Back To Search Results

Dr Chong Rachel

MBBS, M Med(Ophth), PhD (Cantab)

Senior Consultant

Singapore National Eye Centre

Specialty: Glaucoma, Cataract ＆ Comprehensive Ophthalmology

Clinical Interest: Glaucoma, Cataract ＆ Comprehensive Ophthalmology

Conditions Treated by this Doctor:
Cataract Surgery, Glaucoma.

Clinical Appointments

Senior Consultant Glaucoma Department Singapore National Eye Centre
Senior Consultant Cataract ＆ Comprehensive Ophthalmology Department Singapore National Eye Centre

Academic Appointments

Assistant Professor SingHealth Duke-NUS Ophthalmology ＆ Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Programme

Profile

Dr Rachel Chong is a Senior Consultant in the Glaucoma Department at the Singapore National Eye Centre where she runs a dedicated service for patients with high myopia. She holds a joint appointment as Assistant Professor at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School and Clinician-Scientist at the Singapore Eye Research Institute, where she is actively involved in academic research and education.

Dr Chong was awarded the National Science Scholarship by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore in 2001 to pursue higher education from an undergraduate level up to a PhD. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in Physiological Sciences from the University of Oxford in 2004 and received her Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) with Merit from the Royal Free and University College Medical School, London in 2007. She received multiple awards for academic excellence including the Arthritis Research Campaign Prize in Rheumatology, the Heller Bursary for Arts & Humanities in Medicine, Certificate of Merit for Psychiatry, Neurology & Ophthalmology, and was ranked 6th out of 353 participants nationally in the UK at the Duke Elder Prize Exam in Ophthalmology in 2006. Dr Chong was conferred a PhD in Clinical Neurosciences from the University of Cambridge in 2015 for her research on experimental glaucoma under Professor Keith Martin, and has been invited to deliver several international keynote lectures, in addition to presenting her work in top tier peer-reviewed ophthalmology journals and meetings including the World Health Organization – International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness Myopia Summit in 2024. She completed her specialist training in ophthalmology at the Singapore National Eye Centre, serving as Chief Resident from 2010 to 2011 and was awarded specialist accreditation by the Singapore Medical Council in 2018. Dr Chong presently serves on the editorial boards of Current Eye Research and Frontiers in Ophthalmology.

In clinical practice, Dr Chong's believes that patients should be treated in a holistic manner and have the opportunity to understand their own conditions well in order to participate in their care. She views a sound doctor-patient relationship as having equal importance as providing access to the highest quality healthcare.

Education

PhD (Cantab) (2015)
M Med(Ophth) (2011)
MBBS (Lond) (2007)
BA (Hons)(Oxon.) (2004)

Professional Appointments and Committee Memberships

Secretary, Glaucoma Association of Singapore (2022 – present)
Chair, 20th National Eye Care Day/Project Silver Screen (2019)
Member, Singapore Medical Association (2007 – present)
Member, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) (2004 – present)

Awards

Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Travel Grant (2022)
Zeiss Rising Star in Ophthalmology Award (2019)
Richard Fan Gold Medal in Ophthalmology (2018)
Global Young Scientists Summit, Singapore Representative (2018)
Allergan International Glaucoma Panel Mentoring Programme, Singapore Representative (2015 – 2017)
Best Free Paper Award, Singapore-Malaysia Joint Ophthalmic Congress (2010)

Research Interests

Myopia-associated glaucoma
Neurovascular interactions in the eye
Novel diagnostic and treatment approaches to glaucoma

Publications

How Myopia and Glaucoma Influence the Biomechanical Susceptibility of the Optic Nerve Head. Chuangsuwanich T, Tun TA, Braeu FA, Yeoh CHY, Chong RS, Wang X, Aung T, Hoang QV, Girard MJA. IOVS. 2023;64(11):12.
High Myopia Normative Database of Peripapillary Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer Thickness to Detect Myopic Glaucoma in a Chinese Population. Song Y*, Li F*, Chong RS*, Wang W, Ran AR... Zhang X; Glaucoma Suspects with High Myopia Study Group. Ophthalmology 26:S0161-6420(23)00518-3. (*joint first authors) JIF 12.8
Neurovascular segregation of the retinal nerve fiber layer in glaucoma. Yow AP, Chua J, Tan B, Chong R, Nongpiur ME, Gupta P, Lamoureux E, Husain R, Schmetterer L, Wong D.Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2023;1528(1):95-103. doi: 10.1111/nyas.15043. JIF 6.5
Posterior scleral birefringence measured by triple-input polarization-sensitive imaging as a biomarker of myopia progression. Liu X, Jiang L, Ke M, Sigal IA, Chua J, Hoang QV, Chia AW, Najjar RP, Tan B, Cheong J, Bellemo V, Chong RS, Girard MJA, Ang M, Liu M, Garhöfer G, Barathi VA, Saw SM, Villiger M, Schmetterer L. Nat Biomed Eng. 2023 Aug;7(8):986-1000. doi: 10.1038/s41551-023-01062-w. JIF 29
Pathologic myopia in highly myopic patients with high axial anisomyopia. Li J, Dan YS, Chua SQ, Chong RS, Ang M, SNEC Retina Group, Wong CW, Hoang QV. Br J Ophthalmol. 2023:bjo-2022- 322285.
Caveolin-1 in vascular health and glaucoma: A critical vascular regulator and potential therapeutic target. Loo JH, Wang Z, Chong RS. Front Med (Lausanne). 2023;10:1087123. JIF 9.9
A mother's perspective on balancing family life, science, and ophthalmology. Chong RS. Kerala Journal of Ophthalmology 34(3):p 197-198, Sep–Dec 2022.
Mendelian Randomization implicates bidirectional association between myopia and primary open-angle glaucoma or intraocular pressure. Chong RS, Li H, Cheong AJY, Fan Q, Koh V, Raghavan L, Nongpiur ME, Cheng CY. Ophthalmology. 2022:S0161-6420(22)00937-X. JIF 12.8
Investigating the macular choriocapillaris in early primary open-angle glaucoma using swept- source optical coherence tomography angiography. Lun K, Sim YC, Chong RS, Wong D, Tan B, Husain R, Aung T, Sng CC, Schmetterer L, Chua J. Front Med (Lausanne). 2022;9:999167. JIF 9.9
Evaluation of generative adversarial networks for high-resolution synthetic image generation of circumpapillary optical coherence tomography images for glaucoma. Sreejith Kumar AJ, Chong RS, Crowston JG, Chua J. Bujor I, Husain R, Vithana EN, Girard MJA, Ting DSW, Cheng CY, Aung T, Popa-Cherecheanu A, Schmetterer L, Wong D. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2022;140(10):974-981. JIF 8.25

Research Trials

Risk Factors for Structural and Functional Losses Associated with Myopia-Associated Optic Neuropathy (National Medical Council Clinician Scientist Award, Ministry of Health, Singapore)
New Technologies to Screen Undiagnosed Glaucoma and Monitor Disease in the Community (National Medical Council Large Centre Grant Theme Lead)

Tags: Cataract ＆ Comprehensive Ophthalmology, Glaucoma, Glaucoma, Cataract ＆ Comprehensive Ophthalmology, Cataract Surgery, Glaucoma