Over the past three decades, the special partnership between the McCusker family and the Lions Eye Institute has been grounded in a shared purpose, enduring trust and a steadfast commitment to improving the lives of Western Australians.

In 2025, this partnership reached an incredible milestone – 30 years of visionary philanthropy supporting world-class eye research, clinical care and innovation. The Lions Eye Institute is deeply privileged to continue benefiting from the leadership and generosity of the McCusker Charitable Foundation, a family foundation whose commitment to medical research has delivered lasting impact for patients, families, and communities.

The McCusker family’s long-term commitment has provided critical momentum, empowering the Lions Eye Institute to pursue ambitious research priorities, invest in critical infrastructure and attract world-class clinician-scientists to Western Australia.

In doing so, it has helped build enduring capability not just for today’s patients, but for generations to come.

As we celebrate this milestone, we acknowledge not only the financial support provided, but the partnership and shared vision that have underpinned it. Together, we have advanced discovery, improved patient outcomes and strengthened our capacity to prevent blindness.

Improving patient lives

For patients, the impact of the McCusker family’s support is profound. A diagnosis of glaucoma in 2025 is no longer as daunting as it once was, with access to leading clinicians, advanced non-invasive screening and new surgical inventions.

For people in regional Western Australia, it means earlier local screening and trusted ophthalmology care closer to home, improving access and reducing delays in diagnosis.

At the same time, accelerated research into inherited retinal diseases is improving understanding of rare conditions and fast-tracking the development of future treatments. This offers renewed hope for patients and families affected by vision loss.

Three hallmarks of foresight and visionary support

McCusker Glaucoma Centre

Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of irreversible blindness in the world, estimated to affect 80 million people worldwide and some 300,000 Australians.

In the early 1990s, Sir James McCusker and the Hon Malcolm McCusker AC KC CVO provided considerable seed funding to establish the McCusker Glaucoma Centre at the Lions Eye Institute, bringing together a highly respected team of researchers, clinicians, and scientists led by Professor Dao-Yi Yu AM. This funding originally supported around six highly promising projects, three of which have been successful in advancing glaucoma research and improving treatments and outcomes for patients at home and abroad: an impressive success ratio.

Professor Dao-Yi Yu AM, Professor Bill Morgan, Carolyn McCusker, The Hon Malcolm McCusker AC KC CVO, Tonya McCusker AM and Mark Bellini (L-R) photographed in 2017 during a tour of the McCusker Glaucoma Centre at the Lions Eye Institute

Professor Yu and Professor Bill Morgan co-invented the revolutionary XEN® Gel Stent, a novel surgery to implant tiny, bioengineered drainage tubes to relieve the pressure in the eye that causes gradual loss of sight in glaucoma. This procedure to treat glaucoma patients is now in routine clinical use around the world and is considered the best surgical treatment compared to other techniques.

The Foundation’s generosity and faith in the team’s abilities to translate original scientific ideas and high precision techniques into clinical practice has directly and indirectly impacted over 200,000 patients globally by supporting the development of new therapeutics and diagnostics for glaucoma.

Accelerating research into inherited retinal diseases

Associate Professor Fred Chen examining patient Yelaina’s eyes

Associate Professor Fred Chen’s vision is to establish an Australian Centre for Excellence in inherited retinal disease research and treatment. To help advance this vision, the McCusker Charitable Foundation continues to fund crucial elements of his research. The process of drug discovery is long-term and can’t be achieved with widely available short-term grants. By showing the foresight of a multi-year investment approach, the Foundation’s support enables researchers to undertake comprehensive studies critical to the drug development process.

Lions Outback Vision

Professor Angus Turner, McCusker Director of Lions Outback Vision, examining a young patient’s eyes in Broome

Support from the McCusker Charitable Foundation has been pivotal in advancing equitable eye care across regional and remote Western Australia, consistently demonstrating foresight in advancing innovative models of care. Since 2010, the Foundation has supported the McCusker Director position, providing sustained leadership and strategic direction for Lions Outback Vision. In addition, targeted investment has enabled key initiatives, including seed funding for:

The North West Hub in Broome
The Pilbara Challenge, including funding for the Sprinter vehicle
Shared care Kalgoorlie/Goldfields Eye Clinic

These visionary investments have expanded access to essential eye health services in some of the most remote communities in Western Australia and have enabled Lions Outback Vision to test and build new models of care at critical early stages, when the need was clear, but broader recognition and support had yet to emerge.

Sincere thanks

We extend our deepest gratitude to the McCusker family and look forward to continuing this journey together, building on a proud legacy and striving towards a future where sight loss is prevented, treatments are more precise and hope is within reach for every patient we serve.