Download ASTAR-SERI Forum: Advancing Ophthalmic Innovations

ABOUT THE KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Prof Donald Tan
Prof Donald Tan is a Senior Advisor for Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) and SingHealth,
Chairman of the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), Professor of Ophthalmology at the National
University of Singapore, Chair of the Eye Academic Clinical Program at the Duke-NUS GMS, and
Medical Director of the Singapore Eye Bank. Involved primarily in clinical and translational research in
cornea, refractive surgery and myopia, he has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles (h index =
42), contributed 18 book chapters and holds 13 patents in stem cell culture, myopia prevention,
refractive corneal implants and surgical devices for endothelial keratoplasty, and has also trained 28
corneal fellows from 14 countries. He is the recipient of over 20 awards, which include the APAO 2001
De Ocampo Award, the AAO 2006 Distinguished Achievement Award, the ISRS/AAO 2009 Casebeer
Award, the Saudi Ophthalmological Society 2010 Gold Medal, the Australia and New Zealand Corneal
Society 2011 Doug Coster Award, the Canadian Society of Ophthalmology 2011 W. Bruce Jackson
Award, the EuCornea 2012 Medal, the Portland, Oregon Arthur Devers 2012 Lecture, the 2013
Albrecht von Graefe Innovator’s Lecture, and the 2013 Intraocular Implant & Refractive Society of
India Gold Medal. . Professor Tan established the Asia Cornea Society in 2007 and the Association of
Eye Banks of Asia in 2009, and is currently President of both societies. In 2012 he assumed the
Presidency of the US based Cornea Society, its first International President.
Prof Johannes F. de Boer
Prof Johannes F. de Boer graduated from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in 1995,
obtaining his Ph.D. in experimental physics. He did a postdoctoral fellowship at the Academic Medical
Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In 1997, he moved to the Beckman Laser Institute, University of
California at Irvine as an Academic Assistant Researcher and was promoted to Assistant Adjunct
Professor, Dept. of Surgery, in 1998. Prof de Boer joined the Wellman Laboratories of Photomedicine,
Harvard Medical School in 2001 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor,
Harvard Medical School, in 2005. In 2008, Prof de Boer moved back to the Netherlands, taking up a
full professor position at the Physics Department, VU University, Amsterdam, and Head of the Imaging
Group at the Rotterdam Ophthalmic Institute, Rotterdam. In 2010, he became director of the Institute
for Lasers, Life and Biophotonics Amsterdam (LaserLaB Amsterdam). He is currently developing a
Biomedical Photonics programme at the VU University and the VU Medical Centre, Amsterdam.
Prof de Boer's interests are primarily focused on the development of new optical diagnostic
technologies and the translation of these technologies to clinical applications. Over the past 10 years,
he has made significant contributions to the field of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). He has led
the development of Polarization Sensitive OCT (PS-OCT).
Prof Dao-Yi Yu
As a Tenured Professor at the University of Western Australia, with joint appointments at the
McCusker Glaucoma Centre and Lions Eye Institute , Prof Dao-Yi Yu's main research interests
include diagnostics and therapeutics for retinal diseases and glaucoma, retinal energy metabolism,
vascular biology, laser therapy and surgery. Prof Yu has over 200 publications, many of which are
published in top-tier journals such as Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Progress in
Retina and Eye Research, Neuroscience and Microvascular Research etc. He is also the recipient of
several competitive grants such as the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) in
Australia and National Institutes of Health (NIH) in U.S, amounting to over AU$20 million to-date.
ABOUT AGENCY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH (A*STAR)
The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) is Singapore's leading public sector
agency that fosters world-class scientific research and talent to drive economic growth and transform
Singapore into a vibrant knowledge-based and innovation driven economy.
In line with its mission-oriented mandate, A*STAR spearheads research and development in fields that
are essential to growing Singapore’s manufacturing sector and catalyzing new growth industries.
A*STAR supports these economic clusters by providing intellectual, human and industrial capital to its
partners in industry.
A*STAR oversees 18 biomedical sciences and physical sciences and engineering research entities,
located in Biopolis and Fusionopolis, as well as their vicinity. These two R&D hubs house a bustling
and diverse community of local and international research scientists and engineers from A*STAR’s
research entities as well as a growing number of corporate laboratories.
