Michael Pianta

Michael Pianta is an Associate Professor in the Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, Melbourne School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences at the University of Melbourne. He earned his PhD, Graduate Certificate, and Postgraduate Certificate from the University of Melbourne. As Director of the Retinal Structure and Function Laboratory, Pianta investigates the fundamental workings of the living retina at the microscopic scale, encompassing normal function and impairment in sight-debilitating diseases such as diabetes and age-related macular degeneration. His research integrates high-resolution non-invasive imaging, psychophysics, computational modeling, and electrophysiology. Ongoing projects feature multispectral adaptive optics to image the smallest neurons and blood vessels in living human eyes, analyze blood flow and oxygen exchange at the individual red blood cell level, and explore optical and physiological responses of photoreceptors to light. Specific initiatives include a clinical test of dark adaptation for age-related macular degeneration and studies on retinal structure and function in ageing and disease.

Pianta additionally advances evidence-based practice in optometry through co-development of CrowdCARE, a free online crowdsourcing platform released in 2017 for teaching critical appraisal of research evidence. This innovation earned the Norman Curry Award for Innovation and Excellence in Educational Programs in the 2020 University of Melbourne Excellence Awards, alongside recognition at the 2020 Engagement Australia Awards. He serves as 4th year Doctor of Optometry Coordinator and has led reviews and coordination of the Doctor of Optometry program. His publications include 'Retinal thinning in tree shrews with induced high myopia: optical coherence tomography and histological assessment' (Abbott et al., 2007, Vision Research) and 'Relationship of the Optical Coherence Tomography Signal to Underlying Retinal Histology in the Tree Shrew' (Abbott et al., 2009, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science), amassing over 1778 citations on Google Scholar. Collaborations span institutions like the Scheie Eye Institute and contributions extend to optometry competency standards.

Professional Email: mjp@unimelb.edu.au