Prof Saw Seang Mei

Prof Saw Seang Mei is the Wallace Foulds Distinguished Professor, Co-head of Myopia Research Group at Singapore Eye Research Institute, and Professor of Epidemiology at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore (NUS). She received her MBBS degree from the National University of Singapore and both her MPH and PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Prof Saw's research expertise is the epidemiology, genetics and treatment of myopia. She is the founder of the ongoing 25-year Singapore Cohort Study of the Risk Factors for Myopia (SCORM) cohort and has established the natural history, role of outdoors and near work in myopia aetiology. Prof Saw has developed new gadgets including a fitness tracker for myopia prevention and treatment.

Prof Saw has an H-Index of 141 (Google Scholar), and more than 70,000 citations. Over the past 5 years, 32% of her published papers were in the in top 10% most cited worldwide, with a field weighted citation index of 2.34. She has published more than 620 peer-reviewed international journals, including the Lancet and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Prof Saw is the Associate Editor, Translational Vision Science and Technology and an Editorial Board Member of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology. She is the Principal Investigator of SCORM, the STrabismus, Amblyopia and Refractive error study in Singapore preschool children (STARS), and Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) myopia studies.

Prof Saw's accolades include the leading national President's Science Award, Singapore (Team) (2019), the Chew Sek Jin Memorial Lecture Award at the International Myopia Conference (IMC 2013), the Top 100 Ophthalmologist Power List, The Ophthalmologist (2014, 2023) and the APAO Senior Achievement Award (2025).

• ​FARVO (2012)
• FAMS (2001)
• PhD (1998)
• MPH (1995)
• MBBS (1988)

• Chairperson, Senior Professorial Faculty Promotion and Tenure Committee (FPTC), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (2022 – Present)
• Deputy Co-Chair, National University of Singapore Institutional Review Board (IRB) (2022 – 2024)
• Wallace Foulds Distinguished Professor, SingHealth Duke-NUS Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Programme (2019 – Present)
• Member, NUS Board of Discipline (BOD) and the Disciplinary Appeals Board (DAB) (2019 – Present)
• Chairperson, Transition Award Panel, National Medical Research Council (2019 – 2026)
• Member, National Medical Research Council MRC Research Training Fellowship Panel (2015 – 2026)
• Professor, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore (2010 – Present)

• First Honorary Member, Myopia Society of Singapore (2026)
• World’s Top 2% Scientists, Elsevier-Stanford List (2025)
• Senior Achievement Award, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (2025)
• Asia-Pacific Eye 100: 100 Most Influential Ophthalmologists and Visual Scientists (2025)
• Her World, Singapore SG60 Special Edition List (2025)
• Bernard Gilmartin OPO Award, College of Optometry, United Kingdom (2024)
• Asia Women Tech Leaders Award (AWTLA) – Top 50 (2024)
• World’s Top 2% Scientists, Elsevier-Stanford List (2023)
• Research.com Medicine in Singapore Leader Award – Ranked Number 6 (2023)
• Top 100 Ophthalmologist Power List, The Ophthalmologist (2023)
• Research.com Best Female Scientist Award – Ranked Number 1 in Singapore (2022)
• Awarded the 2nd APMS International Award Lecture. Prevention and Prediction of High Myopia – An Update, 3rd APMS Congress (Virtual) (2022)
• Research.com Medicine in Singapore Leader Award (2022)
• National Day Award, Long Service Medal (25 years), Singapore Government, August (2022)
• Asia-Pacific Myopia Society (APMS) International Award Lecture (2022)
• 2021 Power List: The Top 100 Women in Ophthalmology, The Ophthalmologist (2021)
• The Asian Scientist Top 100 List (2020)
• Bernard Gilmartin OPO Award, College of Optometry, United Kingdom (2020)
• Bernard Gilmartin OPO Award, College of Optometry, United Kingdom (2019)
• President’s Science Award, Singapore (Team) (2019)
• Academy of Asia-Pacific Professors of Ophthalmology (APPO) (2019)
• 10-year Long Service Award, Ministry of Health, Singapore (2018)
• 20-year Long Service Award, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore (2018)
• Outstanding Researcher Award, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore (2017)
• Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) (2016)
• Achievement Award, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) (2015)
• NUHS-MochtarRiady Pinnacle Excellence Award (2015)
• Gold Fellow Award, The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) (2015)
• Bernard Gilmartin OPO Award, College of Optometry, United Kingdom (2014)
• Annals Gold Publication Award, Annals Academy of Medicine (Singapore) (2014)
• World's Top 100 Influential People in Ophthalmology, The Ophthalmologists (2014)
• Chew Sek Jin Memorial Lecture Award, International Myopia Conference (2013)
• Achievement Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) (2009)
• Faculty Researcher Excellence Award, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (2009)
• Great Women of Our Times Award, Science and Technology Category, Singapore (2006)

