Prof Charumathi Sabanayagam

​Professor Charumathi Sabanayagam is a Principal Investigator Research Group at the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), Professor in the Ophthalmology & Visual Science Academic Clinical Program (EYE ACP), Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore and holds a joint appointment at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore (NUS). She obtained her MBBS from the University of Madras, MD from The Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University, India and both a Master in Public Health and PhD (Epidemiology & Biostatistics) from NUS. She completed her postdoctoral training in diabetes and cardiovascular epidemiology at the University of West Virginia, USA. Her research focuses on developing retinal image-based AI and machine learning models for the detection and prediction of chronic kidney disease (CKD), as well as the epidemiology of CKD, diabetic retinopathy, and vision impairment. She has received several prestigious awards, including the NMRC Transition Award (2012), HPHSR Clinician Scientist Award (HCSA, 2022), and HCSA Senior Investigator Award (2026) and serves as a key Co-investigator on several other national grants. She has published over 370 peer-reviewed papers (Google Scholar H-index: 85) and has been recognised among the world's top 2% most-cited scientists since 2020.

• PhD (2010)
• MMed, Public Health (2006)
• MD, Microbiology (1998)
• MBBS (1985)

Scientific Discipline Involvement

• ASEAN Ophthalmology Society (2025 – Present)
• ARVO Publications Committee (2024 – Present)
• Member, Academic Medicine Grant Review Committee - Clinical Research (AGRC-Clinical) (2024 – Present)
• Member, College of Clinician Scientists, Singapore (2016 – Present)
• Member, SERI Internal Grant Review Pnael (2016 – Present)
• Member, Chronic Kidney Disease Prognosis (CKD-PC) Consortium (2015 – Present)
• Member, The American Society of Nephrology (ASN) (2013 – 2025)
• Member, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) (2012 – Present)

Editorial Board Membership

• Editorial Board Member, Asia Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology (IF: 4.4) (2020 – Present)
• Editorial Board Member, Frontiers in Endocrinology (IF: 4.6) (2018 – Present)
• Editorial Board Member, Scientific Reports (IF: 3.9) (2017 – 2020)
• Lead Guest Editor for a Special Issue in Journal of Diabetes Research (IF: 3.4) (2014 – 2015)
• Associate Editor, BMC-Public Health (IF: 3.6) (2013 – 2017)

• ScholarGPS Highly Ranked Scholar Worldwide (#4) in Diabetic Retinopathy (2025)
• Top 2% Scientists in the World by the Elsevier-Stanford Global Study (2021 – 2025)
• Expertscape Expert in Diabetic Retinopathy (Top 1% of Scholars Writing About Diabetic Retinopathy Over the Past 10 Years) (2021)
• SERI Long Service Award (10 years) (2021)
• SingHealth Publish Award (2020)
• 1st Runner-up (Team Award) NUS-NUHS-MIT Healthcare AI DATATHON (2018)
• Workgroup Member, KDIGO Controversies Conference, 2018, Vienna (2018)
• Travel Award, International Congress on Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome (ICOMES) (2017)
• Guest Speaker, 11th International Diabetes Federation - Western Pacific Region Congress and 8th Scientific Meeting of the Asian Association for the Study of Diabetes, Taipei (2016)
• Best Mentor/Role Model, Singapore Eye Research Institute (2015)
• President Graduate Fellowship (PhD), National University of Singapore (2009)
• Merit Research Scholarship (PhD), National University of Singapore (2008 – 2009)
• Highest Overall Average Score in ICD 9 CM, Clinical Classification, Queensland University of Technology (2002)
• Tamil Nadu Government Merit Scholarship (MBBS) (1980 – 1985)

