Tien-En Tan

Tien-En is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at the Singapore National Eye Centre, and a Clinical Assistant Professor with the Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Programme (EYE ACP) in Duke-NUS Medical School. Prior to coming to Oxford, he completed two years of subspecialty fellowship training in Medical & Surgical Retina at the Singapore National Eye Centre. Tien-En is working on developing a gene editing treatment for a dominant cone-rod dystrophy, and investigating the relationship between retinal aging and inherited retinal degenerations. Tien-En’s DPhil is supervised by Professors Dominik Fischer and Robert MacLaren, and is funded by the prestigious National Medical Research Council Research Training Fellowship from Singapore, and the University of Oxford Clarendon Fund Scholarship.

Tien-En completed his medical training at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, in 2014, graduating with an MBBS (Honours).  He was top of his class in the fourth year, and graduated as second top student in the cohort overall.  He received numerous awards for academic excellence, including the Gold Medal and Book Prize in Ophthalmology, the S.S. Ratnam Book Prize, the Nihal Kaur Memorial Medal, the Nihal Kaur Sidhu Medal in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the Singapore Medical Association Bronze Medal, and the Yeo Khuan Joo Gold Medal.

Tien-En completed his specialist training in Ophthalmology at the Singapore National Eye Centre in 2022.  He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, FRCOphth, obtained a Master of Medicine in Ophthalmology, MMed (Ophth), and was given the Master of Medicine in Ophthalmology Medal in 2020. He received the Outstanding Resident Award three times, and was conferred the Richard Fan Gold Medal Award for Outstanding Senior Resident.  He also served as Chief Resident of the Ophthalmology Residency Programme. In the Ophthalmology Exit Examination in 2022, Tien-En was awarded two Gold Medals.

Tien-En’s research interests are in developing genetic therapies and other novel treatments for inherited and acquired retinal disease.  He also has research in the fields of diabetic retinopathy and artificial intelligence.  Tien-En has more than 45 publications in the peer-reviewed literature, and regularly speaks at international conferences, where he has been awarded for his work.

• Singapore Health Quality Service Silver Award, 2024
• University of Oxford Clarendon Fund Scholarship, 2024
• National Medical Research Council (NMRC) Research Training Fellowship (RTF), 2023
• SingHealth Publish! Award, 2022
• Outstanding Educator Award, SNEC-SERI Educator Awards, 2022
• Inspiring Resident Educator Award, SingHealth RiSE Awards, 2022
• Best Free Paper Oral Award (1^st Place), 36^th Malaysia-Singapore Joint Ophthalmic Congress, 2022
• Richard Fan Gold Medal Award for Outstanding Senior Resident, 2022
• Gold Medal, Cataract, Ophthalmology Exit Examination, 2022
• Gold Medal, Generic Issues, Ophthalmology Exit Examination, 2022
• Best Poster Award, SingHealth Duke-NUS Scientific Congress, 2021
• Best Poster Award, 33^rd APACRS-SNEC 30^th Anniversary Meeting, 2021
• Outstanding Chief Resident Award, Singapore Chief Residency Programme (SCRP), 2021
• Outstanding Resident Award, SingHealth RiSE Awards, 2021
• Young Educator Award (Senior Resident), SNEC-SERI Educator Awards, 2021
• Programme Excellence Award, SingHealth Duke-NUS Golden Apple Awards, 2021
• Master of Medicine (Ophthalmology) Medal, 2020
• Khoo Scholars’ Programme, Duke-NUS Medical School, 2020 – 2022
• Inspiring Resident Educator Award, SingHealth RiSE Awards, 2020
• Outstanding Resident Award, SingHealth RiSE Awards, 2019
• Best Scientific Paper Award, 34th Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress, 2019
• Outstanding Resident Award, SingHealth RiSE Awards, 2016
• Best House Officer Award, SingHealth Best Junior Doctors Awards, 2015
• Yeoh Khuan Joo Gold Medal, 2014
• Singapore Medical Association Bronze Medal, 2014
• Nihal Kaur Sidhu Medal in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2014
• Nihal Kaur Memorial Medal, 2013
• Gold Medal and Book Prize in Ophthalmology, 2013
• S.S. Ratnam Book Prize, 2013
• Distinction in Surgery, Final Professional MBBS Distinction Viva Voce Examination, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, 2014
• Distinction, Fourth Professional Distinction Viva Voce Examination, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, 2013
• Dean’s List, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, 2014
• Dean’s List, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, 2013