Dr Rachel Chong

Dr Rachel Chong is a Senior Consultant in the Glaucoma Department at the Singapore National Eye Centre, where she runs a dedicated clinical service for high myopia patients suspected to have glaucoma or who are presently receiving treatment for glaucoma in addition to her general ophthalmology practice. Dr Chong was awarded the National Science Scholarship by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore in 2001 to pursue higher education from an undergraduate level up to a PhD.  She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Physiological Sciences from the University of Oxford in 2004 and received her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) with Merit from the Royal Free and University College Medical School, London in 2007.  She received multiple awards for academic excellence including the Arthritis Research Campaign Prize in Rheumatology, the Heller Bursary for Arts & Humanities in Medicine, Certificate of Merit for Psychiatry, Neurology & Ophthalmology, and was ranked 6th out of 353 participants nationally in the UK at the Duke Elder Prize Exam in Ophthalmology in 2006. She completed her specialist training in ophthalmology at the Singapore National Eye Centre, serving as Chief Resident from 2010 to 2011 and was awarded specialist accreditation by the Singapore Medical Council in 2018. She received her ophthalmology specialist training and glaucoma clinical fellowship at the Singapore National Eye Centre and was awarded the Richard Fan Gold Medal for being the most outstanding resident in Ophthalmology at the end of her training. In between basic and advanced specialist training, Dr Chong completed her PhD at the University of Cambridge studying potential neuroprotective strategies in experimental models of glaucoma. From 2018 to 2020 she also held a joint appointment at the Genome Institute of Singapore at the Agency for Science Technology and Research as a Clinician Scientist supporting a project investigating human stem-cell derived retina organoids as a model for glaucoma. 

Dr Chong has presented her work at numerous regional and international meetings in various capacities including course director and keynote speaker; and was appointed as a member of the planning committee for the World Glaucoma Congress 2025. She has established an international reputation as a thought leader on myopia associated glaucoma as invited speaker and chair at various global meetings, including the World Glaucoma Congress, European Glaucoma Congress and the World Health Organization – International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness Myopia Summit. She currently serves on the Myopia Glaucoma Task Force for the European Glaucoma Society and chairs the Glaucoma Workforce for Population Health at the Singapore National Eye Centre. She also serves on the editorial boards of Current Eye Research and Frontiers in Ophthalmology. 

Apart from her personal research interests, Dr Chong takes a keen interest in supporting the next generation of ophthalmic clinician-scientists: she is an executive member of the Faculty and Professional Development Committee at the Singapore National Eye Centre and founded the quarterly residents’ research forum. Several of the medical students under her mentorship have gained valuable exposure at some of the top institutions in the world including Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, been awarded prestigious travel grants to support their participation at international meetings and eventually pursued ophthalmology as a career.

Where clinical practices are concerned, Dr Chong’s believes that patients should be treated in a holistic manner and have the opportunity to understand their own conditions well in order to participate in their care. She views a sound doctor-patient relationship as having equal importance as providing access to the highest quality healthcare.

• Doctor of Philosophy in Clinical Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, UK (2015)     
• Master of Medicine in Ophthalmology, National University of Singapore (2011)
• Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, University College London, UK (2007)
• BA (Hons), University of Oxford, UK (2004) 

• Prevention of Blindness Standing Committee, Asia-Pacific Association of Ophthalmologist (2025)
• Programme Planning Committee, World Glaucoma Congress (2025)
• Executive Committee, Singapore Society of Ophthalmologists Women’s Chapter (2025)
• Myopia Glaucoma Task Force, European Glaucoma Society (2025)
• Chair, Glaucoma Workforce for Population Health, Singapore National Eye Centre (2024)
• Secretary, Glaucoma Association of Singapore (2021-2024)
• Chairperson, World Glaucoma Week Singapore (2021) 
• Clinical Lead, Myopia Glaucoma service, Singapore National Eye Centre (2020)

• Asia-Pacific Association of Ophthalmologists Leadership Development Programme Award (2025)
• SingHealth Quality Service Award (Gold) (2025)
• Singhealth Quality Service Award (Silver) (2024)
• Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Travel Grant (2022)
• Exxon-Mobil Clinical Research Fellowship Exxon-Mobil Singapore Research (2020)
• Zeiss Rising Star in Ophthalmology Award (2019)
• Richard Fan Gold Medal in Ophthalmology Clinical (2018)
• Global Young Scientists Summit, Singapore Representative (2018)

• Intraocular pressure-independent mechanisms of glaucoma
• Endothelial dysfunction and neurovascular coupling

• Risk Factors for Structural and Functional Losses Associated with Myopia-Associated Optic Neuropathy 
• Characterization of the Retinal Microvascular Endothelial Cell Response to Biomechanical Deformation 
• TAckling & Reducing Glaucoma Blindness with Emerging Technologies (TARGET) Theme 2: New Technologies to Screen Undiagnosed Glaucoma and Monitor Disease in the Community 
• Optic Nerve Head Perfusion in a Murine Model of Pathological Myopia 
• Novel Approaches to Evaluate Myopia-Associated Optic Neuropathy Using Multimodal Ophthalmic Imaging 
• Comparison of Focal Inner and Outer Retina Structure and Function to Accurately Diagnose Glaucoma in High Myopia Eyes 

