AECS Report 2016-17

Dr. O.G. Ram Prasad at the Asia ARVO Conference Dr. R.D. Ravindran at the APAO ConferenceDr. Ramya Seetam Raju gain knowledge related to the use of silk proteins as- Aspergillus flavus induced alteration in tear protein profile biomaterials in ophthalmic tissue engineering.Photo Contest Mr. Aloysius Abraham presented the poster titled- Corneal OSSN Effective and comprehensive genetic analysis of- Conjunctival Rhinosporidiosis retinoblastoma by next generation sequencing.- Confocal image of Acanthamoeba cyst in chains- Ophthalmomyiasis He also gave an invited talk on Efficient geneticDr. Seema Ramakrishnan testing of retinoblastoma in south Indian population- Outcomes of air descemetopexy in post-cataract surgery at Centre for Eye Research, Australia and visited Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne. Descemet’s membrane detachmentDr. Kunal A Mandlik 6th Annual Conference of the Society for- Case series of ocular infections caused by Scedosporium Mitochondrial Research and Medicine (SMRM) Apiospermum - a rare fungus New Delhi, India, February 10-11, 2017 Dr. P. SundaresanASIA-ARVO Conference - Mitoscriptome analysis to understand Diabetic Retinopathy.Brisbane, Australia, February 4-8, 2017 Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO)Aloysius Abraham- Effective and comprehensive genetic analysis of retinoblastoma Singapore, March 1-5, 2017 Dr. Usha Kim by next generation sequencing - The severe lower lid ectropion Dr. P. SundaresanDr. O.G. Ramprasad and Mr. Aloysius Abraham - Multiplex cytokine analysis in the aqueous humor of patientsparticipated in the conference. Oral presentation onthe collaborative work with University of Liverpool, with primary angle closure glaucomaDevelopment of a novel chemical cross-linker for the Dr. Manoranjan Dastreatment of keratoconus was given. Dr. Ramprasad - Combined Penetrating Keratoplasty (PKP) with suturelessvisited the laboratory of Professor Traian Chirila,Chief Scientist, Queensland Eye Institute (QEI) to glueless Scleral Fixation IOL (SFIOL) : A novel technique Dr. R.D. Ravindran participated in the conference. 51

Articles Published in Peer-reviewed JournalsRodrigues IA, Sprinkhuizen SM, Barthelmes D, Spring-action Apparatus for Fixation of Eyeball (SAFE): a novel,Blumenkranz M, Cheung G, Haller J, Johnston R, cost-effective yet simple device for ophthalmic wet-lab training.Kim R, Klaver C, McKibbin M, Ngah NF, Pershing S, Br J Ophthalmol. 2016 Oct;100(10):1317-21.Shankar D, Tamura H, Tufail A, Weng CY, Westborg I,Yelf C, Yoshimura N, Gillies MC. Lokeshwari A, Naveen R, Prajna NV, Lalitha P.Defining a Minimum Set of Standardized Patient-centered Clinical and microbiological study of paediatric infectiousOutcome Measures for Macular Degeneration. keratitis in South India: a 3-year study (2011-2013).Am J Ophthalmol. 2016 Aug;168:1-12. Br J Ophthalmol. 2016 Dec;100(12):1719-1723. Shen E, Rathinam SR, Manohar Babu, Anuradha K, Chidambaram JD, Prajna NV, Larke N, Macleod D,Radhika T, Lee SM, Browne EN, Porco TC, Acharya NR. Srikanthi P, Lanjewar S, Shah M, Lalitha P, Elakkiya S,Outcomes of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease: a subanalysis from Burton MJ.a randomized clinical trial of antimetabolite therapies. In vivo confocal microscopy appearance of Fusarium andAm J Ophthalmol. 2016 Aug;168:279-86. Aspergillus species in fungal keratitis. Br J Ophthalmol. 2017 Jan 2. [Epub]Bunya VY, Bhosai SJ, Heidenreich AM, KitagawaK, Larkin GB, LietmanTM, Gaynor BD, Akpek EK, Agashe R, Radhakrishnan N, Pradhan S, Srinivasan M,Massaro-Giordano M, Srinivasan M, Porco TC, Prajna NV, Lalitha P.Whitcher JP, Shiboski SC, Criswell LA, Shiboski CH; Clinical and demographic study of microsporidialSICCA study group. keratoconjunctivitis in South India: a 3-year study (2013-2015).Association of dry eye tests with extra-ocular signs among 3,514 Br J Ophthalmol. 2017 Feb 22. pii: bjophthalmol -2016-participants in the Sjögren’s Syndrome International Registry. 309845. [Epub]Am J Ophthalmol. 2016 Dec;172:87-93. Naresh BK, Adenuga OO, Karthik Kumar, Kim R.Priya S, Nirmala Devy, Venkatesh R. Outcome of 2 cc pure sulphur hexafluoride gas tamponade forExtensively Disseminated Tuberculosis in an Immuno Competent macular hole surgery.Young Women Presenting as Isolated Optic Neuritis. BMC Ophthalmol. 2016 Jun 3;16(1):73.Ann Clin Case Rep. 2016 Oct;1:1-2. Sayali P, Madhu U, Jeena M.Venkatesh R, Kavitha S. Unusual course of microsporidial kerato conjunctivitis as anSecondary Angle Closure Glaucoma and Malignant Hypertension: occupational hazard in a veterinary physician.A Rare Association. Can J Ophthalmol. 2016 Aug;51(4):e127-9.Ann Clin Case Rep. 2016 Dec;1:1-2. Indra D, Mrunali MD, Anand CP, Ganesh VR,Taylor KE, Wong Q, Levine DM, McHugh C, Laurie Krishnadas R.C, Doheny K, Lam MY, Baer AN, Challacombe S, Bilateral, Simultaneous, Acute Angle Closure Glaucoma inLanfranchi H, Schiødt M, Srinivasan M, Umehara H, Pseudophakia Induced by ChlorthalidoneVivino FB, Zhao Y, Shiboski S, Daniels TE, Greenspan Case Rep Ophthalmol Med. 2016;2016:3713818.JS, Shiboski CH, Criswell LA.Genome-Wide Association Analysis Reveals Genetic Balamurugan S, Khodifad A.Heterogeneity of Sjögren’s Syndrome According to Ancestry. Endogenous Fusarium Endophthalmitis in Diabetes Mellitus.Arthritis Rheumatol. 2017 Jun;69(6):1294-1305 EPub Case Rep Ophthalmol Med. 2016;2016:6736413.2017 Jan. Sun CQ, Prajna NV, Thiruvengada Krishnan, Revathy R,Lalitha P, Manoharan G, Karpagam R, Prajna NV, Srinivasan M, Anita R, O’Brien KS, McLeod SD, AcharyaSrinivasan M, Mascarenhas J, Das M, Porco TC, Lietman NR, Rose-Nussbaumer J;TM, Cevallos V, Keenan JD. Mycotic Ulcer Treatment Trial Group. Effect of pretreatmentTrends in antibiotic resistance in bacterial keratitis isolates from with antifungal agents on clinical outcomes in fungal keratitis.South India. Clin Experiment Ophthalmol. 2016 Dec;44(9):763-767Br J Ophthalmol. 2017 Feb;101(2):108-113. Haripriya A, Zervin RB, Ravindran RD.Seema R, Prabu B, Fazal R, Sulaiman SM, Thiruvengada Postoperative cataract care: the Aravind perspective.Krishnan, Venkatesh R. Community Eye Health. 2016 Oct;29(94):25-26.52

Vijayalakshmi P, Njambi L. Use of adjunctive topical corticosteroids in bacterial keratitis.Paediatric cataract:challenges and complications. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2016 Jul;27(4):353-7.Community Eye Health. 2016 Oct;29(94):34-35. Grzybowski A, Schwartz SG, Matsuura K, Tone SO,Vijayalakshmi P, Njambi L. Arshinoff S, Ng JQ, et al.Postoperative care for paediatric cataract patients. Endophthalmitis Prophylaxis in Cataract Surgery: Overview ofCommunity Eye Health. 2016 Oct;29(94):32-34. Current Practice Patterns Around the World. Curr Pharm Des. 2017;23(4):565-573. doi: 10.2174/138161Thulasiraj RD. 2822666161216122230.Inequities in eye care in South Asia.Community Eye Health. 2016;29(95):S01-S03. Jeyalakshmi K, Demonte NL, Prajna NV, Lalitha P, Chitra T, Jeya Maheshwari J, Dharmalingam K.Rathi H, Venugopal A, Rameshkumar G, Ramakrishnan Data set of Aspergillus flavus induced alterations in tearR, Meenakshi R. proteome: Understanding the pathogen-induced host response toFungal Keratitis Caused by Exserohilum, an Emerging Pathogen. fungal infection.Cornea. 2016 May;35(5):644-6. Data Brief. 2016 Nov 9;9:888-894.Prajna NV, Lumbini Devi, Suganya KS, Keenan JD. Thulasiraj RD, Gupta S, Ravindran RD, Vashist P,Conjunctival Autograft versus Amniotic Membrane Thiruvengada Krishnan, Maraini G, Chakravarthy U,Transplantation after Double Pterygium Excision: A Randomized Fletcher AE.Trial. Use of Cooking Fuels and Cataract in a Population-Based Study:Cornea. 2016 Jun;35(6):823-6. The India Eye Disease Study. Environ Health Perspect. 2016 Dec;124(12):1857–1862Rathi H, Venugopal A, Ramakrishnan R.Case of Late-Onset Fluid-Filled Descemet Membrane Detachment Rajasekaran S, Tangavel C, Aiyer SN, Nayagam SM,After Cataract Surgery and Its Management Using the Nd: YAG Raveendran M, Naveen LD, Subbaiah P, Kanna R,Laser. Shetty AP, Dharmalingam K.Cornea. 2016 Jun;35(6):897-9. ISSLS Prize in clinical science 2017: Is infection the possible initiator of disc disease? An insight from proteomic analysis.Rathi HS, Venugopal A, Ramakrishnan R, Meenakshi R. Eur Spine J. 2017 May;26(5):1384-1400.Scedosporium Keratitis: An Experience From a Tertiary EyeHospital in South India. Zhang L, Yang Y, Li S, Tai Z, Huang L, Liu Y, Zhu X, DiCornea. 2016 Dec;35(12):1575-1577. Y, Qu C, Jiang Z, Li Y, Zhang G, Kim R, Sundaresan P, Yang Z, Zhu X.Soham Basak, Prajna NV. Whole Exome Sequencing Analysis Identifies Mutations in LRP5A Prospective, In Vitro, Randomized Study to Compare Two in Indian Families with Familial Exudative Vitreoretinopathy.Media for Donor Corneal Storage. Genet Test Mol Biomarkers. 2016 Jul;20(7):346-51Cornea. 2016 Sep;35(9):1151-5. Baskaran P, Sindal MD, Dhoble P, Ramakrishnan S,Venugopal A, Rathi H, Ramakrishnan R, Meenakshi R, Rengaraj V, Ramulu P.Raman R. Acute angle closure glaucoma secondary to polypoidal choroidalOutcomes after Auro Keratoprosthesis Implantation: A Low-Cost vasculopathy - a devastating complication.Design Based on the Boston Keratoprosthesis. GMS Ophthalmol Cases. 2017 Jan 5;7:Doc01.Cornea. 2016 Oct;35(10):1285-8. Le H-G, Ehrlich JR, Venkatesh R, Aravind S, Ajay K,Bahl CD, St Laurent JD, Karthikeyan RS, Priya JL, Prajna Haripriya A, Ravindran RD, Thulasiraj RD, Robin AL,L, Zegans ME, Madden DR. Hutton DW, Stein JD.The cif Virulence Factor Gene is Present in Isolates from Patients Sustainable Model for Delivering High-Quality, Efficientwith Pseudomonas aeruginosa Keratitis. Cataract Surgery in Southern India.Cornea. 2017 Mar;36(3):358-362. Health Aff. 2016 Oct;35:1783-1790.Yelchuri ML, Madhavi B, Gohil N, Sajeev HS, Venkatesh Bhandari S, Nath M, Gireesh P.Prajna N, Srinivasan S. C-Rhexis the surgical grail in intumescent mature cataract.In Vitro Evaluation of the Drug Reservoir Function of Human Indian J Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2016 Jan-Mar; 2(1):38 41.Amniotic Membrane Using Moxifloxacin as a Model Drug.Cornea. 2017 May;36(5):594-599. EPub 2017 Mar. Mansha Daswani, Nidhi Bhosale, Virna M Shah. Rare case of herpes zoster ophthalmicus with orbital myositis,Ni N, Srinivasan M, McLeod SD, Acharya NR, Lietman oculomotor nerve palsy and anterior uveitis.TM, Rose-Nussbaumer J. 53

Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol. 2017 May- Indian Pediatr. 2016 Nov 7;53 Suppl 2:S137-S142.Jun;83(3):365-367. EPub 2017 Feb. Shah PK, Vishma P, Smita SK, Ratnesh R, Narendran V,Sindal MD, Mourya D. Kalpana N.A rare case of traumatic posterior phacocele with retinal Retinopathy of Prematurity: Clinical Features, Classification,detachment. Natural History, Management and Outcome.Indian J Ophthalmol. 2016 Jan;64(1):89-90. Indian Pediatr. 2016 Nov 7;53 Suppl 2:S118-S122. Rameshkumar G, Ramakrishnan R, Shivkumar Balamurugan S, Bandari S, Pan U, Arya LK, Joseph G.C, Meenakshi R, Anitha V, Venugopal Reddy YC, Comparison of Polymerase Chain Reaction Results withManeksha V. Treatment Response in the Diagnosis of Infectious UveitisPrevalence and antibacterial resistance patterns of extended- Ocular. Int J Contemporary Med Res. 2016spectrum beta-lactamase producing Gram-negative bacteria Nov;3(11):3334-3337.isolated from ocular infections.Indian J Ophthalmol. 2016 Apr;64(4):303-11. Das T, Ackland P, Correia M, Hanutsaha P, Mahipala P, Nukella PB, Pokharel GP, Raihan A, Rao GN, RavillaSiddharth N, Saravanan VR, Pereira M. Purtscher-like TD, Sapkota YD, Simanjuntak G, Tenzin N, Thoufeeq U,retinopathy: Win T; IAPB South East Asia Region Eye Health StudyA rare complication of peribulbar anesthesia. Group..Indian J Ophthalmol. 2016 Jun;64(6):464-6. Is the 2015 eye care service delivery profile in Southeast Asia closer to universal eye health need!Sengupta S, Pan U, Khetan V. Int Ophthalmol. 2017 Mar 2. [Epub]Adult onset retinoblastoma.Indian J Ophthalmol. 2016 Jul;64(7):485–491. Gopalakrishnan P, Haripriya A, Sundaresan P. MTHFR and MTHFD1 gene polymorphisms are not associatedBhandari S, Nath M. with pseudoexfoliation syndrome in South Indian PopulationAnterior stromal puncture with staining: A modified technique Int Ophthalmol. 2017 Mar 15. [Epub]for preoperative reference corneal marking for toric lenses and itsretrospective analyses. Neelam Pawar, Padmavathy S, Devendra Maheshwari,Indian J Ophthalmol. 2016 Aug;64(8):559-62. Meenakshi R, Ramakrishnan R. OCT-documented optic atrophy in nonsyndromicKumaragurupari R, Sengupta S, Bhandari S. craniosynostosis and lacunar.Publication rates from the All India Ophthalmic Conference 2010 J AAPOS 2017 Feb;21(1):78-81.compared to 2000: Are we improving?Indian J Ophthalmol. 2016 Oct;64(10):701-709. Gulshan V, Peng L, Coram M, Stumpe MC, Wu D, Narayanaswamy A, Venugopalan S, Widner K, MadamsManish T, Abhishek G, Priyanka Singh, Subathra GN. T, Cuadros J, Kim R, Raman R, Nelson PC, Mega JL,Unilateral hemorrhagic maculopathy: An uncommon Webster DR.manifestation of hand, foot, and mouth disease. Development and Validation of a Deep Learning AlgorithmIndian J Ophthalmol. 2016 Oct;64(10):772-774. for Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy in Retinal Fundus Photographs.Haripriya A, Smita A. JAMA. 2016 Dec 13;316(22):2402-2410.A case of keratitis associated with limbal relaxing incision.Indian J Ophthalmol. 2016 Dec;64(12):936 Zegans ME, DiGiandomenico A, Ray K, Naimie A, Keller AE, Stover CK, Lalitha P, Srinivasan M, Acharya NR,Sukhdeep B, Usha KR, Shanti R. Lietman TM.Orbital melanoma with calcification: A diagnostic dilemma. Association of Biofilm Formation, Psl ExopolysaccharideIndian J Ophthalmol. 2016 Dec;64(12):932-934. Expression, and Clinical Outcomes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Keratitis: Analysis of Isolates in the Steroids for Corneal UlcersShanthi R, Adulkar NG, Usha KR. Trial.Primary cutaneous histoplasmosis mimicking basal cell carcinoma JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016 Apr 1;134(4):383-9. of the eyelid: A case report and review of literature.Indian J Pathol Microbiol. 2016 Apr-Jun; Bhatia K, Sengupta S, Sharma S.59(2):227-228. Spontaneous Extrusion of Subconjunctival Cysticercosis Cyst. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016 Apr 14;134(4):e155025.Vijayalakshmi P, Tulika K, Gilbert C.Ocular Morbidity Associated with Retinopathy of Prematurity in Prajna NV, Lalitha P, Revathy R, ThiruvengadaTreated and Untreated Eyes: A Review of the Literature and Data Krishnan, Anita R, Srinivasan M, O’Brien KS, Zegansfrom a Tertiary Eye-care Center in Southern India.54

M, McLeod SD, Acharya NR, Keenan JD, Lietman TM, Priyanka Singh, Vijayalakshmi P, Shashikant Shetty,Rose-Nussbaumer J; Priyanka Vora, Suresh K.Mycotic Ulcer Treatment Trial Group. Changing Azole Double Augmented Vertical Rectus Transposition for Large-Resistance: A Secondary Analysis of the MUTT I Randomized Angle Esotropia Due to Sixth Nerve Palsy.Clinical Trial. J Pediatric Ophthalmol Strabismus. 2016 NovJAMA Ophthalmol. 2016 Jun 1;134(6):693-6. 1;53(6):369-374. Soundaram M, Sufi AR, Prajna NV, Keenan JD. Jeyalakshmi K, Demonte NL, Prajna NV, Lalitha P,Comparison of In Vivo Confocal Microscopy, Ultrasonic Chitra T, Jeya Maheshwari J, Dharmalingam K.Pachymetry, and Scheimpflug Topography for Measuring Central Aspergillus flavus induced alterations in tear protein profile revealCorneal Thickness. pathogen-induced host response to fungal infection.JAMA Ophthalmol. 2016 Sep;134(9):1057-1059. J Proteomics. 2017 Jan 30;152:13-21.Prajna NV, Thiruvengada Krishnan, Revathy R, Patel Jhansi Rani K, Prajna NV, Muthukkaruppan V, GowriS, Srinivasan M, Manoranjan Das, Ray KJ, O’Brien KS, Priya C.Oldenburg CE, McLeod SD, Zegans ME, Porco TC, A novel method for a high enrichment of human corneal epithelialAcharya NR, Lietman TM, Rose-Nussbaumer J; stem cells for genomic analysis.Mycotic Ulcer Treatment Trial II Group. Effect of Oral Microsc Res Tech. 2016 Dec;79(12):1165-1172. Voriconazole on Fungal Keratitis in the Mycotic Ulcer TreatmentTrial II (MUTT II): A Randomized Clinical Trial. Muralidhar R, Vijayalakshmi P, Sujatha K, ShashikantJAMA Ophthalmol. 2016 Dec 1;134(12):1365-1372. Shetty, Malay K, Rosenberg S. Situational Restriction of Elevation in Adduction Relieved byRobin AL, Thulasiraj RD, Venkatesh R. Faden on the Medial Rectus.Combating Cataract Blindness. Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol. 2016 Apr-Jun; 23(2):229-JAMA Ophthalmol. 2017;135(2):94-95. 31. Vardhan S A, Haripriya A, Ratukondla B, Ramulu P, Bhat V, D’Souza P, Shah PK, Narendran V.Shivakumar C, Nath M, Vijayaraghavan P, Robin AL. Risk of Tractional Retinal Detachment following IntravitrealAssociation of Pseudoexfoliation with Systemic Vascular Bevacizumab Along with Subretinal Fluid Drainage andDiseases in a South Indian Population. Cryotherapy for Stage 3B Coats’ Disease.JAMA Ophthalmol. 2017 Apr 1;135(4):348-354. EPub Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol. 2016 Apr-2017 Mar Jun;23(2):208-11.Meltzer, Mirjam E Congdon, Nathan; Kymes, Steven M; Kavita LD, Manoranjan Das, Sundaresan P, Prajna NV.Yan, Xixi; Lansingh,Van C; Sisay, A; Muller, A; Chan, V Bilateral Atypical Granular Corneal Dystrophy Associated withF; Jin, L; Sasipriya, K M; Guan, C; Vuong,Q; Rivera, N; Unilateral Keratoconus in a Male Child.McCleod-Omawale, J; He, M. Middle East Afr J Ophthalmol. 2016 Jul-Cost and Expected Visual Effect of Interventions to Improve Sep;23(3):262-264. follow-up after Cataract Surgery: prospective review of earlycataract outcomes and grading (PRECOG) study. Bibhuti BK, Dubey SK, Shanmugam MK, Sundaresan P.JAMA Ophthalmol 2017 Feb;135(2):85-94 Whole mitochondrial genome analysis in South Indian patients with Leber’s hereditary optic neuropathy.Haripriya A, Sharma SS. Mitochondrion. 2016 Oct 27. pii: S1567-7249(16)30220-Retro iris suture fixation of a rigid intraocular lens. 3. [Epub] J Cataract Refract Surg. 2016 Nov;42(11):1556-1561. Hammond JH, Hebert WP, Naimie A, Ray K, VanKaruppannasamy D, Raghuram V, Thankappan L, Gelder RD, DiGiandomenico A, Lalitha P, Srinivasan M,Andavar R, Devisundaram S. Acharya NR, Lietman T, Hogan DA, Zegans ME.Inverse Association between Serum Bilirubin Levels and Environmentally Endemic Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains withRetinopathy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Mutations in lasR Are Associated with Increased Disease SeverityJ Clin Diagn Res. 2017 Feb;11(2):NC09-NC12. in Corneal Ulcers. mSphere. 2016 Sep 7;1(5). pii: e00140-16.Senthilkumari S, Sharmila R, Gowri Priya C,Vanniarajan A. Khor CC, Do T, Jia H, Nakano M, George R, Abu-AmeroEpalrestat - an Aldose Reductase Inhibitor Prevents Glucose- K, et al.Induced Toxicity in Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells In Genome-wide association study identifies five new susceptibilityVitro. loci for primary angle closure glaucomaJ Ocul Pharmacol Ther. 2017 Jan-Feb;33(1):34-41. Nat Genet. 2016 May;48(5):556-62. 55