• Prevalence and Risk Factors for Pathologic Myopia in Chinese Adults in the SERI-Aier High Myopia Cohort (2025 – 2026)
• MyopiaXAI: Unveiling the Association of Outdoor Light Exposure Patterns and Myopia in Children Through Explainable AI (XAI) (2024 – 2026)
• Pattern of Myopic Macular Degeneration in the Aier-SERI High Myopia (2021 – 2026)
• SERI-Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Joint Research Programme for Myopia (2019 – 2023)
• Light and Outdoor Patterns for the Prevention of Myopia (2018 – 2023)
• Visually-disabling Pathologic Myopia in the SEED and SCORM High Myopia Cohorts: Longitudinal Changes, Novel Biomarkers and Impact on Health-related Quality of Life (2017 – 2019)
• Impact of Pathologic Myopia on Vision-specific Functioning and Quality of Life in Singaporean Adults (2015 – 2019)

1. Foo LL, Jiang Y, Hoang QV, Htoon HM, Hu Z, Pan W, Cheong KX, Lamoureux EL, Yang Z, Lan W, Saw SM. Prevalence and Risk Factors of Myopic Macular Degeneration: The Aier-SERI High Myopia Adult Cohort. Br J Ophthalmol. 2025 May 30;109(6):721-726. doi: 10.1136/bjo-2024-326116. PMID: 39779283.
2. Wu F, Tham YC, Sabanayagam C, Saw SM. From Evidence to Action: Public Health Approaches to Reducing Screen Time and Mitigating Myopia Risk. Asia Pac J Ophthalmol (Phila). 2025 Mar-Apr;14(2):100177. doi: 10.1016/j.apjo.2025.100177. Epub 2025 Feb 26. PMID: 40021087.
3. Kassam I, Foo LL, Lanca C, Xu L, Hoang QV, Cheng CY, Hysi P, Saw SM. The Potential of Current Polygenic Risk Scores to Predict High Myopia and Myopic Macular Degeneration in Multiethnic Singapore Adults. Ophthalmology. 2022 Aug;129(8):890-902. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2022.03.022. Epub 2022 Mar 28.PMID: 35358591.
4. Li M, Lanca C, Tan CS, Foo LL, Sun CH, Yap F, Najjar RP, Sabanayagam C, Saw SM. Association of Time Outdoors and Patterns of Light Exposure With Myopia in Children. Br J Ophthalmol. 2023 Jan;107(1):133-139. doi: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2021-318918. Epub 2021 Apr 15. PMID: 33858839.
5. Wong YL, Zhu X, Tham YC, Yam JCS, Zhang K, Sabanayagam C, Lanca C, Zhang X, Han SY, He W, Susvar P, Trivedi M, Yuan N, Lambat S, Raman R, Song SJ, Wang YX, Bikbov MM, Nangia V, Chen LJ, Wong TY, Lamoureux EL, Pang CP, Cheng CY, Lu Y, Jonas JB, Saw SM; Asian Eye Epidemiology Consortium (AEEC). Prevalence and Predictors of Myopic Macular Degeneration Among Asian Adults: Pooled Analysis from the Asian Eye Epidemiology Consortium. Br J Ophthalmol. 2021 Aug;105(8):1140-1148. doi: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2020-316648. Epub 2020 Sep 2.PMID: 32878826.
6. Li J, Lanca C, Htoon HM, Wong YL, Nyunt SZ, Tan D, Sabanayagam C, Saw SM. High Myopes in Singapore: 19-year Progression from Childhood to Adulthood. Ophthalmology. 2020 Dec;127(12):1768-1770. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2020.05.031. Epub 2020 May 21. PMID: 32445655.