• "EyesonCKD" Trial: Evaluating the Clinical and Cost-effectiveness of Eye Exam and Intervention for Vision Impairment in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease (2026 – 2031)
• The Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases (SEED) Study 4: Prospective Multi-ethnic Cohort Study of 20-year Incidence, Progression, and Risk Factors of Major Eye Diseases in Elderly Asians (2024 – 2027)
• Singapore Strategic Cohorts Consortium - Phase 2 (2024 – 2027)
• DYNAMO II: Diabetes studY on Nephropathy And Other Microvascular cOmplications II (2023 – 2028)
• Eye-ACP Education Grant. Clinical Research Skills Training (E-learning) for Healthcare Professionals in Ophthalmology (“Project”) (2023 – 2024)
• The Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases (SEED) Study 3: Prospective Multi-ethnic Cohort Study of 12-year Incidence, Risk Factors, and Impact of Major Age-related Eye Diseases (2018 – 2022)
• ​DYNAMO: Diabetes studY in Nephropathy And other Microvascular cOmplications (2017 – 2022)
• An Innovative and Patient-centric Research Program Targeting the Ageing Singaporeans: The PRevention Of and interVentIon for eye Diseases in the Elderly [PROVIDE] Programme (2017 – 2022)
• The Clinical and Economic Effectiveness of Extending Diabetic Eye Screening in Singapore (2016 –2019)
• The Singapore Diabetes Complication Study: Closing the Screening-referral Uptake Loop for Diabetic Retinopathy, Nephropathy, and Foot Complications (2016 – 2019)
• Investigating the Prevalence and Impact of Vision Impairment, Hearing Loss and Dual Sensory Impairment in Residential Care Facilities in Singapore (2016 – 2018)
• Retinal Microvascular Abnormalities as Predictors of Decline in Kidney Function in the Singapore Indian Eye Study Cohort (2015 – 2018)
• The Singapore Chinese Eye Study 2 (SCES-2): Prospective Cohort Study of 6-year Incidence, Risk Factors, and Impact of Major Age-related Eye Diseases (2015 – 2018)
• The Singapore Indian Eye Study 2 (SINDI-2) Prospective Cohort Study Of 5-year Incidence, Risk Factors, and Impact of Major Asian Eye Diseases (2014 – 2018)
• Is Retinal Vessel Diameter (IRED) a Potential Biomarker for Early Renal Disease? (2013 – 2018)
• Singapore Diabetic Retinopathy Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Imaging (DREAM) Program (2013 – 2018)
• Novel Biomarkers of Kidney and Eye Diseases (Singapore Kidney Eye Study) (2012 – 2016)
• Are Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease More Likely to Have Eye Disease? (2012 – 2014)
• Tanoto Diabetes Foundation Initiative, Singapore. Evaluation of an Automated Computer Program for Diabetic Retinopathy Detection and Screening (2010 – 2013)
• Novel Retinal Geometric Parameters as Biomarkers of Cardio-Metabolic and Retinal Diseases and Mortality: A Multi-Ethnic Population-Based Study (2008 – 2012)