Rathinam SR, Vijayakumar B, Gowri Priya, Visalakshi J. Intraocular Pressure Reduction after PhacoemulsificationLeptospiral Uveitis: Usefulness of Clinical Signs as Diagnostic versus Manual Small-Incision Cataract Surgery: A RandomizedPredictors. Controlled Trial.Ocul Immunol Inflamm. 2016 Sep 6:1-8. Ophthalmology. 2016 Aug;123(8):1695-703. Panikkar K, Manayath G, Revathy R, Saravanan V. Chidambaram JD, Prajna NV, Natasha LL, Srikanthi P,Progressive keratoconus, retinal detachment, and intracorneal Shruti L, Manisha Shah, Elakkiya S, Lalitha P, Carnt N,silicone oil with obsessive-compulsive eye rubbing. Vesaluoma MH, Mason M, Hau S, Burton MJ.Oman J Ophthalmol. 2016 Sep-Dec;9(3):170-173. Prospective Study of the Diagnostic Accuracy of the In Vivo Laser Scanning Confocal Microscope for Severe Microbial Keratitis.Jain NC, Vanteri J, Shah PK, Narendran V. Ophthalmology. 2016 Nov;123(11):2285-2293.Lipemia retinalis in 1-month-old infant.Oman J Ophthalmol. 2017 Jan-Apr;10(1):50-51. Nguyen QD, Merrill PT, Clark WL, Banker AS, Fardeau C, Franco P, LeHoang P, Ohno S, Rathinam SR, ThurauFouquet G, Debuysscher V, Ouled-Haddou H, Eugenio S, Abraham A, Wilson L, Yang Y, Shams N;MS, Demey B, Singh AR, Ossart C, Al Bagami M, Sirolimus Study Assessing double-Masked Uveitis TreatmentRegimbeau JM, Nguyen-Khac E, Naassila M, Marcq I, (SAKURA) Study Group. Intravitreal Sirolimus forBouhlal H. Noninfectious Uveitis: A Phase III Sirolimus Study AssessingHepatocyte SLAMF3 reduced specifically the multi-drugs Double-masked Uveitis Treatment (SAKURA).resistance protein MRP-1 and increases HCC cells sensitization to Ophthalmology. 2016 Nov;123(11):2413-2423. anti-cancer drugs.Oncotarget. 2016 May 31;7(22):32493–32503. Zebardast N, Kavitha S, Palaniswamy K, Friedman DS, Nongpiur ME, Aung T, Quigley HA, Ramulu PY,Browne EN, Rathinam SR, Anuradha K, Radhika T, Venkatesh R.Manohar Babu, Lietman TM, Acharya NR. Changes in Anterior Segment Morphology and Predictors of AngleA Bayesian Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Widening after Laser Iridotomy in South Indian Eyes.Antimetabolite Therapies for Non-Infectious Uveitis. Ophthalmology. 2016 Dec;123(12):2519-2526. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2017 Feb;24(1):63-70. Haripriya A, Chang DF, Vijayakumar B, Niraj A, ShekharKarthikeyan AS, Renugadevi K, Keep RB, Sundaresan P, M, Tanpreet S, Aravind S.Huang H, Rolfs A, Parthiban K, Vijayalakshmi P. Long-term Posterior Capsule Opacification Reduction withCutaneous freckling: Possible new clinical marker for the Square-Edge Polymethylmethacrylate Intraocular Lens:diagnosis of Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome in Indian Asian Randomized Controlled Study.patients with oculocutaneous albinism. Ophthalmology. 2017 Jan; 124(6) : 768 - 775 EPub 2017Ophthalmic Genet. 2017 Mar-Apr;38(2):194-196. FebMohideen Abdul Kader, Prasanthi N, Ramugade S, Haripriya A, Chang DF, Ravindran RD.Ramakrishnan R, Krishnadas SR, Roos BR, Sundaresan Endophthalmitis Reduction with Intracameral MoxifloxacinP, Robin AL, Fingert JH. Prophylaxis: Analysis of 600000 Surgeries.Clinical and genetic characterization of a large primary open Ophthalmology. 2017 Jun;124(6):768-775.angle glaucoma pedigree.Ophthalmic Genet. 2017 May-Jun;38(3):222-225. EPub Deepesh M, Balamurugan S, Khanal R.2016 Jun A Rare Complication of Posterior Subtenon Injection. Retin Cases Brief Rep. 2017 Spring;11(2):128-130. Shah PK, Sripriya S, Narendran V, Pandian AJ.Prenatal genetic diagnosis of retinoblastoma and report of RB1 Yang Y, Yang Y, Huang L, Zhai Y, Li J, Jiang Z, Gong B,gene mutation from India. Fang H, Kim R, Yang Z, Sundaresan P, Zhu X, Zhou Y.Ophthalmic Genet. 2016 Dec;37(4):430-433. Whole exome sequencing identified novel CRB1 mutations in Chinese and Indian populations with autosomal recessive retinitisZebardast N, Kavitha S, Palaniswamy K, Sengupta pigmentosa.S, Mohideen Abdul Kader, Ganesh VR, Sharmila R, Sci Rep. 2016 Sep 27;6:33681. Ramulu PY, Venkatesh R.Angle Closure Phenotypes in Siblings of patients at Different Gayatri M, Shah PK, Narendran V.Stages of Angle Closure. Clinical profile and outcomes of pediatric endogenousOphthalmology. 2016 Jul;123(7):1622-4. endophthalmitis: A report of 11 cases from South India. World J Clin Pediatr. 2016 Nov 8;5(4):370-373.Sengupta S, Venkatesh R, Palaniswamy K, Nath M,Mashruwala A, Ramulu PY, Robin AL, Lee P.56

CONSULTANCY AND CAPACITY This workshop was excellentBUILDING and highly educating... For our group it was very good,Since 1993, LAICO has collaborated with eye hospitals and especially for my staff. Beinginstitutions around the world to build sustainable eye care born and brought up in smallprogrammes through a structured mentoring process villages, they have absolutelyusing the Aravind model.The services are designed for no exposure to the outsideexisting eye hospitals, new hospitals and hospital start- world and sometimes developups, and for increasing sub-specialities. LAICO’s capacity- an ego of performing the best.building process, when internalised, helps eye hospitals to This kind of workshop opensimprove their performance through efficient use of available up their horizon and bringresources, develop a forward-thinking approach, solve major them to reality, where weorganisational growth problems, mobilise required resources stand.and to become financially viable. - a Community Outreach In the year-ending March 2017, LAICO entered into Course participantcollaboration with 15 hospitals, thus taking the total number ofpartners to 335. 57

LAICO’s work with other eye care organisations iscarried out in partnership with NGOs, such as HiltonFoundation, Seva Foundation, Lions Club and LavelleFund for the Blind.Capacity Building ProgrammesHilton Cataract Initiative (HCI) Mr. Seran.I, Mr. S. Poornachandran and Professor K.S. Raj Kumar with the team at City Eye Hospital, Nairobi KenyaLAICO has been collaborating with five hospitalsin sub-Saharan Africa as part of the Hilton Cataract year, eight new hospitals have been supported byInitiative (HCI) to improve the surgical rate of cataract the Lavelle Fund and one hospital by the So-Humin the region. The project started in 2014 and came to Foundation. As part of Manpower Managementan end in 2016. LAICO teams made follow-up visits to Development Programme for Lions Eye Hospitals,these hospitals in Kenya, Zambia, Nigeria and Ethiopia LAICO has started supporting a hospital in Myanmar.in the first of week of July 2016. Hilton Foundationrecently approved a proposal relating to the second Review Meetingsphase of the project, amounting to USD 1.9 millionto continue LAICO’s support to the five partners for To assess the performance of hospitals since LAICO’sanother three years (2017-2019). intervention, review meetings are held at regular intervals with all stake holders. The first onsite reviewStrengthening Capacity and Learning to meeting with nine partner hospitals of So-Hum andEffectively Deliver Quality Eye care (SCALE) Lavelle projects was held at Sitapur Eye Hospital, UttarProject Pradesh from April 23-24, 2016. The key objective of this onsite meeting was to share with each other on theSupported by Seeing is Believing, the corporate social progress made thus far, challenges faced and successes.responsibility wing of Standard Chartered Bank, UK, It also addressed key areas of concern and developedthe project was launched in April 2016. Co-ordinated by a plan of action for the following year. A parameterSeva, the project involves six mentor organisations and template was prepared to review the performance of54 mentee eye hospitals. As one of the mentors, LAICO each hospital in the areas of direct walk-ins, outreach,has started collaborating with 13 eye hospitals across quality, patient source, HR productivity, cost recovery,the nation. To date, LAICO has conducted two vision-building workshops and eight needs-assessment visitsunder this project.So-Hum, Lavelle and Lions ProjectsSo-Hum Foundation and Lavelle Fund support LAICOin its various capacity building initiatives. In the lastParticipants at the onsite review meeting held at Sitapur Eye Hospital, Uttar Pradesh58