7. Wong YL, Sabanayagam C, Wong CW, Cheung YB, Man REK, Yeo AC, Cheung G, Chia A, Kuo A, Ang M, Ohno-Matsui K, Wong TY, Wang JJ, Cheng CY, Hoang QV, Lamoureux E, Saw SM. Six-year Changes in Myopic Macular Degeneration in Adults of the Singapore Epidemiology of Eye Diseases Study. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2020 Apr 9;61(4):14. doi: 10.1167/iovs.61.4.14. PMID: 32298432; PMCID: PMC7401489.
8. Qiao F,Verhoeven VJ, Wojciechowski R, Barathi VA, Hysi PG, Jeremy A. Guggenheim JA, Höhn R, Vitart V, Anthony P. Khawaja AP, Yamashiro K, Hosseini SM, Lehtimäki T, Lu Y, Haller T, Xie J, Delcourt C, Pirastu M, Wedenoja J, Gharahkhani P, Venturini C, Miyake M, Hewitt AW, Guo X, Mazur J, Huffman JE, Williams KM, Polasek O, Campbell H, Rudan I, Vatavuk Z, Wilson JF, Joshi PK, McMahon G, Pourcain BS, Evans DM, Simpson CL, Schwantes-An TH, Igo RP, Mirshahi A, Cougnard-Gregoire A, Bellenguez C, Blettner M, Raitakari O, Kähönen M, Seppälä I, Zeller T, Meitinger T, Consortium for Refractive Error and Myopia (CREAM), Ried JS, Portas L, Van Leeuwen EM, Amin N, Uitterlinden AG, Rivadeneira F, Hofman A, Vingerling JR, Wang YX, Wang X, Boh ET, Ikram MK, Sabanayagam C, Gupta P, Tan V, Zhou L, Ho CE, Lim W, Beuerman RW, Siantar R, Tai ES, Vithana E, Mihailov E, Khor CC, Hayward C, Luben RN, Foster PJ, Klein BE, Klein R, Wong HS, Mitchell P, Metspalu A, Aung T, Young TL, He M, Pärssinen O, Van Duijn CM, Wang JJ, Williams C, Jonas JB, Teo YY, Mackey DA, Oexle K, Yoshimura N, Paterson AD, Pfeiffer N, Wong TY, Baird PN, Stambolian D, Bailey-Wilson JE, Cheng CY, Hammond CJ, Klaver CW, Saw SM. Meta-analysis of Gene-environment-wide Association Scans Accounting for Education Level Identifies Additional Loci for Refractive Error. Nat Commun. 2016 Mar 29(7):11008 (IF: 11.47; CI: ISSN: 2041-1723).
9. Cheng CY, Schache M, Ikram MK, Young TL, Guggenheim JA, Vitart V, MacGregor S, Verhoeven VJ, Barathi VA, Liao J, Hysi PG, Bailey-Wilson JE, St Pourcain B, Kemp JP, McMahon G, Timpson NJ, Evans DM, Montgomery GW, Mishra A, Wang YX, Wang JJ, Rochtchina E, Polasek O, Wright AF, Amin N, van Leeuwen EM, Wilson JF, Pennell CE, van Duijn CM, de Jong PT, Vingerling JR, Zhou X, Chen P, Li R, Tay WT, Zheng Y, Chew M; Consortium for Refractive Error and Myopia, Burdon KP, Craig JE, Iyengar SK, Igo RP Jr, Lass JH Jr; Fuchs' Genetics Multi-Center Study Group, ChewEY, Haller T, Mihailov E, Metspalu A, Wedenoja J, Simpson CL, Wojciechowski R, Höhn R, Mirshahi A, Zeller T, Pfeiffer N, Lackner KJ; Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2, Bettecken T, Meitinger T, Oexle K, Pirastu M, Portas L, Nag A, Williams KM, Yonova-Doing E, Klein R, Klein BE, Hosseini SM, Paterson AD; Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions, and Complications Research Group, Makela KM, Lehtimaki T, Kahonen M, Raitakari O, Yoshimura N, Matsuda F, Chen LJ, Pang CP, Yip SP, Yap MK, Meguro A, Mizuki N, Inoko