Chief Supervisor

Dr Thomas LAM

Project Title

Synopsis

Myopia is a pressing public health issue with growing prevalence. It is estimated that half of the world population will be myopic by 2050. The ocular structural changes during the elongation of the eyeball in myopia may cause ocular complications that lead to visual impairments. Effective interventions for myopia control are needed to combat this global disease. Despite decades of research, the mechanism behind decoding myopic signals remains elusive, which is a crucial obstacle to developing effective treatments.

Proteins, as gene products, provide a vital clue into the intricate signaling networks in the retina in response to defocus signals. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins increase the variations and complexity of the gene products, influencing almost all aspects of cell biology and pathogenesis. Recent advancements in high-sensitivity and high-throughput mass-spectrometry based approach in proteomics has enabled the quest for the global analysis of PTMs. The knowledge would advance the search of myopia mechanism and the discovery of biomarkers for therapeutic treatment.