Rate My Professor Danka Sampson

Danka Sampson is a senior lecturer at the University of Western Australia and a senior research fellow at the Lions Eye Institute, holding an adjunct senior research fellow position in the UWA Medical School, Centre for Ophthalmology and Visual Science. An internationally trained physicist, she earned her Doctor of Philosophy in Biophysics from Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń on 14 February 2014. Her doctoral thesis, titled "Influence of blood inhomogeneity on phase information in spectral optical coherence tomography," established her foundation in advanced optical imaging. Sampson's research specializations encompass designing and constructing non-invasive imaging instruments based on optical coherence tomography for ophthalmology applications and developing standardised workflows for ophthalmic image and data analysis. Her academic interests lie in optics and photonics, with a focus on diagnostics, digital health, medical devices, ageing, and education. Over 12 years, she has collaborated with interdisciplinary teams of computer scientists, clinicians, and biologists at universities, medical research institutes, and industry settings, advancing ophthalmology and neurology.

Key publications include "Axial Length Variation Impacts on Superficial Retinal Vessel Density and Foveal Avascular Zone Area Measurements Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography" (Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2017), "Towards standardising retinal optical coherence tomography angiography: a review" (Light: Science & Applications, 2022), "Classification of image artefacts in optical coherence tomography angiography of the choroid in macular diseases" (Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology, 2016), "OCTAVA: An open-source toolbox for quantitative analysis of optical coherence tomography angiography images" (PLoS One, 2021), "Automated Cone Photoreceptor Detection in Adaptive Optics Flood Illumination Ophthalmoscopy" (Ophthalmology Science, 2025), and "Towards standardising retinal OCT angiography image analysis with open-source toolbox OCTAVA" (Scientific Reports, 2024). Sampson has received major awards such as WA Women’s Hall of Fame Inductee (2026, Health category), SPIE Fellow (2026), Australian and New Zealand Optical Society Mid-Career Prize (2025), Western Australia 2024 Young Tall Poppy, SPIE Diversity Outreach Award (2023), and Optica Diversity and Inclusion Advocacy Recognition (2022). A senior member of SPIE and Optica and 2017 Optica Ambassador, she has led over 30 school outreach programs, delivered invited public lectures encouraging female students in STEM, authored STEM children’s books and learning materials, and served as a reviewer for Scientific Reports.