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Aung Tin

Professor

Chair, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Programme

Associate Dean, Office of Research, Duke-NUS Medical School

Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Professor of Ophthalmology, Duke-NUS Medical School

Chief Executive Officer, Singapore National Eye Centre

Chairman, Singapore Eye Research Institute

Email

Bio Research Publications

Education Qualifications: MBBS(S'pore), MMed(Ophth), FRCS(Ed), FRCOphth, FAMS, PhD(Lond)

Professor Aung Tin is a clinician scientist in ophthalmology and currently Academic Chair, SingHealth Duke−NUS Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Programme (EYE ACP); Senior Consultant of Glaucoma Department and Medical Director of the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC). He is also a full tenured Professor with the Department of Ophthalmology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, and in 2018, he was conferred the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Professorship of Ophthalmology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore.

Professor Aung is a clinician scientist whose research has secured more than S$20 million in competitive research grant funding, and he is currently the Lead PI of the Large Collaborative Grant (LCG), “Tackling and Reducing Glaucoma Blindness with Emerging Technologies (TARGET), a $25 million multi-disciplinary and multicenter program grant awarded by the National Medical Research Council, Singapore in 2022. Professor Aung was awarded the Nakajima Award (2007) and De Campo Award (2013) by the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, the Alcon Research Institute Award (2013), the Singapore Translational Research (STaR) Investigator Award (2014, and 2020), the Robert Ritch Award for Excellence and Innovation in Ophthalmology by the Glaucoma Foundation (2017), as well as numerous other awards/medals.

Professor Aung currently has more than 700 publications including 15 major papers in Nature Genetics (6 as First or last author) as well as multiple papers in JAMA and Lancet. Professor Aung has delivered more than 200 Invited Lectures at many international meetings around the world including several named lectures. He is a member of the Editorial Boards of Ophthalmology, Eye, Progress in Retinal and Eye Research and Graefe’s Archive for Clinical Experimental Ophthalmology, as well as 5 other journals. 

Professor Aung was President of the World Glaucoma Association from 2016-2017 and he also serves as Board Member of the World Glaucoma Association and Asia Pacific Glaucoma Society. He was President of the College of Ophthalmologists of Singapore from 2012-2014 and President of the Singapore Society of Ophthalmology from 2009-2011.

Professor Aung is actively involved in medical education of undergraduates and post graduates. He supervises and mentors Research Fellows, Trainees and Students, especially in the areas of glaucoma and translational research. 

Professional Appointments and Committee Memberships:

  • Chief Executive Officer, Singapore National Eye Centre
  • Chair, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Programme
  • Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Professor of Ophthalmology, Duke-NUS Medical School
  • Associate Dean, Office of Research, Duke-NUS Medical School
  • Group Director, Research (Scientific), SingHealth
  • Chairman, Singapore Eye Research Institute
  • Senior Consultant, Glaucoma Department, Singapore National Eye Centre
  • President, World Glaucoma Association (2016 – 2017)
  • Chair of Council, World Glaucoma Association (2017 – present)
  • Member, Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis (2016 – present)
  • President, Asian Angle Closure Glaucoma Club (2019 – present)
  • Member, Glaucoma Research Society (2009 – present)
  • Board member, Asia-Pacific Glaucoma Society (2011 – present)
  • Asia-Pacific Glaucoma Society Chair and Special Interest Group Chair – Genetics (2022 – present)
  • Member of the Editorial Boards of Ophthalmology, Eye, Progress in Retinal & Eye Research, and Graefe’s Archive for Clinical Experimental Ophthalmology as well as 5 other journals

Awards:

  • Best Medicine Scientists in Singapore 2023 by Research.com (2023)
  • 100 Most Influential Ophthalmologists for Asia Pacific Eye 100 (2023)
  • The World Glaucoma Association Founders Award (2021)
  • 11th American Glaucoma Society International Scholar Award (2021)
  • Singapore Translational Research (STaR) Investigator Award, National Medical Research Council, Singapore (2020)
  • Fellow, ARVO (FARVO, Gold) (2019)
  • College Medal and Lecture, 28th Annual Scientific Congress of the College of Ophthalmologists of Sri Lanka (2019)
  • Visionary Award, Eye and Vision Health Award (2018)
  • Manuel B. Agulto Award, Philippine Glaucoma Society (2018)
  • SingHealth Duke-NUS Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Professorship in Ophthalmology (2018)
  • 33rd Asia Pacific Academy Ophthalmology (APAO) Senior Achievement Award (2018)
  • Dr Robert Ritch Award for Excellence & Innovation in Glaucoma, The Glaucoma Foundation, USA (2017)
  • Distinguished Visionary Leader Award, SingHealth Excellence Awards (2016)              
  • Outstanding Researcher Award, NUS University Awards (2016)         
  • Silver Award, ARVO Fellow (2016)   
  • Singapore Translational Research (STaR) Investigator Award, National Medical Research Council, Singapore (2014)    
  • Senior Achievement Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) (2014)     
  • Alcon Research Institute Award (2013)          
  • De Campo Lecture Award, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (2013)
  • Faculty Outstanding Researcher Award, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (2012)
  • Achievement Award, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) (2010)
  • President's Science Award, A-STAR, Singapore (2009)
  • GCEO Excellence Award in Biomedical Research, SingHealth (2009)  
  • Biomedical Research Council Clinician Scientist Award (Senior Category), National Medical Research Council (2008)
  • Distinguished Achievement Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) (2008)
  • Nakajima Award and Lecture, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) (2007)
  • Biomedical Research Council Clinician Scientist Investigator Award (Junior Category), National Medical Research Council (2005)
  • ARVO / Santen Pharmaceutical Travel Fellowship Award, ARVO, USA (2001)          
  • Medical Research Fellowship, National Medical Research Council Singapore Totalisator Board (2000)
  • Grace Ballas Travelling Fellowship, National Medical Research Council, Singapore (1997)

Research Interests: 

  • Ophthalmic Genetics
  • Glaucoma: angle closure glaucoma, glaucoma imaging, clinical trials in glaucoma

Selected Publications:

1. Genetics of Exfoliation Syndrome Partnership, Li Z, Wang Z, Lee MC…… Ritch R, Wiggs JL, Pasutto F, Schlötzer-Schrehardt U, Ho YS, Aung T, Tam WL, Khor CC. Association of Rare CYP39A1 Variants With Exfoliation Syndrome Involving the Anterior Chamber of the Eye. JAMA. 2021 Feb 23;325(8):753-764. (IF: 45.54).

2. He M, Jiang Y, Huang S, Chang DS, Munoz B, Aung T, Foster PJ, Friedman DS. Laser peripheral iridotomy for the prevention of angle closure: a single-centre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2019 Apr 20;393(10181):1609-1618. (IF: 53.254).

3. Genetics of Glaucoma in People of African Descent (GGLAD) Consortium., Hauser MA, Allingham RR, Aung T, Van Der Heide CJ, Taylor KD, Rotter JI, Wang SJ, Bonnemaijer PWM, Williams SE, Abdullahi SM, Abu-Amero KK, Anderson MG, Akafo S, Alhassan MB, Asimadu I, Ayyagari R, Bakayoko S, Nyamsi PB, Bowden DW, Bromley WC, Budenz DL, et al. Association of Genetic Variants With Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma Among Individuals With African Ancestry. (Joint First Author). JAMA. 2019 Nov 5;322(17):1682-1691. (IF: 47.661).

4. Aung T, Ozaki M, Lee MC, Schlötzer-Schrehardt U, ……… Khor CC. Genetic association study of exfoliation syndrome identifies a protective rare variant at LOXL1 and five new susceptibility loci. Nature Genetics. 2017 Jul;49(7):993-1004. (IF: 27.959).

5. Aung T, Ozaki M, Mizoguchi T, Allingham RR, … Khor CC. A common variant mapping to CACNA1A is associated with susceptibility to Exfoliation syndrome. Nature Genetics 2015, Jun,47(6) 689 (IF: 29.352).

6. Jonas JB, Aung T, Bourne RR, Bron AM, Ritch R, Panda-Jonas S. Glaucoma. Lancet. 2017 Nov 11;390(10108):2183-2193. (IF: 47.831).

7. Khor CC, Do T, Jia H, Nakano M, George R, … Aung T. Genome-wide association study identifies five new susceptibility loci for primary angle closure glaucoma. Nature Genetics 2016 May;48(5):556-62. (IF: 29.352).

8. Hysi PG, Cheng CY, Springelkamp H, Macgregor S, ……… Aung T. Genome-wide Analysis of Multiethnic Cohorts Identifies Four New Loci Influencing Susceptibility to Increased Intraocular Pressure and Susceptibility to Glaucoma. Nature Genetics- 2014; 46(10): 1126-30. (IF: 35.532).

9. Weinreb RN, Aung T, Medeiros FA. The Pathophysiology and Treatment of Glaucoma: A Review. JAMA. 2014 May 14;311(18):1901-11. (IF: 30.026).

10. Vithana EN, Khor CC, … Aung T. Genome-wide association analyses identify three new susceptibility loci for Primary Angle Closure Glaucoma. Nat Genetics 2012; 44: 1142-6. (IF: 35.532)