Chief Supervisor

Dr Thomas LAM

Project Title

Synopsis

Despite the high global prevalence of dry eye disease (DED), the fundamental processes underlying this condition remain largely unknown.

Traditionally, clinical diagnosis of dry eye disease is done based on questionnaires, quantitative and qualitative tear and ocular surface assessments such as Schirmer’s test, tear breakup time test, corneal staining, and more recently tear osmolarity. However, many of these clinical procedures routinely used to diagnose and monitor DED are largely unrepeatable and sometimes show a weak correlation between the clinical findings and subjective symptoms. Therefore, more reliable and objective methods to aid the diagnosis of dry eye disease are needed.

My study would like to comprehensively investigate the tear composition of DED patients using high resolution mass spectrometry (MS)-based proteomic approach. Unlike comparing purely clinical findings and subjective responses, molecular changes in the tear fluid in response to different severity of DED could be measured, monitored, and evaluated more objectively. By correlating the tear composition changes and the patient’s ocular signs and symptoms, our understanding of the fundamental processes underlying the DED may be better explored for developing effective treatment . More targeted clinical management can be prescribed to help restore the patient’s tear film homeostasis, and eventually improving their ocular health conditions.