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Prof Aung Tin

Prof Aung Tin

MBBS, M Med(Ophth), FRCS(Ed), FRCOphth, FAMS, PhD (Lond)

Senior Consultant

Singapore National Eye Centre

Specialty: Glaucoma

Sub-specialties: Glaucoma

Conditions Treated by this Doctor:
Glaucoma.

Clinical Appointments

  • Chief Executive Officer Singapore National Eye CentreSingapore National Eye Centre
  • Senior Consultant Glaucoma Department Singapore National Eye CentreSingapore National Eye Centre

Academic Appointments

  • Academic Chair SingHealth Duke-NUS Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Programme
  • Professor SingHealth Duke-NUS Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Programme
  • Professor, SingHealth Duke-NUS Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Professorship in Ophthalmology

Profile

Professor Aung Tin is Chief Executive Officer of Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), where he is a clinician scientist ophthalmologist and Senior Consultant at the Glaucoma Department.

Prof Aung is also Chair of the Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program, Duke-NUS Medical School and was conferred the Kwan Im Thong Hood Cho Temple Professorship of Ophthalmology, Duke-NUS Medical School in 2018. He is also a full tenured Professor with National University of Singapore.

Professor Aung’s research has secured more than S$20 million in competitive research grant funding, 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. Prof 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 Tin currently has more than 700 publications including 15 major papers in Nature Genetics as well as papers in JAMA and Lancet. He has delivered more than 100 Invited Lectures at many international meetings. He is on the Editorial Board of 7 journals (including Ophthalmology, Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, Eye and Graefe’s Archive for Clinical Exp Ophthalmology; and a regular reviewer for more than 20 journals.

Professor Aung was President of the World Glaucoma Association from 2016-2017, and also serves as Board Member of the WGA 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.

Education

  • PhD (Lond) (2004)
  • FAMS (2003)
  • FRCOphth (1997)
  • FRCS(Ed) (1997)
  • M Med(Ophth) (1997)
  • MBBS(S'pore) (1990)

Professional Appointments and Committee Memberships

  • President, World Glaucoma Association (2016 – 2017)
  • Member, Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis (2016 – present)
  • Board of Governors, World Glaucoma Association (2013 - present)   
  • Member, Glaucoma Research Society (2009 – present)
  • Board member, Asia-Pacific Glaucoma Society and President, Asian Angle Closure Glaucoma Club
  • Member, Editorial Boards of Ophthalmology, Progress in Retina and Eye Research, Journal of Glaucoma, Eye, Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, and 6 other journals   

Awards

  • 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 (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

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. Genetics of Exfoliation Syndrome Partnership, Li Z, Wang Z, Lee MC, ……… 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).

  3. 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).

  4. 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).

  5. 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).

  6. 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).

  7. 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).

  8. 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).

Research Trials

Current Research Funding Support

  • Large Collaborative Grant (LCG): Tackling and Reducing Glaucoma Blindness with Emerging Technologies (TARGET). (NMRC) Corresponding and Theme PI
  • Singapore Angle Closure Glaucoma Program: From Genetics to Precision Medicine and Therapy. (NMRC) PI.
  • Retinal Analytics via Machine Learning Aiding Physics (RAMP). (NRF/ MIT Alliance) Lead PI.

 

Commercial Research Grants

  • A phase III, randomized, observer-masked, active-controlled, parallel-group, multinational and multicentre study assessing the safety and efficacy of DE-117 ophthalmic solution 0.002% compared with latanoprost ophthalmic solution 0.005% in subjects with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension- PEONY study (Santen Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.)