinda Van & Michaela Rossi
- Expert Panel Q&A
DES said the format reflects a deliberate push to bring ophthalmology and optometry together on shared ground, rather than treating dry eye and eyelid disease as separate silos of care.
The Chin Chin event is the last of the Society's Melbourne events for 2026 and is restricted to DES members, with registration required and places capped. Eye care professionals not yet part of the Society can join via the DES membership page ahead of the event.
Enquiries can be directed to Shaina Zheng, DES Vice President and Memberships Executive, at [email protected].
