speaker biography

Dr. Dimitra Makrynioti

 Dr. Dimitra Makrinioti, BSc(Hons), MSc, PhD, FBCLA, UNSW Visiting Fellow, is an Optician–Optometrist with a long-standing academic career. She currently serves as Associate Professor at the University of Patras, specializing in Optics and Optometry of Contact Lenses, with particular emphasis on corneal morphology. She is Head of the Educational Laboratory of Optics & Optometry – Contact Lenses at the University of Patras, based at the University Campus in Rio, and has also been responsible for the former Undergraduate Program of Optics & Optometry at the University of Patras. She is also a scientific consultant in the fields of Optics, Optometry, and Contact Lenses, and concurrently holds the position of Visiting Fellow at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia. In the past, she has served as an external Research Associate at Eurolens Research, the largest European research group in Contact Lenses, based in Manchester, United Kingdom, as well as a collaborator with the Myopia Control Laboratory of the SUNY College of Optometry in New York, USA. Dr. Makrinioti has taught Optometry and Contact Lenses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at Greek universities, at The University of Manchester, and within the Ophthalmology Clinics of the University General Hospital of Rio and the University General Hospital of Ioannina. In addition, she has provided advanced scientific training to fellow Opticians–Optometrists through seminars organized by professional associations and industry companies in the fields of Optics and Optometry, both in Greece and internationally. Her research and scientific interests extend to Contact Lens Optics and Optometry, with emphasis on corneal and ocular system morphology, anterior segment ocular health, Dry Eye Disease, Optometry, as well as Applied Positive Psychology, well-being, resilience, and flourishing. Her scientific and research activity is reflected in her international presence as an invited speaker and session chair, as well as her identity as a self-described “knowledge hunter” (an #optometryinternationaltraveler). She has an extensive publication record in Greece and abroad, including books, book chapters in edited volumes, and articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals, and she continues to actively present her work at national and international scientific conferences, including Panhellenic Conferences of Optics & Optometry (S.O.O.E., P.E.O.O., E.A.O., etc.), BCLA & IACLE (UK), AAOpt & ARVO (USA), ISCLR (Canada), EAOO (Malaga), and OCCSEE (Croatia). At the same time, she has received numerous national and international awards, scholarships, distinctions, and recognitions of excellence. Alongside her academic and scientific work, Dr. Makrinioti has demonstrated a strong commitment to volunteerism and social contribution, with a particular interest in the holistic well-being of patients, colleagues, and students.