and strengthen their care delivery programmes with greater vigour and reach. In the last year, through its nine structured courses, LAICO trained over 200 candidates. Customised training on various operational aspects of vision centres and eye hospitals were also offered on request.Dr. R.D. Ravindran and Mr. Leon Ellwein, a long-term volunteer Aurosiksha – Online Portal for Allied Ophthalmicwith the Chinese Eye Hospital Alliance delegation Personnel Traininggrowth and IHMS usage. Two members from each Aurosiksha is Aravind’s online platform that offershospital (CEO/Director and senior ophthalmologist) training materials to learners and trainers. This uniqueand LAICO faculty participated in the meeting. online portal gives free access to training resources forAnother review meeting for nine partner hospitals allied ophthalmic personnel - covering all the basicin Bangladesh was held at Dr. K. Zaman BNSB Eye knowledge and skill-based competencies for outpatientHospital, Mymensingh from June 15-16, 2016. This clinical assistance, operating room assistance, wardreview meeting included long-term partners of LAICO assistance and refraction.under various projects apart from the hospitalscurrently working under So-Hum and Lavelle projects. The available gamut of resources include teachingVMA Netra Niramay Niketan, Chaitanyapur also hosted slides, laboratory experiments, test papers and skilla review meeting from March 24-25, 2017 involving assessment rubrics and scoring sheets. This year,14 eye hospitals from India, Nepal and Cambodia. A training resources for 41 new competencies wereperformance review meeting of all the hospitals under published. Aurosiksha now also carries the OphthalmicHCI was held at Dubai from July 9-10, 2016. Assistant Training Series and the Training in Eye Care Support Services Series - the eight-book series for Mid-New Collaborations Level Ophthalmic Personnel- now available in electronic format for online reading or downloadable for print.For the first time, LAICO partners with OperationEyesight Universal (OEU) in organising training, The portal is also used to conduct real time onlineconsultancy and capacity building programmes for tests. In the past year, online assessments wereOEU’s partners in Africa and South Asia as well as conducted for the Tripura’s government visionexploring new areas of intervention in these regions. technicians organised by of Infrastructure LeasingLAICO has entered into a partnership to work with and Financial Services (IL and FS) Education andChinese Eye Hospital Alliance (CEHA). A senior Technology Services Ltd. In addition, pre-trainingdelegation responsible for running a large scale assessment was also conducted using Aurosiksha forprogramme on hospital capacity building for the private 472 of Aravind’s trainees. The portal today, reaches overhospitals in 2nd tier cities and counties in China visited 2,193 users from 20 countries.Aravind in the second week of December to investigatethe best ways to work with Aravind and Aurolab. Ms. Hepsibha Jawahar instructing the new tutors / supervisors on the use of AurosikshaTeaching and TrainingDriven by Aravind’s vision to eliminate needlessblindness, LAICO had set up a range of trainingactivities that help eye care institutions to plan, develop 59

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Mr. R. Suresh Kumar and Mr. Sanil Joseph with the course Dr. V.R. Vivekanandan at IMO hospital, Queretaro, Mexicoparticipants in Cairo, EgyptOnsite Training Programmes grave issue. As an outcome of the meeting, a Forum for Responsible Medicine was formed and this groupAravind’s Instruments Maintenance Department will take on the issues by working in different verticalsconducted training programmes at: such as Value based Education, Policy and Information-- Caribbean Council for the Blind and Visually Bureaucracy etc. Participants included Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman Emeritus, AECS; Impaired, Antigua, West Indies (May 9-21, 2016); Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj, Executive Director, LAICO;-- L ions SightFirst Eye Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya (July Dr. R.D. Ravindran, Chairman, AECS; Dr. G.N. Rao, Founder Chair, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad; 11-23, 2016); Dr. B. Soma Raju, Chairman and Managing Director,-- Magrabi Eye Hospital, Cairo, Egypt (November 5-16, Care Hospitals, Hyderabad; Dr. Damodar Bachani, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of 2016); India, Delhi; Professor Jagdeep Chhokar, Association for-- Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmology, Democratic Reforms, Ahmedabad; Professor DVR Seshadri, Faculty, Indian School of Business (ISB), Moshi, Tanzania (March 13-25, 2017); Hyderabad; Dr. Koteswara Rao, United Hospitals, Dr. V.R.Vivekanandan, Medical Officer, Aravind- Hyderabad; Dr. Devadasan N, Institute of PublicTirupur was in IMO hospital in Queretaro, Mexico Health, Bengaluru; Professor Sarang Deo, Professor ofduring September 28 - October 1, 2016 to train Operations, ISB, Hyderabad; Dr. Jayaprakash Narayanophthalmologists in MSICS. Training included lectures, IAS, Founder - Loksatta Party, Hyderabad; Ms. Remawetlab sessions and live surgery. Nagarajan, Assistant editor, The Times of India, Mr. Sanil Joseph and Mr. R. Suresh Kumar, Senior New Delhi; Mr. Vijay Poddar, Sri Aurobindo Society,Faculty members of LAICO, were the invited faculty Pondicherry; Professor T. Sundararaman, Dean, Schoolat the course on Management Priorities in Eye Care of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of SocialDelivery organised by Egypt Institute of Community Sciences, Mumbai; Dr. Nirmala Murthy, Foundation forOphthalmology (EICO), Magrabi Foundation, Cairo Research in Health Systems Bengaluru;from November 19-25, 2016. Dr. H. Sudarshan, Vivekananda Girijana Kalyana Kendra (VGKK), Bengaluru; Mr. Gopi Gopalakrishnan,October Summit 2016 President, World Health Partners, New Delhi; Dr. R. Pararajasegaram, Ophthalmologist and formerPracticing Responsible Medicine Consultant, WHO; Dr. Suzanne Gilbert, Seva Foundation, USA; Ms. K.M. Sashipriya, Senior Faculty,Aravind-Madurai, September 30 - October 1, 2016 LAICO and Dr. Devendra Tayade, Manager, EmployeeWhile it has made significant strides forward, the Engagement Programme, AECS.current mode of healthcare delivery is by and largeeroding the trust and respect for the medical profession.A group of 25 like-minded people from variedbackgrounds came together for the meeting sponsoredby Seva Foundation in an attempt to address this 61

Priorities in Paediatric Eye Care Delivery, senior refractionist and nurse from the PaediatricIntervention Models and Research Ophthalmology Department participated.Aravind-Madurai, October 2-3, 2016 Preferred Practices in Paediatric Eye CarePaediatric eye care and childhood blindness isrecognised as a global issue. Sponsored by Seva and Aravind-Madurai, October 6, 2016USAID, this two-day workshop aimed to bring The Kilimanjaro Centre for Community Ophthalmologyin understanding on various aspects of paediatric (KCCO) facilitated this two day meeting invision impairment in the current context and analyse collaboration with Seva-Canada and with fundingkey challenges in paediatric eye care delivery. The support from Partners for Global Research Developmentworkshop brought together experts and organisations (PGRD) and USAID. KCCO representatives presentedsharing their experiences and successful intervention the preliminary findings from the case studies onmodels that will help in evolving actionable next steps Preferred practices and engaged partners from differenttowards improving paediatric eye care. The workshop countries to learn more about their strategies to improvealso focused on inherited eye diseases and genetic the reach scope and quality of paediatric programmes. Acounselling in low resource settings. Apart from the total of 19 participants attended the meeting.Aravind faculty, the resource persons included Mr. Sanil Joseph and Ms. A. Priya, Manager, PaediatricDr. Marilyn Miller, Ophthalmologist - USA; Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus Services,Dr. Clare Gilbert, Professor International Centre for Aravind-Pondicherry represented Aravind.Eye Health, London and Dr. Linda Lawrence, PaediatricOphthalmologist, USA. ProjectsUSAID Partners Meet REACHAravind-Madurai, October 4-5, 2016 Aravind-Madurai and ORBIS International introducedUSAID’s Child Blindness Programme (CBP) the project titled Refractive Error Among CHildrenconvened grantees, experts, groups, organisations (REACH) to reach school going children in the ageand stakeholders involved in paediatric eye care from group of 6-17 years. The project, aims to reach at leastaround the world, creating an opportunity to share best 400,000 school going children during the next threepractices and lessons learned from each project. State- years starting from July 2016 and screen them for visionof-the-art topics and presentations ranged from the problems.use of laser for the treatment of ROP to monitoring andevaluation, provision of low vision devices, and project The project implementation areas include fourmanagement. Experts included CBP senior advisors, districts (Sivagangai, Ramanathapuram, Madurai-Drs. Clare Gilbert and Marilyn Miller. A total of 46 Rural and Virudhunagar) of Tamil Nadu. Apart frompersons from 22 partner organisations participated. addressing the problem of uncorrected refractive errors, the project aims to provide tertiary eye careEnhancing the Low Vision (LV) Services at AECS services free of cost to children identified with visiontowards Better Care Delivery Vision for All Project : A technician capturing fundus imageAravind-Madurai, October 6-7, 2016This internal workshop was held for Low Vision Serviceteams from all Aravind Eye Hospitals to deliberate onthe challenges in providing services to persons with lowvision, learn about recent updates in the field and evolvestrategies for enhancing referral and uptake of services.The teams worked on standardising protocols forservice delivery at the primary, secondary and tertiarylevels of care. The workshop processes included sharingof experiences / learning from Aravind’s existing LVservices and projects. A three-member team from eachAravind Eye Hospital including an ophthalmologist,62