1. Neuen BL, Major RW, Grams ME, Sang Y, Coresh J, Ballew SH...Sabanayagam C*, Valdivielso JM*. Multinational Validation of the PREVENT and SCORE2 Cardiovascular Risk Equations Across 6.4 Million Individuals. Nat Med. 2026 May 5.
2. Liem Y, Vemula V, Lim CC, Chong CCY, Choo JCJ, Cheng CY, Sabanayagam C. Impact of Chronic Kidney Disease on the Incidence of Visual Impairment and Age-related Eye Diseases in a Multi-ethnic Asian Population. 2025 Nov 28;15:04316.
3. Liew ZH, Chee ML, Banu R, Liem Y, Cheng CY, Lim CC, Sabanayagam C. Novel EGFR Equations and Cardiovascular Outcomes in a Multiethnic Asian Cohort. Clin Kidney J. 2025 Sep 26;18(10):sfaf289.
4. Tangri N, Sabanayagam C. Artificial Intelligence Approaches to Enable Early Detection of CKD. Nat Rev Nephrol. 2025 Mar;21(3):153-154.
5. Sabanayagam C, Banu R, Lim C, Tham YC, Cheng CY, Tan G, Ekinci E, Sheng B, McKay G, Shaw JE, Matsushita K, Tangri N, Choo J, Wong TY. Artificial Intelligence in Chronic Kidney Disease Management: A Scoping Review. Theranostics. 2025 Mar 21;15(10):4566-4578.
6. Seshasai S, He F, Lam B, Hamzah H, Cheng CY, Li J, Wong TY, Tan GSW, Sabanayagam C. Transition Probabilities of Diabetic Retinopathy and Death in an Asian Population with Diabetes. Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila). 2024 May-Jun;13(3):100070.
7. Betzler BK, Chee EYL, He F, Lim CC, ...Wong TY, Lee ML, Hsu W, Tan GSW, Sabanayagam C. Deep Learning Algorithms to Detect Diabetic Kidney Disease from Retinal Photographs in Multiethnic Populations with Diabetes. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2023 Nov 17;30(12):1904-1914.
8. Sabanayagam C, He F, Nusinovici S, Li J, Lim C, Tan G, Cheng CY. Prediction of Diabetic Kidney Disease Risk using Machine Learning Models: A Population-based Cohort Study of Asian Adults. Elife. 2023 Sep 14;12:e81878.
9. Sabanayagam C, Xu D, Ting DSW, Nusinovici S, Banu R, Hamzah H, Lim C, Tham YC, Cheung CY, Tai ES, Wang YX, Jonas JB, Cheng CY, Lee ML, Hsu W, Wong TY. A Deep Learning Algorithm to Detect Chronic Kidney Disease from Retinal Photographs in Community-based Populations. The Lancet Digital Health. 2020;2(6):e295-e302.
10. Sabanayagam C, Banu R, Chee ML, Lee R, Wang YX, Tan G, Jonas JB, Lamoureux EL, Cheng CY, Klein BEK, Mitchell P, Klein R, Cheung CMG, Wong TY. Incidence and Progression of Diabetic Retinopathy: A Systematic Review. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2019 Feb;7(2):140-149. PMID: 30005958.
11. Sabanayagam C, Cheng CY. Global causes of Vision Loss in 2015: Are We on Track to Achieve the Vision 2020 Target?. Lancet Glob Health. 2017 Dec;5(12):e1164-e1165.
12. Sabanayagam C, Fenwick E, Ong PG, Tey ML, Tapp R, Cheng CY, Cheung GC, Aung T, Wong TY, Lamoureux E. Visual Impairment in Old and Very Old Community-dwelling Asian Adults. Ophthalmology. 2016 Nov;123(11):2436-2438.
13. Wong CW, Lamoureux EL, Cheng CY, Cheung GC, Tai ES, Wong TY, Sabanayagam C. Increased Burden of Vision Impairment and Eye Diseases in Persons with Chronic Kidney Disease - A Population-based Study. EBioMedicine. 2016 Jan 19;5:193-7.
14. Sabanayagam C, Lye WK, Klein R, Klein BE, Cotch MF, Wang JJ, Mitchell P, Shaw JE, Selvin E, Sharrett AR, Wong TY. Retinal Microvascular Calibre and Risk of Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Participant-level Meta-analysis. Diabetologia. 2015 Nov;58(11):2476-85.
15. Lim CC, Teo BW, Ong PG, Cheung CY, Lim SC, Chow KY, Meng CC, Lee J, Tai ES, Wong TY, Sabanayagam C. Chronic Kidney Disease, Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study in a Multi-ethnic Asian Population. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2015 Aug;22(8):1018-26.
16. Sabanayagam C, Khoo EY, Lye WK, Ikram MK, Lamoureux EL, Cheng CY, Tan ML, Salim A, Lee J, Lim SC, Tavintharan S, Thai AC, Heng D, Ma S, Tai ES, Wong TY. Diagnosis of Diabetes Mellitus Using HbA1c in Asians: Relationship Between HbA1c and Retinopathy in a Multiethnic Asian Population. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015 Feb;100(2):689-96.
17. Wong CW, Wong TY, Cheng CY, Sabanayagam C. Kidney Int. 2014 Jun;85(6):1290-302. Kidney and Eye Diseases: Common Risk Factors, Etiological Mechanisms, and Pathways. Kidney Int. 2014 Jun;85(6):1290-302.
18. Sabanayagam C, Shankar A, Klein BE, Lee KE, Muntner P, Nieto FJ, Tsai MY, Cruickshanks KJ, Schubert CR, Brazy PC, Coresh J, Klein R. Bidirectional Association of Retinal Vessel Diameters and Estimated GFR Decline: The Beaver Dam CKD Study. Am J Kidney Dis. 2011 May;57(5):682-91.
19. Sabanayagam C, Lim SC, Wong TY, Lee J, Shankar A, Tai ES. Ethnic Disparities in Prevalence and Impact of Risk Factors of Chronic Kidney Disease. Nephrol Dial Transplant. 2010 Aug;25(8):2564-70.