SINCE the inception 12 years ago, the Singapore Eye Research Institute (Seri) has established itself as a leading research centre for many eye diseases.

The institute, which serves as the national research arm for the eye departments of the Singapore National Eye Centre, the National University Health Systems and Tan Tock Seng Hospital, says it plans to “continue to pursue innovative and high impact research” that will improve diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases.

One beneficiary of Seri’s work is Mr Teng Seng Meng, who was suffering from age-related macular degeneration (AMD), an eye condition related to ageing, and he could not see very well previously. “I am happy to say that my vision has improved after participating in Seri’s research study. Seri’s facilities are very good, and the staff very attentive and professional;,’ he says.

The institute’s director, professor Wong Tien Yin, 41, who is Professor of Ophthalmology at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, says that Seri has in a place a research classification system that allows it to streamline, coordinate and monitor its research activities effectively. This system has enabled the institute to deal with major eye diseases.

The institute has patented two drugs that may act against resistant bacteria in eye infections and it intends to test them on humans in two years’ time.

Explaining the rationale behind Seri’s research Defensins, Prof Wong says: “Defensins are a group of natural molecules found in mammals and known to kill a range of germs and microbes, thus earning them the name of ‘natural antibiotics’. At Seri, we have developed a new research platform to engineer new forms of anti-microbial molecules based on the work on defensins. This has allowed us to develop new ‘natural’ anti-microbial drugs.

“Seri, in partnership with some universities and hospitals in Singapore, is believed to be the first to have come up with man-made defensins for eye infections, “he adds.