REACH Project: Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi interacting with school children At the camp organised as part of the projectproblems. It also plans to create awareness towards were screened, among which 276 were newly identifiedincreasing spectacles compliance by educating the cases of DR. Four patients underwent Laser treatment.target population - parents, teachers and children. This Patients with mild and moderate DR have been asked towill help create a wider database to facilitate clinical come for regular follow-up.research. SIB SCOPE Project Trained vision screeners did primary screeningfor 76,131 students from 403 schools through 59 LAICO received a grant from Standard Charteredcamps. Around 8,500 (11%) students were referred for Global Business Services Private Limited (Formerlysecondary evaluation by ophthalmologists. Among known as Scope International Private Limited) tothe referred, 6,917 (81%) children were examined by implement the following projects under IAPB - Seeingophthalmologists. A total of 2,587 children received is Believing (SIB) Projects. An MoU was signed betweenspectacles from the project and 462 children were LAICO and IAPB on December 1, 2016. The projectreferred to the base hospital for further evaluation. activities began in March 1, 2017 and the primary focusAmong those referred, 158 students turned up at the will be on the areas of:base hospital and received treatment. -- Enhancing the quality of outreach with betterVision for All equipment and deploying electronic medical record to ensure continuity of care (Aravind-Pondicherry)Supported by Topcon and Mehra EyeTech, the project -- P roviding affordable treatment for low socioeconomicaims to provide comprehensive eye care services to category patients with painful corneal ulcer, Aravind-eliminate needless blindness in Theni district. As part Maduraiof this, Aravind-Theni organised a mega glaucoma -- Developing an enhanced corneal preservative mediumscreening and awareness camp on March 12, 2017 in (Aravind-Madurai and Aurolab)the hospital premises. A total of 323 patients (New 147, -- On-site diagnosis and management of ROP inReview 176) turned up and 14 new glaucoma patients newborn babies (Aravind-Tirunelveli)were identified. Further diagnostic and investigation -- Equipment support for better diagnosis ofprocedures like HFA, OCT and CCT were provided corneal ulcers for timely and appropriate surgicalfree of cost to these newly identified glaucoma patients. intervention (Aravind-Madurai)The team also did the pupillometer study for which 70patients were recruited. QEDJT - PHFI supported Diabetic Retinopathy Screening for DR commenced in Primary Health Supported by Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee TrustCentres on April 11, 2016. So far, 33 screening camps (QEDJT), London through Public Health Foundationwere conducted. A total of 2,477 diabetes patients of India (PHFI), the main objective of the project is to 63

was provided for two ophthalmologists, one each from Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital and Government Hospital, Sankarankoil.QEDJT - PHFI Project: Signing of MoU by USAID Project to Build Sustainable Capacity andDr. R. Ramakrishnan, Aravind-Tirunelveli; Dr. GVS. Murthy, Public Health Measures to Effectively AddressPHFI and Dr. V. Revathi, Project Director, Tamil Nadu Blindness the Problem of Visual Impairment and BlindnessControl Society among Children <6 years in the Service Areas of Aravind-Pondicherrydevelop a district level model for building capacity atthe government health system for effective management The project covered mainly three districts -(primary to tertiary) of DR. As part of this, training Pondicherry, Cuddalore and Villupuram. With thefor Non Communicable Disease (NCD) staff and help of a portable vision screener (Plusoptix), visionParamedical Ophthalmic Assistants (PMOAs) from technicians screen children starting age at six monthsCommunity Healthcare Centres (CHCs) and Primary for refractive error, anisocoria and strabismus. ThroughHealth Centres (PHCs) was arranged from October 4-8, 177 camps, a total of 102,402 children from 372 pre-2016 at Aravind-Tirunelveli. schools and 299 Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres were screened. Of these, 79,712 children The first DR Screening was held on December 15, 2016 were found to be normal. The remaining 22,690 childrenat Thisayanvilai PHC. Trained NCD staff screened the were referred to the base hospital for detailed evaluationknown diabetes patients for DR using non-mydriatic by the Paediatric Ophthalmology team. Out of these,fundus camera in their respective PHC/CHCs. A total 3,781 children visited the base hospital for furtherof 1,843 patients underwent DR screening of the 4,050 evaluation and 1,874 children were examined at the 9registered diabetes patients from project centres, and referral camps. A total of 1,701 referred children received167 DR cases were identified. Of these, 46 patients eye glasses as corrective measure. 48 children (62 eyes)visited the base hospital for further investigations and underwent surgeries for eye conditions such as cataract,treatment. The team also performed 11 lasers and three squint, ptosis, retinal detachment and others. As a partinjection procedures. Short-term training in Lasers of the project, awareness programmes on paediatric eye diseases were conducted for 1,731 Pre-school teachers, Anganwadi workers and 171 clinicians. ROPE-SOS Retinopathy of Premature Eradication-Save Our Sight ROPE-SOS was initiated in August 2015 at Aravind- Coimbatore to provide ROP screening services to ruralUSAID Low Vision Project : Screening camp for the visually challenged by Aravind-Coimbatore64

areas via telemedicine. The project covers 26 private glasses for refractive errors. Through this project, ahospitals and 13 Government hospitals. separate comprehensive rehabilitation service was also developed. In the past year, 4,897 babies were screened(including Retcam and IO) and 1,001 babies were Health Systems Researchdiagnosed to have some form of ROP, of which 87 babies(162 Eyes) were treated for blinding ROP. Avastin The past year was full of vibrant activities and events atinjection was given to 33 babies (66 eyes), Lucentis to Aravind as far as the Health Services Research (HSR)two babies (four eyes) and Laser was done to 52 babies initiatives are concerned. Anchored by members of the(92 eyes). Vitrectomy was done to one baby (Two eyes) LAICO faculty team and the hospital managers, aroundwho had already received laser treatment. 20 HSR studies were designed and are being executed. One significant achievement was the acceptance of Haemorrhages were found in 142 babies, cataract in 16 abstracts for oral free paper or scientific postersix babies of which five underwent surgery and one presentations at the 10th General Assembly of thebaby is being followed up. Apart from these, stye was International Agency for Prevention of Blindness (IAPB)found in one baby and corneal opacity in another. held in October, 2016 in Durban, South Africa. All those study results are being written up as manuscripts to Continuing Medical Education programmes for be published in peer-reviewed journals. A summarisedNICU nurses, ophthalmologists, paediatricians and version of all the presentations was shared internallyneonatologists were conducted in six districts hospitals through the weekly grand rounds. Staff members alsoand created awareness to 426 participants. Attractive made scientific presentations in the Vision2020: Theposters with information about ROP in Tamil, English Right to Sight-India’s 12th Annual National Conferenceand Malayalam languages were prepared and displayed held in Pune, June 2016. In the past year, 45 articlesin the premises of various NICUs. Patient information were presented and discussed in the LAICO journalbrochures in all these languages were distributed to the club. In order to further the research capacity buildingparents of babies in the NICUs. at Aravind, the research division is planning to start an intensive course to orient interested staff on researchUSAID ROP Project methodology and to provide continuing support to successfully carry out research studies leading toThe project started in December 2014 at Aravind- publications.Madurai came to an end in December 2016. Themain objective was to develop a comprehensive ROP Other Eventsmodel that can be replicated in other setups and alsoto increase early detection of the disease through National Eye Health Summit 2016awareness creation among the various stakeholders.During April 2016 - March 2017, a total of 1,238 new Washington DC, US July 12-21, 2016babies were screened at Aravind and various NICUs. A Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj delivered a talk at the US Nationaltotal of 64 eyes have received intravitreal injections and Eye Health summit 2016, organised by Preventanother 34 eyes received laser treatment. 52 children Blindness at Washington DC. The meeting focusedwere referred to Vision Rehabilitation Services. on eye health for the US and he shared the Indian experience in significantly increasing the cataractLow Vision Screening, Treatment and Service surgical volume in the country as well as the challengesProvision Project for Children in Coimbatore that still remain.The project started in December 2014 at Aravind- Residential Training ProgrammeCoimbatore came to an end in March 2017. Funded byUSAID, the project aimed to establish a rehabilitation Guntur, August 22-24, 2016centre for children with low vision which will also Ms. K.M. Sashipriya, Senior Faculty, LAICOprovide early intervention and appropriate referral to participated in the three day residential trainingsupport services. programme titled Health Care in India - Strategic Perspectives sponsored by the Department of Personnel and Totally 455,941 children were screened through Training, Government of India at Bapatla, Gunturthis project. Of these, 910 were identified to have District, Andhra Pradesh.low vision and 530 received rehabilitation servicesfunded by USAID. Additionally 26 children wereoperated for cataract, nine for squint and 417 received 65

Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj at the National Eye Health Summit, Ms. K.M. Sashipriya at the COESA Congress, Arusha, TanzaniaWashington DC Cost Management in NGO Eye HospitalsCOESCA Congress Chitrakoot, December 17, 2016Arusha, Tanzania, August 25-26, 2016 Mr. R. Meenakshi Sundaram, Senior Manager,Ms. K.M. Sashipriya shared Aravind’s experiences Community Outreach and Ms. Chitra Prasad,related to Hilton Cataract Initiative at the 4th Scientific Volunteer, Finance and Operations, AECS facilitatedCongress of the College of Ophthalmology of Eastern, sessions on Principles of cost management, reducing HR costsCentral and Southern Africa (COESCA). She was at and costing of outreach patients at the meeting organised byMoshi, Tanzania to meet with the KCCO team to Vision 2020: The Right to Sight-India in collaborationdiscuss and learn from KCCO’s experience working with Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, Chitrakoot.with eye hospitals in Africa.Training Programme for Vision Centres Annual Conference of Alliance for ContinuingBapatla, November 2, 2016 Education in the Health ProfessionsMs. Dhivya Ramasamy, Senior Faculty, LAICOparticipated in the residential training programme San Francisco, USA, January 26-29, 2017for vision centres organised by Andhra Pradesh HR Ms. Dhivya Ramasamy participated in the conferenceDevelopment Institute at Bapatla. She was the resource along with senior Seva Foundation volunteer,person for the session on Patient centered care and vision Ms. Kathryn Hecht. Following the conference, she hadcentres for universal coverage. an exposure visit to various organisations in California such as Hesperian Health Guides, Kaiser Permanente,Ms. Chitra Prasad at the meeting on Cost Management in NGO Teach Aids, San Mateo Clinic, Institute for Health andHospitals, Chitrakoot Healing and UCSF. Ms. Dhivya Ramasamy at Hesperian Health Guides, Berkeley66

RESEARCH “Modern technology combined with spiritual consciousness isAravind Medical Research Foundation is the umbrella the need of the day… We wantorganisation that encompasses research on various fronts people who have a capacity for- Basic, Clinical, Health Systems and Clinical Trials.Through all technical skills but we alsoa multidisciplinary approach, the research programmes at want people to grow in spiritualAMRF continue to target various eye diseases from different consciousness, so that they canperspectives. act from that consciousnessAmong the new programmes initiated in the last year, the and also handle an electronone on Paediatric Genetics received considerable support microscope both.That would befrom government funding agency. Some of the collaborative a wonderful thing, because thenprojects are moving forward rapidly and the institute hopes to you would know and see thingssee some translational research output in the near future. from a different perspective” . - Dr. G.Venkataswamy

