Dr Stephanie Watson is an ophthalmic surgeon specialising in cataract, corneal and laser surgery; with expertise in eye disease in adults and children. Her sub-specialty training was completed at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London and Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, UK and her PhD was awarded for developing a novel dry eye therapy.

As an international leader in research and innovation she is appointed as a Professor at the Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney. She has over 200 publications, holds international patents and is invited to speak internationally.

Prof Watson has appointments at Sydney Surgical Centre, the Sydney Eye Hospital, Sydney Children's Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospital. She is Head of the Corneal Unit at the Sydney Eye Hospital.

Prof Watson is Chair of the Ophthalmic Research Institute of Australia, Chair of the Advocacy and Outreach Committee for the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, Editor for the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group, and a member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists.

She was awarded the 2021 Power List: The Top 100 Women in Ophthalmology, Dorothy Potter Medal, Premier’s Prize for Leadership in Innovation in NSW. Prof Watson was nominated for a Care and Compassion medal in the Pride of Australia awards. She led her team to first prize in the Best Health Innovation Product Idea, IDE group and was awarded first prize for the Medical Device Commercialisation Training Program, ATP Innovations and the NSW Office for Health and Medical Research.