Message from Executive Director

Professor Jodhbir Mehta
Executive Director, SERI 

In over two decades of SERI’s presence in global ophthalmology, SERI has built a formidable reputation as one of the foremost eye research institutes in Asia, with a focus on incorporating translational research into clinical practice, to improve patient outcomes.

The ongoing global pandemic has seen a renewed appreciation for basic and translational research and its great potential to support the healthcare needs of our community. The pandemic has given rise to various, new challenges including anecdotal reports that suggest ocular infection and transmission from SARS-CoV-2 infection, diagnostics and the need to employ artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies to reduce the clinician’s chair time while treating patients and also reducing the exposure risk of patients and staff. These challenges play to our core strengths at SERI - that of scientific research and clinical improvement, while also broadening our opportunities to serve the public.

SERI has raised the bar in terms of international, multi-institutional, inter-disciplinary collaborations that have led to several milestone discoveries and diversity in our research – from basic to complex, systemic biomedical themes. With Singapore’s designated national centre, Singapore National Eye Centre in close proximity, SERI is well-placed to translate its research into clinical practice with extensive access to patient cohorts and facilities.

Let’s continue to harness and develop our key strengths, i.e., strong partnerships and SERI’s people - its talented group of researchers and clinician scientists who continue to push the boundaries on research excellence, while also striving to position us at the forefront of vision research in the world! Generous and continued support from our various philanthropic and industry partners and community will be crucial to achieve this goal.

SERI’s strong mentorship opportunities for young researchers and the constant passion of the SERI faculty and its leadership to develop SERI as a world leader in eye research, has led me to believe that we are well-poised to advance our mission of being a global centre of excellence in eye and vision research.

I invite you to align your vision with that of SERI’s and we shall work together to ensure that SERI is always at the forefront of research and innovation.