For more information on A*STAR, please visit http://www.a-star.edu.sg
ABOUT SINGAPORE EYE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (SERI)
Established in 1997, SERI is Singapore’s national research institute for ophthalmic and vision
research. SERI’s mission is to conduct high impact eye research with the aim to prevent blindness,
low vision and major eye diseases common to Singaporeans and Asians. Over the last decade or so,
SERI has conducted landmark research that has led to tangible outcomes, actual patient benefit, and
success stories. It has paved the way for significant improvements in how eye diseases are treated
and prevented, not just for Singaporeans or Asians but on a global scale.
At its inception, SERI saw a national remit in ophthalmic and vision research, and till today, despite the
demarcations introduced by the healthcare clustering system, SERI bridges both entities with a
presence in each cluster. SERI ensures that its facilities and resources are open to researchers
across Singapore so that the greatest benefit may be obtained from what is a relatively small clinical
ophthalmology catchment area in Singapore.
SERI has grown from a founding team of five in 1997 to a faculty of 200, encompassing clinician
scientists, scientists, research fellows, PhD students and support staff, with an annual budget of
approximately S$18 million. This makes SERI one of the largest research institutes in Singapore and
the largest eye research institute in Asia-Pacific. In addition, SERI has over 219 adjunct faculties from
various eye departments, biomedical institutes and tertiary centres in Singapore. SERI has amassed
an impressive array of publications totalling 1,879 scientific papers as of December 2013, and has
secured 181 external peer-reviewed competitive grants worth $169 million.
To date, as of December 2013, SERI’s faculty has been awarded 285 national and international prizes
and filed 77 patents. SERI has further contributed to research manpower training, including more than
150 Masters, PhD and post-doctoral students, many of whom now work in hospitals, the biomedical
sciences industry, academic institutions and A*STAR institutes.
Serving as the research institute of the Singapore National Eye Centre, and directly affiliated to the
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, as well the Duke-NUS Graduate
Medical School, SERI undertakes vision research in collaboration with local clinical ophthalmic centres
and biomedical research institutions, as well as major eye centers and research institutes throughout
the world.
For more information about SERI, visit http://www.seri.com.sg
ABOUT SINGAPORE NATIONAL EYE CENTRE (SNEC)
Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC) was incorporated in 1989 and commenced operations in
1990. It is the designated national centre within the public sector healthcare network, and spearheads
and coordinates the provision of specialised ophthalmological services with emphasis on quality
education and research.
Since its opening in 1990, SNEC has achieved rapid growth and currently manages an annual
workload of 300,000 outpatient visits and 34,000 major eye surgeries and laser procedures. Ten
subspecialties in Cataract, Corneal and External Eye Disease, General Cataract and Comprehensive
Ophthalmology, Glaucoma, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Oculoplastic and Aesthetic Eyeplastic, Paediatric
Ophthalmology and Strabismus, Refractive Surgery, Ocular Inflammation and Immunology and VitreoRetina have been established to provide a full range of eye treatment from comprehensive to tertiary
levels for the entire spectrum of eye conditions.
For more information about SNEC, visit http://www.snec.com.sg
ABOUT EYE ACADEMIC CLINICAL PROGRAMME (ACP)
The introduction of Academic Clinical Programs (ACP) is a major milestone in SingHealth’s journey of
improving patient care and outcomes through Academic Medicine, in partnership with Duke-NUS
Graduate Medical School.
The formation of Academic Clinical Program is consistent with practices in most academic healthcare
centers, where the partnership between a healthcare provider and university provides a synergistic
framework where research, scholarly work and education contribute to the advancement of patient
care.
The EYE ACP will be focussing on developing a comprehensive framework of already existing well
established research capabilities in SERI and the training capabilities in SNEC and ensure the
healthcare outcomes are made world-class. In the long term, the various initiatives that are being
launched with EYE ACP are aimed to transform SNEC/SERI as a world class leader in the eye related
research, education and patient care.
ABOUT THE BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING PROGRAMME (BEP) MEDTECH FORUM
The regular Biomedical Engineering Programme (BEP) MedTech Forum, co-organised by A*STAR
and medical/clinical institutions, serves as a platform for doctors, engineers, scientists and industry to
meet, network and explore potential collaboration.
For more information, visit http://www.astar.edu.sg/healthcareandlifestyle/HnL_MedTech_A_STAR_MedTech_Initiatives_BEP_Forum.html
Contact Info :
Dr Michelle Ngiam
[email protected]
Dr Fang Xiaoqin
[email protected]
Date :
31 Oct 2014 11.00 am - 5:00 pm
Venue :
Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC)
SNEC Auditorium (Level 4)
11 Third Hospital Ave
Singapore 168751