1. Loo Jing Hong; Lee Ying Shi; Woon Chang Yi; Yong Victor H K; Tan Bingyao; Schmetterer Leopold; Chong Rachel S. Loss of Caveolin-1 Impairs Light Flicker-Induced Neurovascular Coupling at the Optic Nerve Head. Frontiers in neuroscience 2021; 15:764898-NA 
2. Chong Rachel S; Chee Miao-Li; Tham Yih-Chung; Majithia Shivani; Thakur Sahil; Teo Zhen Ling; Da Soh Zhi; Chua Jacqueline; Tan Bingyao; Wong Damon W K; Schmetterer Leopold; Sabanayagam Charumathi; Cheng Ching-Yu. Association of Antihypertensive Medication with Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer and Ganglion Cell-Inner Plexiform Layer Thickness. Ophthalmology 2021; 128(3):393-400  
3. Lanca Carla; Sun Chen Hsin; Chong Rachel; Wong Yee Ling; Nongpiur Monisha Esther; Htoon Hla M; Thakur Sahil; Quek Debra Q Y; Cheng Ching-Yu; Hoang Quan V; Sabanayagam Charumathi; Saw Seang-Mei; Wong Chee Wai. Visual field defects and myopic macular degeneration in Singapore adults with high myopia. The British journal of ophthalmology 2022; 106(10):1423-1428  
4. Sreejith Kumar Ashish Jith; Chong Rachel S; Crowston Jonathan G; Chua Jacqueline; Bujor Inna; Husain Rahat; Vithana Eranga N; Girard Michaël J A; Ting Daniel S W; Cheng Ching-Yu; Aung Tin; Popa-Cherecheanu Alina; Schmetterer Leopold; Wong Damon. Evaluation of Generative Adversarial Networks for High-Resolution Synthetic Image Generation of Circumpapillary Optical Coherence Tomography Images for Glaucoma. JAMA Ophthalmology 2022; 140(10):974-981  
5. Chuangsuwanich Thanadet; Tun Tin A; Braeu Fabian A; Yeoh Clarice H Y; Chong Rachel S; Wang Xiaofei; Aung Tin; Hoang Quan V; Girard Michaël J A. How Myopia and Glaucoma Influence the Biomechanical Susceptibility of the Optic Nerve Head. Investigative ophthalmology & visual science 2023; 64(11):12 5. Liu Xinyu; Jiang Liqin; Ke Mengyuan; Sigal Ian A; Chua Jacqueline; Hoang Quan V; Chia Audrey Wi; Najjar Raymond P; Tan Bingyao; Cheong Jocelyn; Bellemo Valentina; Chong Rachel S; Girard Michaël J A; Ang Marcus; Liu Mengyang; Garhöfer Gerhard; Barathi Veluchamy A; Saw Seang-Mei; Villiger Martin; Schmetterer Leopold. Posterior scleral birefringence measured by triple-input polarization-sensitive imaging as a biomarker of myopia progression. Nature biomedical engineering 2023; 7(8):986-1000  
6. Song Yunhe; Li Fei; Chong Rachel S; Wang Wei; Ran An Ran; Lin Fengbin; Wang Peiyuan; Wang Zhenyu; Jiang Jingwen; Kong Kangjie; Jin Ling; Chen Meiling; Sun Jian; Wang Deming; Tham Clement C; Lam Dennis S C; Zangwill Linda M; Weinreb Robert N; Aung Tin; Jonas Jost B; Ohno-Matsui Kyoko; Cheng Ching-Yu; Bressler Neil M; Sun Xiaodong; Cheung Carol Y; Chen Shida; Zhang Xiulan. High Myopia Normative Database of Peripapillary Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness to Detect Myopic Glaucoma in a Chinese Population. Ophthalmology 2023; 130(12):1279-1289  
7. Chong Rachel S; Li Hengtong; Cheong Alex J Y; Fan Qiao; Koh Victor; Raghavan Lavanya; Nongpiur Monisha E; Cheng Ching-Yu. Mendelian Randomization Implicates Bidirectional Association between Myopia and Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma or Intraocular Pressure. Ophthalmology 2023; 130(4):394-403. 
8. Porporato Natalia; Chong Rachel; Xu Benjamin Y; Tun Tin A; Quah Joanne HuiMin; Tan Marcus; Baskaran Mani; Cheng Ching Yu; Aung Tin. Angle closure extent, anterior segment dimensions and intraocular pressure. The British journal of ophthalmology 2023; 107(7):927-934. 
9. Sim Bryan; Chong Rachel S; Htoon Hla Myint; Balakrishnan Maithily; Brennan Noel A; Chia Audrey. Associations of optic nerve head morphology and peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer thickness with myopic severity and treatment in children. Asia-Pacific journal of ophthalmology (Philadelphia, Pa.) 2024; 13(6):100112.   
10. Ng Joanna; Gul Nazli; Shrestha Arjun; Ng Hong Kee; Regalado Raymond N; Chong Rachel S. Flourishing index measures among ophthalmologists in the Asia-Pacific region. Asia-Pacific journal of ophthalmology (Philadelphia, Pa.) 2025; NA:100193