Proteomics would throw light on the differences in the virulence of these strains and its implication in the differentialThe research focus at the department is to understand response of the patients to antifungal treatment.the mechanisms underlying ocular diseases and to Yet another important area of research in thistranslate this knowledge to the clinic for an improved department is Diabetic Retinopathy (DR). Proteomemanagement of the diseases. This is achieved through a wide changes in the serum and circulating serumcomprehensive proteomics approach and complemented microparticles have been examined for the identificationby other ‘omics’ approaches, wherever possible. With of potential candidate biomarkers to identify diabeticstate-of-the-art proteomics facility, the department individuals who are at high risk of developinghas successfully profiled the proteome of various eye retinopathy. Promising results have been obtained forfluids/tissues, which forms the basis of all studies on one of the serum proteins, C3, the protein with a centraleye and its diseases. These studies are supported by role in complement-mediated inflammation. Upongrants from the Government of India as well as from further validation, the level of the processed form of C3private organisations such as Mindtree and Cognizant (C3dg) might be useful in identifying the individualsFoundation. Collaborations with international in the pre-diabetic state as well as those diabeticsinstitutes such as the Institut Pasteur, France and who are likely to progress to DR. Over the past year,University of Liverpool, UK have also been established. through an Indo-UK collaborative project involvingIn the research on fungal keratitis, the tear proteomics AMRF, Aurolab and the University of Liverpool,approach allowed the understanding of events that a novel chemical cross-linker for the treatment ofcauses corneal tissue damage during fungal infection. keratoconus was being explored. This treatmentThis study has emphasised that the treatment of fungal option is currently being evaluated as an alternative tokeratitis should focus not only on clearing the infecting conventional UV-A cross-linking, which involves thefungus, but should also take into account the damage removal of epithelium and flashing of UV light for 30caused by the host. As an extension of this study, a minutes, therefore avoiding the pain associated with themodel was built to predict the clinical outcome in conventional cross-linking treatment of keratoconusA. flavus keratitis patients based on the level of and the risk of infection. The novel cross-linker undercomplement factor H protein in the tear combined with study has shown promising results such as an increasethe ulcer depth and duration of symptoms. This will be in the tensile strength of the weak keratoconic corneashelpful in identifying the subset of patients whose ulcer without causing significant cytotoxicity to the cellhas a high probability of worsening despite treatment. layers of cornea. Efforts are underway to establishThis model can be helpful in guiding a corneal surgeon collaborative efforts for research on Primary Angleto make a decision on advising the patient for an early Closure Glaucoma(PACG) and Age-Related Macularsurgical intervention. In addition to the studies on the Degeneration (ARMD).host factors, a comprehensive analysis is being carriedout to understand the differences between the fungal Molecular Geneticsstrains isolated from different patients. This study The department focuses on understanding theResearch students at work in the Proteomics lab molecular pathogenesis of Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG). The involvement of SIX6 gene and its regulatory elements in Southern Indian POAG cases is being explored. Interestingly, through in-vitro and in-vivo experiments, the identified deletion in the regulatory region of SIX6 in POAG cases completely abrogated the expression in retinal ganglion and amacrine cells where the SIX6 gene is expressed, suggesting that the reduced levels of SIX6 expression might be implicated in POAG pathogenesis. Moreover, the department has performed Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) in two large families with positive family history of POAG to identify the68

Team involved in the molecular genetic studies of ocular diseases Analysis of DNA by Agarose Gel Electrophoresiscandidate gene responsible for Glaucoma. In addition, a developed for the molecular diagnosis of the disease bysignificant association with one of the SNPs of Matrix screening the mutations of RB1 gene.metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9) gene rs17576 was observedin Southern Indian PACG patients. MMP9 plays a role A step-wise method was developed and employed forin extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling process rapid and effective screening of RB1 gene. The geneticwhich is an important determinant for the shorter testing is now extended for older patients to know theaxial length in PACG patients. The department is also risk of developing secondary malignancies and alsofocusing on identification of putative genetic markers Retinoblastoma in their offspring. This facility is madefor diagnosis of inherited eye diseases and genetic available for all Retinoblastoma patients not just fromcounselling. Further, it is keen to identify the spectrum Aravind but also from other centres through Cancerof CHST6 mutations in Macular Corneal Dystrophy Genetic Testing Centre established at Aravind-Madurai.(MCD). In CHST6 gene, the team has identified sixnovel mutations and predicted their effect in the In addition to genetic testing of RB1 gene, there arepathogenesis of MCD by Insilico methods. Furthermore, additional molecular events involved in the process ofthe goal is to carry out histopathological analyses of tumorigenesis. Using the Illumina-Miseq, a customisedcornea of MCD patients versus controls to understand gene panel was developed to study the copy numberthe pathology of MCD. Molecular genetics team also loss or gain of Retinoblastoma associated genes andattempts for unlocking the heritable locks involved mutations in the tumor associated genes.in the pathogenesis of PseudoExfoliation Syndrome(PEXS). The department has observed 26 genome-wide Chemotherapy is the common treatment modality insignificant susceptible variants (P<5E-08) associated multiple cancers including Retinoblastoma. However,with PEXS at the locus 15q24.1 and the near future not all tumors are responding to chemotherapeuticwork will focus on establishing primary culture of lens drugs. The expression of the drug transporterepithelial cells of PEXS patients and to evaluate any pumps was found to be differentially regulated inmodification with the gene expression. Retinoblastoma, which does not allow enough drugs to reach the tumor.Genetics of Retinoblastoma Stem Cell BiologyRetinoblastoma is the childhood tumor that affectsabout 1,500 children every year in India. Most of the The main focus of research in this department is onpatients present at advanced stages where the treatment understanding the basic biology of limbal epithelialoptions are limited and many undergo enucleation. stem cells that maintain the corneal epithelialAn understanding of the molecular mechanism of homeostasis. Earlier on, the department hadRetinoblastoma might benefit the clinicians and established a specific method for the identification andpatients. In this direction, newer methods were quantification of the limbal epithelial stem cells by combining high expression of p63 (or ABCG2) along with high nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio. Since these stem cells constitute only 3-5% of the total limbal 69

Cytocentrifugation of epithelial cells for immunostaining Ocular Pharmacologyepithelial cell population and due to the lack of an The research focus of the department is to understandexclusive marker, elucidating the molecular mechanisms the molecular signalling in human trabecular meshworkgoverning the maintenance of stemness remains especially Rho A/ROCK signalling. In trabecularelusive. A two-step protocol (i) isolation of limbal basal meshwork (affected tissue in glaucoma), Rho kinaseepithelial cells followed by (ii) laser capture micro- is involved in the synthesis of extracellular matrixdissection of cells with high nuclear to cytoplasmic components and permeability of Schlemm’s canalratio was established in the department to enrich the endothelial cells. Recent evidences suggest that, Rho/limbal epithelial stem cells to 77%. Transcriptome Rho associated kinase (ROCK) signalling pathway hasanalysis of such enriched stem cells in comparison to the been involved in the pathogenesis of Glaucoma anddifferentiated corneal epithelial cells identified genes the inhibitors which could target such pathway have alike RPS26, BOLA2B, HIGD2A, IFITM1 and TIMP1 to potential role in Glaucoma therapy. Evidences suggestbe unique to stem cells. Higher expression of several that signals that alter actin cytoskeleton are involvedstem cell specific genes (MALAT1, S100A6, KRT14, in aqueous outflow regulation. However, the exactALDH1A1, ATF4, KLF5 and ERG1) and genes associated mechanism by which the trabecular meshwork tissueswith Wnt signalling, cell cycle check points and EGFR sense and respond to different types of mechanicalsignalling were identified in the enriched stem cell stimuli such as elevated Intraocular Pressure (IOP),population. Further studies are being carried out to circadian rhythm, ocular pulse and shear flow is notconfirm these data and to understand the role of these well understood. Therefore, the effect of mechanicalgenes in maintenance of stemness. stress (cyclic IOP) on conventional outflow facility using Human Organ Cultured Anterior Segment In addition, small RNA sequencing of the enriched (HOCAS) system is being investigated. It is foundlimbal epithelial stem cells was carried out to that cyclic IOP caused a significant increase in IOP (orunderstand the role of molecular regulators on gene reduction in percentage change in outflow facility) byexpression. MiRNAs like hsa-miR-21-5p, hsa-miR-3168, 20% in treated eyes as compared to contralateral controlhsa-miR-143-3p, hsa-miR-99b-5p, hsa-miR-191-5p, hsa- eyes. The team is now investigating the mechanism bymiR-26a-5p, hsa-miR-10a-5p, hsa-miR-1910-5p were which IOP is regulated by Rho A/ROCK signalling uponupregulated in stem cells compared to the differentiated mechanical stress and the effect of rho kinase inhibitorscorneal epithelial cells. Studies are now being carried in reducing such resistance in human eyes.out to confirm the sequence data using RT-PCR,Northern blotting and LNA in-situ hybridisation. The age-related macular degeneration (AMD) projectUnderstanding the stem cell specific genes, its aims to assess the macular pigment (lutein, zeaxanthinregulation and role in maintenance of stemness will help and meso-zeaxanthin) in-vivo in patients with earlyin developing better treatment modalities for patients AMD and to provide a biological indicator for the riskwith limbal stem cell deficiency. of developing AMD due to the deficiency of macular Research scholars at HOCAS lab70

pigment in Indian population. The findings of this study For instance, the analysis of variants in a Cellularindicate that early AMD patients showed significantly RetinALdehyde Binding Protein (CRALBP) showedlow Macular Pigment Optical Density (MPOD) as that the molecular causes of Retinitis Punctatacompared to healthy volunteers (p<0.0006). This study Albescens (RPA) may arise through disruption of 11-cis-adds further evidence that low MPOD is one of the risk retinaol interactions, while Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)factors in AMD pathogenesis and supplementation of is triggered by variants which disrupt interactions withdietary carotenoids may be beneficial in delaying the other proteins or disrupting the solvent accessibility.progression of AMD. The variants disrupting protein stability may cause Bothnia Dystrophy (BD) and Fundus AlbipunctatusBioinformatics (FA).The bioinformatics department focuses on developing Comparative genomics approach of ocular isolatescomputational methods and bioinformatic analysis of from keratitis patients with different clinical outcomesomics data to understand the complexity of biological was used to better understand the infection, genome-process and disease mechanism in eye research. It offers wide identification of genetic features responsible fora reliable infrastructure and framework comprising multiple virulence and Multidrug-Resistant (MDR)Linux and Windows based servers and desktop mechanisms. Here, the analysis of five Pseudomonasworkstations for bioinformatics services and research aeruginosa isolates from keratitis patients with differentsupport. It provides customised data analysis tailored clinical outcomes, wherein the patients were groupedto the needs of individual research projects across all based on corneal healing and who underwent surgery,the research groups. Here, an automated computational showed several virulent and MDR mechanisms.pipeline was developed for cancer gene panel that Furthermore, P.aeruginosa ocular isolates carryingperforms a series of steps to identify pathogenic variants specific features compared to other strains suggest thatfor Retinoblastoma (RB). With hard filtering, the they may be adapted with specific features to cause eyepipeline detected several pathogenic variants from in- infections. However, the link between MDR genotypeshouse MiSeq illumina sequencing data in RB patients and clinical outcome or virulence factors is yet to bethat could not have been identified by conventional studied.methods. Recently, fusion of automated pipelines fordifferent variant types has been developed for whole Ocular Microbiologyexome data on genetic eye disorders. The pipeline wastested on whole-exome sequencing data sets on normal The research approach of microbiology department ishuman and eye diseases. In addition to identifying focused on elucidating the cellular and molecular eventspathogenic variants, structural bioinformatics approach that determine disease progression and treatmentwas used to understand the molecular mechanisms outcome in ocular infections. Pathogens exhibit variousof the diseases and its association with phenotype. mechanisms of drug resistance, drug tolerance, virulence and intracellular survival patterns to protect themselvesA core computational facility for high-through put omics data from antibiotics and host innate defenses. Cornealanalysis infection with P.aeruginosa, a gram negative bacterial pathogen rapidly progresses to severe corneal ulcer where the response to treatment is unpredictable in some cases, irrespective of the antibiotic susceptibility pattern. Persistent survival of the drug sensitive bacterial population may be attributed to impaired host defense mechanisms or increased bacterial tolerance to antimicrobials. Ocular P.aeruginosa isolates exhibit increased tolerance towards aminoglycoside antibiotics and moderate tolerance towards fluoroquinolones, leaving behind a fraction of persisters that remain in a quiescent state by downregulating gene expression. This may lead to incomplete eradication of bacteria from the ocular tissues despite an effective antibiotic treatment. 71

