Myopia is on the rise globally, and has been more so since the COVID-19 pandemic. The burden has been felt most strongly in East Asia, where rates can be as high as 90% and over. In the US and Europe, rates are still below 50%, but are projected to rise above that threshold by 2050. Childhood myopia can lead to severe consequences later in life, with a high number of individuals suffering from vision impairment due to pathologic myopia.
In this video, Gemmy Cheung, MD, PhD, and Timothy Lai, MD, FRCOphth, discuss this topic.
Gemmy Cheung, MD, PhD, is currently the Arthur Lim Professor in Ophthalmology at Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore (NUS). She is the Head of the Medical Retina Department, Singapore National Eye Center and Head of the Retina Research Group at the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI). Her research interests focus on Asian retinal diseases, specifically age-related macular degeneration (AMD), polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV) and myopic macular degeneration.
She has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles mostly in age-related macular degeneration and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy and has contributed to major clinical trials in anti-VEGF for AMD and PCV. She serves on the executive committee of the Asia-Pacific Vitreoretina society, the International Retinal imaging Society. She is currently the international committee chair of the Macula Society and regional adviser to AAO. She has been given >200 invited lectures internationally, including the Optic UK Lecture and the APVRS Constable Lecture.
Professor Cheung has received several prestigious awards, including Secretariat Award and Achievement Awards from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Macula Society Young Investigator Award, the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Achievement award, Nakajima Award and Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award.
Timothy Lai, MD, FRCOphth, is a Clinical Professor (Honorary) at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Director of the 2010 Retina and Macula Centre, Hong Kong.
He has published over 280 papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has received many international awards, including the Nakajima Award from the APAO, the Senior Achievement Award from the AAO, the Constable Lecture Award from the Asia-Pacific Vitreo-Retina Society (APVRS), and the Senior Achievement Award from the APAO. Professor Lai is Vice-President of the APVRS and Chair of the AAO Global ONE advisory board. He serves on the editorial boards of over 10 international ophthalmic journals, including Retina, Eye, Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, Ophthalmologica, and the Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology.
Professor Lai’s clinical and research interests lie in the medical and surgical management of retinal diseases, particularly polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy, central serous chorioretinopathy, myopic maculopathy, and choroidal neovascularization, and has served as principal investigator in over 25 multicenter clinical trials for the treatment of retinal diseases and uveitis.