H, Foster PJ, Zhao JH, Vithana E, Tai ES, Fan Q, Xu L, Campbell H, Fleck B, Rudan I, Aung T, Hofman A, Uitterlinden AG, Bencic G, Khor CC, Forward H, Pärssinen O, Mitchell P, Rivadeneira F, Hewitt AW, Williams C, Oostra BA, Teo YY, Hammond CJ, Stambolian D, Mackey DA, Klaver CC, Wong TY, Saw SM (joint corresponding), Baird PN. Nine Loci for Ocular Axial Length Identified Through Genome-wide Association Studies, including Shared Loci with Refractive Error. Am J Hum Genet.2013;93: 264-77. (IF: 10.931; ISSN: 0002-9297).
10. Verhoeven VJ, Hysi PG, Wojciechowski R, Fan Q, Guggenheim JA, Höhn R, MacGregor S, Hewitt AW, Nag A, Cheng CY, Yonova-Doing E, Zhou X, Ikram MK, Buitendijk GH, McMahon G, Kemp JP, Pourcain BS, Simpson CL, Mäkelä KM, Lehtimäki T, Kähönen M, Paterson AD, Hosseini SM, Wong HS, Xu L, Jonas JB, Pärssinen O, Wedenoja J, Yip SP, Ho DW, Pang CP, Chen LJ, Burdon KP, Craig JE, Klein BE, Klein R, Haller T, Metspalu A, Khor CC, Tai ES, Aung T, Vithana E, Tay WT, Barathi VA; Consortium for Refractive Error and Myopia (CREAM), Chen P, Li R, Liao J, Zheng Y, Ong RT, Döring A; Diabetes Control and Complications Trial/Epidemiology of Diabetes Interventions and Complications (DCCT/EDIC) Research Group, Evans DM, Timpson NJ, Verkerk AJ, Meitinger T, Raitakari O, Hawthorne F, Spector TD, Karssen LC, Pirastu M, Murgia F, Ang W; Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2), Mishra A, Montgomery GW, Pennell CE, Cumberland PM, Cotlarciuc I, Mitchell P, Wang JJ, Schache M, Janmahasathian S, Igo RP Jr, Lass JH, Chew E, Iyengar SK; Fuchs' Genetics Multi-Center Study Group, Gorgels TG, Rudan I, Hayward C, Wright AF, Polasek O, Vatavuk Z, Wilson JF, Fleck B, Zeller T, Mirshahi A, Müller C, Uitterlinden AG, Rivadeneira F, Vingerling JR, Hofman A, Oostra BA, Amin N, Bergen AA, Teo YY, Rahi JS, Vitart V, Williams C, Baird PN, Wong TY, Oexle K, Pfeiffer N, Mackey DA, Young TL, van Duijn CM, Saw SM (joint last), Bailey-Wilson JE, Stambolian D, Klaver CC, Hammond CJ. Genome-wide Meta-analyses of Multiancestry Cohorts Identify Multiple New Susceptibility Loci for Refractive Error and Myopia. Nat Genet. 2013 Mar;45(3):314-8. (*Joint Last Author) (IF: 29.352; CI: ISSN‎: ‎1061-4036).
11. Morgan IG, Ohno-Matsui K, Saw SM. Myopia. Lancet. 2012; 379(9827):1739-48. (IF: 45.217;  CI: ISSN: 0140-6736).
12. Khor WB, Aung T, Saw SM, Wong TY, Tambyah PA, Tan AL, Beuerman R, Tan DTH. An Outbreak of Fusarium Keratitis Associated with Contact Lens Wear in Singapore. JAMA. 2006; 295 (24): 2867-2873. (IF: 35.289; CI: ISSN: 0098-7484).
13. Chong YS, Liang Y, Gazzard G, Stone RA, Saw SM. Association Between Breastfeeding and Likelihood of Myopia in Children. JAMA Journal of the American Medical Association. 2005; 293:3001-2 (IF:35.289; CI: ISSN: 0098-7484).
14. Saw SM, Hong CY, Chia KS, Stone RA, Tan Dd. Near Work and Myopia in Young Children. Lancet. 2001; 357:390 (IF: 45.217; CI: ISSN: 0140-6736).