Conferences / Workshops ConductedThe Ocular Microbiology team Department Research Advisory Committee (RAC) MeetingWhole genome sequence analysis of ocular P.aeruginosa At the 14th RAC meeting of AMRF, faculty membersisolates identified various known and novel mutations presented their work and received feedback. The posterin genes encoding drug efflux pumps, b-lactamases, session held on May 27, 2016 was inaugurated byouter membrane porins and other resistance associated Dr. D. Karunagaran, Professor and Head, Departmentproteins. Alterations in the expression of bacterial drug of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),efflux pump and porin genes resulted in differential Chennai in the presence of Dr. K. Sundar, Professoraccumulation and efflux activities in P.aeruginosa and Head, Department of Biotechnology, Kalasalingamisolates. Notably, multidrug resistant isolates exhibit University, Virudhunagar and Dr. S. Thiyagarajan,several innate and acquired resistance mechanisms like Faculty Scientist, Institute of Bioinformatics andincreased efflux activity, production of drug inactivating Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Bengaluru. The bestb-lactamases and mutations in the drug target genes. poster was selected for Professor VR. Muthukkaruppan Endowment Award for the year 2016. Autophagy, a normal cellular catabolic process hasbeen shown to play a major role in the clearance of Conference on Approaches to understandintracellular bacteria from human corneal epithelial Modern Biology through Researchcells. In-vitro studies done with the clinical isolatesand chromosomal mutants of P.aeruginosa PAO1 has October 7, 2016demonstrated that the efficiency of autophagy induction As part of October Summit 2016, AMRF organiseddepends on the expression of specific bacterial a one day conference to motivate postgraduateexotoxins. Inefficient clearance due to defective students in Life Sciences towards research. A totalautophagy increases intracellular bacterial load that of 57 participants attended the conference. Facultymay lead to persistent corneal infections. from AMRF, Mepco Schlenk Engineering College, Sivakasi; Kalasalingam University, Virudhunagar; The American College, Madurai and Lady Doak College, Madurai shared inputs. Eight models explaining various scientific themes prepared by AMRF research scholars and technicians were well received by the participants. AMRF - Dartmouth Education and Research Conference December 2-3, 2016 AMRF conducted the two-day conference which was initiated by the interaction between Dr. N. Venkatesh Research Advisory Committee meeting72

Dartmouth Education and Research Conference, Aravind-MaduraiPrajna, Chief, Cornea and Refractive Surgery Services, Seminar on Clinical Proteomics and ProteomicsAravind-Madurai and Dr. Michael E. Zegans, Section Day CelebrationChief, Ophthalmology and Professor of Surgery,Dartmouth College and Medical Center, Hanover, March 18, 2017USA. The conference was organised by Professor AMRF hosted this annual event in commemorationK. Dharmalingam, Director, Research, AMRF and of the formation of the Proteomics Society of India.co-ordinated by Dr. D. Bharanidharan, Scientist, Professor K. Dharmalingam introduced the event toBioinformatics, AMRF and Ms. Dawn E. Carey, Partner the participants and highlighted the role of the SocietyRelationship Manager, The Dartmouth Institute for in spreading education for research in Proteomics.Health Policy and Clinical Practice. The invited faculty included Professor Kumaravel Somasundaram, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru; A total of 10 students and a research scholar from Dr. D. Karunagaran, Indian Institute of TechnologyDartmouth presented research proposals on various (IIT), Chennai; Professor Anuranjan Anand, Jawaharlaleye diseases. Research work at AMRF was presented Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research,through lectures and posters, and details of the core Bengaluru; Professor K. Balamurugan, Alagapparesearch facilities were demonstrated to the participants University, Karaikudi; and, Dr. C. Subbulakshmi,during their visit to the various laboratories. Pondicherry University. AMRF faculty also shared their inputs. The one-day seminar was supported byWorkshop on Basics of Tissue Culture Proteomics Society of India.December 26-30, 2016 Participants of the workshop on Basics of Tissue CultureThe five-day workshop, sponsored by the Department ofBiotechnology, New Delhi was inaugurated byDr. P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman Emeritus, AECS.Professor K. Dharmalingam introduced the researchactivities at AMRF. The workshop manual was releasedby Er. G. Srinivasan, Director, Finance, AECS and thefirst copy was received by Professor K. Dharmalingam.A total of 20 participants were selected for theworkshop from nearby colleges / universities. Theworkshop included lectures and laboratory sessions.Certificates for the participants were distributed byProfessor VR. Muthukkaruppan, Advisor, Research,AMRF. 73

Ph.D Awarded Mr. A. Aloysius Abraham receiving the Prof. VR. Muthukkaruppan Endowment Award from Dr. P. NamperumalsamyMr. G. Gowthaman, Department of Molecular Geneticsdefended his Ph.D thesis titled Investigating the role - Analysis of bacterial persistence mechanisms inof Nuclear, Mitochondrial Genome and microRNA in the recalcitrant ocular Pseudomonas aeruginosa infectionspathogenesis of Diabetic Retinopathy on June 1, 2016. Hecarried out his studies under the guidance of - Regulatory role of human microRNAs in microbialDr. P. Sundaresan, Senior Scientist, AMRF. keratitis Ms. Saumi Mathews, Department of Stem cell - Studying the role of Rho A-Rock signalling inBiology defended her Ph.D thesis titled Studies on the conventional outflow pathway using Human Organcharacterisation of limbal niche - their role in maintenance and ex- Culture Anterior Segment (HOCAS)vivo expansion of human corneal epithelial stem cells on October21, 2016. She carried out her studies under the guidance - Indian Macular Carotenoids Researchof Dr. C. Gowri Priya, Scientist, AMRF (INDMACARE) - A feasibility studyProfessor VR. Muthukkaruppan Endowment - Is Human Amniotic Membrane (HAM) a suitableAward 2016 reservoir system for the release of drugs in ocular use?Created by the students and colleagues of Professor - Genetics and transcript analysis of RB1 gene in southVR. Muthukkaruppan, the Endowment Award is given Indian Retinoblastoma patientsevery year to the best researcher at AMRF. The awardis given based on the scientific merit of abstracts and - Establishing the genetic testing centre for childhoodposter presentation by the research scholars. The award ocular cancer (Retinoblastoma)carries a certificate and cash prize of Rs.25,000/-. - Genetic screening in a large family with POAG This year, the award was given to Mr. A. Aloysius - Understanding the molecular mechanisms ofAbraham, Department of Molecular Genetics for hisoutstanding research work on Effective and comprehensive chemoresistance in retinoblastomagenetic screening for Retinoblastoma patients. - Molecular characterisation of tumor progression inOngoing Basic Research Projects Retinoblastoma - Molecular genetics of Macular Corneal Dystrophy- Centre for Excellence in Human Mycotic Keratitis- Pathogenic Aspergillus interaction with Innate (MCD) in Indian population - Molecular genetic studies of PACG in southern Immune cells- Predictive biomarkers for Diabetic Retinopathy (DR) Indian population - Genetic and functional approaches to understand the among diabetics and stage specific biomarkers for NPDR and PDR pathogenicity of POAG- Functional analysis of circulating microRNAs and - Genetic evaluation of genes involved in homocysteine their regulatory role in DR.- Novel chemical cross-linking of the cornea for the metabolism and hyperhomocysteinemia with treatment of keratoconus Pseudoexfoliation syndrome in southern Indian- Biomarker identification for accelerated ageing of eye population in Primary Open Angle Glaucoma (POAG) and Age - Clinical exome analysis pipeline for eye disease next Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD) generation sequencing panel- Comparative genomics of Aspergillus flavus clinical - Structure and sequence based Bioinformatics isolates approach to the analysis of non-synonymous Single- Limbal miRNAs and their potential targets associated with the maintenance of stemness- Structural and functional integrity of corneal endothelium after storage in Cornisol, an indigenous intermediate stage corneal storage medium74

Nucleotide Variants (nsSNVs) and prediction of its association with retinal diseasesOngoing Clinical ProjectsCataract The collaboration between Aravind Eye Hospitals and Proctor Foundation close to three decades in the- Aravind Pseudoexfoliation study area of clinical research and training is a testimonial- A prospective, non-randomised, single arm, open to the close bonding, understanding between the two organisations. It is also a proof of the aspiration of both label study to evaluate the efficacy of multifocal the organisations in finding the appropriate treatment intraocular lenses (IOL) in patients having cataract in for some of the blinding diseases, which are neglected both eyes in the developed world. This partnership between the- A prospective, multicentric, randomised, controlled, two WHO collaborating centres also show the sharing study on long term outcomes of phacoemulsification of progressive values by the organisations and the with IOL implantation in patients with individuals who work in them. Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome- Femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery in The association that came out of Dr. Gilbert Smolin’s intumescent cataracts and Dr. John P.Whitcher’s visit to Aravind in 1991 has- Effect of pre-operative oral glycerol on intraoperative led to this remarkable collaboration that has resulted in complications during phacoemulsification for over 100 publications in peer reviewed journals. intumescent cataracts- Prostaglandin level estimation in phacoemulsification and Femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery with and without NSAID and correlation with postoperative inflammation and cystoid macular edema- Comparison of Cumulative Dissipated Energy (CDE) and Balanced Salt Solution (BSS) Fluid used with the Centurion® with the 450 Balanced U/S tip versus the Centurion® with Mini Flared Kelman U/S tip versus the lnfiniti® with Mini Flared Kelman U/S tip on hard lensesCornea - Incidence of snuff out (wipe out) phenomenon post trabeculectomy with MMC in cases of advanced- Microbiological and clinical outcomes of intrastromal Glaucoma Voriconazole in deep Fungal Keratitis - a Randomised control trial (MALIN) - Clinical outcomes of Pars Plana versus Anterior Chamber placement of Aurolab Aqueous Drainage- Comparison of the effect of Femtosecond Arcuate Implant (AADI) Keratotomies with limbal relaxing incisions in correcting pre-operative corneal Astigmatism in - To compare effect of verbal and audiovisual Phacoemulsification Cataract surgery instructions on patient performance while performing automated visual field- Parasitic Ulcer Treatment Trial (PUTT) - A comparison of topical steroids versus ocular non-Glaucoma steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs after YAG PI- Shared Medical Appointments Randomised Trial - Web based personalised education to improve (SMART) glaucoma medication adherence- A prospective, randomised, comparative study of - Knowledge and medication adherence in glaucoma efficacy and safety of sub conjunctival injectable patients in southern India - Hospital based study Mitomycin C (MMC) versus MMC Soaked Sponges in Trabeculectomy patients - Quantification of Relative Afferent Pupillary Defect (RAPD) by an automated pupillometer and its 75

relationship to retinal nerve fiber layer thickness and - Quantification of RAPD by automated pupillometer visual fields in varying severity of Glaucoma and its relationship with visual acuity and AMD- Anterior segment OCT imaging of conjunctival dimension filtering blebs after MMC augmented trabeculectomy versus ologen augmented trabeculectomy - RAINBOW study: A randomised, controlled study- Anterior segment OCT imaging of conjunctival evaluating the efficacy and safety of filtering blebs after MMC augmented combined Ranibizumab compared with laser therapy for the surgery: Subtenon injection versus soaked sponges treatment of infants born prematurely with Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)Uvea - RAINBOW extension study to evaluate the long- First-Line Antimetabolites as Steroid-sparing term efficacy and safety of Ranibizumab compared Treatment (FAST) Uveitis Trial with laser therapy for the treatment of infants born prematurely with ROP- Diagnostic markers in ocular sarcoidosis in a high TB endemic population - A multicentre Study Paediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus- A Phase IIIb, multinational, multicentre, open-label - Causes of childhood blindness and low vision in a extension study assessing the long-term safety of tertiary referral eye centre in southern India PRN Intravitreal Injections of DE-109 in subjects with non-infectious uveitis of the posterior segment - Efficacy and safety of 0.03% topical of the eye of those who have participated in the Tacrolimus ointment in the treatment of vernal SAKURA development programme keratoconjunctivitis in the paediatric population in a tertiary eye care centre in southern IndiaRetina Neuro-ophthalmology- Conventional versus inverted flap technique for large - A pivotal phase II/III, randomised, double-masked, macular holes: A prospective, randomised clinical sham-controlled trial of QPI-1007 delivered by multi- trial dose intravitreal injections to subjects with acute Non-arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy- Comparative study of visual and functional outcomes (NAION) in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy with respect to presence or absence of pachy choroid features - Quantification of Relative Afferent Pupillary Defect (RAPD) by an automated pupillometer and its- A study to assess the effectiveness of a Computer relationship to visual acuity, colour vision, visual Assisted Diagnosis (CAD) programme in identifying fields before and after treatment of patients with the presence of DR and diabetic macular edema optic neuritis and NAION (DME) in persons with diabetes. Health Systems Research- A prospective, multi centre observational study on evaluation of DME profile with OCT and its - Comprehensive Eye care Work Assessment (CEWA) correlation with other variables in DR in tertiary care study in Theni district of Tamil Nadu centres in India - Corneal Ulcer Prevention (CUP) through health- Demography and role of Anti VEGF in idiopathic education - A prospective intervention study Macular Telengiectasia type 2 with neurosensory detachment - Validation of fundus imaging grading results by an automated detection algorithm with that by a human- Spectrum of eye disease in Diabetes mellitus (SPEED) grader- A comparative study to analyse the outcomes of large Aurolab Clinical Trials macular holes operated with ILMP with inverted flap versus autologous platelet injection versus - A prospective, non-randomised, single arm, open conventional surgery label study to evaluate the performance of Multifocal- A prospective, non-comparative study on the Intraocular Lenses (MFIOL) in patients having safety and efficacy of 23 and 25 gauge primary pars cataract in both eyes. plana vitrectomy for the management of primary Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment (RRD)76

MANUFACTURING OPHTHALMIC Aurolab is eager toSUPPLIES embrace new opportunities and challenges thatArising out of Aravind’s conviction that quality eye care be come its way. Steppingprovided to the rich and poor alike, Aurolab was founded 25 into the unknownyears ago. Over the years, working towards its mission of making confidently and makingquality ophthalmic products affordable and accessible to the a successful venture isvision impaired worldwide, Aurolab ventured into manufacturing the guiding principle forvarious ophthalmic consumables. Apart from IOLs, Aurolab now the organisation’s futuremanufactures suture needles, pharmaceutical products, surgical growth in diversifiedblades, equipment and special products in a cost-efficient manner segments.with stringent quality standards.Today, Aurolab owns 9% of the global market share for IOLsand more than 20 million people around the world see throughAurolab’s IOLs. Aurolab products are exported to over 160countries.

AuroSlim The Blades Division has introduced a new brand of disposable ophthalmic surgical blade named AuroSlim. This is manufactured with advanced technology to achieve ultra thin profile which ensures precise incision during the cataract surgery.Special guests, Dr. D. Ramamurthy and Mr. Karumuttu T. Kannan AuroTrocarreleasing Aurolab’s Silver Jubilee souvenir AuroTrocar, the self-sealing ophthalmic trocar isIn commemoration of Aurolab completing 25 years developed to reduce the burden of high costs to bothof service, several programmes that involved the hospitals and patients. The valved device meets theparticipation of all staff, ex-employees, dealers, needs of retinal surgeons with available models - 23Gsuppliers and also the families of the employees were and 25G.arranged. Stainless Steel SutureNew Products Aurolab continues to manufacture products to fortifyAurovue Dfine other surgical speciality segments. Recently, stainless steel suture, Re-Form was introduced to improve surgicalAurolab has launched Aurovue Dfine, a hydrophobic, outcome in ear reconstruction surgery (Microtia).diffractive, multifocal, aspheric, foldable preloadedintraocular lens with the near addition of +3D. This lens Product portfolio extensionhas 11 concentric rings in the optic which will help thepatient do routine works without spectacles. Auroflex Toric The optic of Aurovue Dfine multifocal intraocular lens Aurolab commenced manufacturing higher cylinders inhas been uniquely designed to provide maximum energy Auroflex Toric (Hydrophilic Toric IOL) from 3.5 D to 6.0at near and optimum energy at distance. With this D in 0.5 D increments. The online calculator to find outdesign, the patient can enjoy excellent near vision with the power of the lens was also updated accordingly.uncompromised distance vision. Aurovue EV Preloaded With the addition of diopters 5.0 to 9.0 D and 25.0 to 35.0 D, Aurovue EV Preloaded is now available from 5.0 D to 35.0 D range.78

Get-togethers organised to Aurolab Employees’ familiescommemorate Aurolab’s Silver Jubilee Aurolab Ex-employees Aurolab Dealers Aurolab Suppliers 79

- a workshop titled Effective Counselling for patient counsellors of Aravind Eye Hospitals on December 10, 2016 and on February 4, 2017. A total of 75 counsellors across all Aravind Eye Hospitals attended the workshop. The programme focused on enhancing their counselling skills, and also provided them an update on Aurolab products and quality assurance systems. - e-reporting software for sales team to maximise the performance and understand the customer needs. Aurolab has engaged a brand consultant to build its brand superiority for Aurovue range of products.Dr. Asim Sil presenting the memento to Dr. Arup Chakrabarti at Regulatory Activitiesthe workshop on TORIC IOLs, organised in Kolkata The ISO and CE Surveillance audits were carried outMarketing Activities successfully and the validity of the certificates have been extended for the next five years. The KenyaAurolab organised GMP certificate audit was successfully completed- a one-day workshop for ophthalmologists in Kolkata and Aurolab received validity for the next three years. Premium products such as Aurovue EV Preloaded and to brief them on the use of Auroflex Toric IOLs on Aurosleek successfully got registered in the Republic of May 28, 2016. Philippines and Sri Lanka. G- flox, Aurocol and Aurotim- a training programme on multifocal optics and were registered in Uganda. marketing strategy for multifocal intraocular lenses for the sales team at New Delhi on July 30, 2016 and Prominent Trade Shows Attended at Pune on August 2, 2016.- a phaco training programme for sales and service - Annual Conference of American Society of Cataract engineers from December 9-16, 2016 to brief them on and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS), New Orleans, the new system and functions. USA, May 7-9, 2016- domestic dealers meet in January along with the Silver Jubilee celebrations. Products such as Aurovue - Annual Conference of Asia - Pacific Association of Dfine, Phaco machine and Esee - Autorefractor were Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, Bali, Indonesia introduced during the meet which was attended by July 27-30, 2016 32 dealers. Pongal celebrations at Aurofarm80

- Annual Conference of European Society of Cataract Staff members lined up to form the Aurolab logo and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS), Copenhagen, Denmark, September 9-13, 2016 in Nithyatha. Games were organised to entertain the children. A get-together of the ex-employees was- Annual Conference of American Academy of organised on December 24, 2016 to acknowledge the Ophthalmology (AAO), Chicago, USA, contribution and dedication of the staff members who October 15-18, 2016 were with Aurolab.- General Assembly of International Association of On January 28, 2017, Aurolab’s 25th annual day was Prevention of Blindness (IAPB), Durban, South celebrated in a grand manner, in the presence of all Africa, October 28-30, 2016 employees, senior staff of AECS and well wishers. Mr. Karumuttu T. Kannan, Managing Director,At the All India Ophthalmological conference held at Thiagarajar Mills and Dr. D. Ramamuthy, Chairman,Jaipur during February 16-19, 2017, Aurolab promoted The Eye Foundation, Coimbatore were the Specialproducts such as Aurovue Dfine, Auroslim and Esee guests.(Autorefractor). At the Lunch Symposium sponsoredby Aurolab, various ophthalmologists shared their Employee Welfare Activitiesexperiences of using Aurolab products. Leadership Training ProgrammeICMR Exhibition Aurolab organised a leadership training programmeMr. S.Sivanand, Marketing Manager-Domestic and for its newly promoted production staff members fromMr. Manoj Kumar Chauhan, Senior Area Development June 13-18, 2016. The training helped the participantsManager, New Delhi participated in the one-day understand the basic concepts of leadership and itsexhibition on Innovations in Medical Science and Biotechnology importance.organised by Indian Council of medical Research(ICMR) at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi on March 9, Observing Special Days, Festivals and2017. They displayed Aurolab product, E-See, developed Entertainment Activitiesin collaboration with PlenOptika, USA which was oneof the 45 innovative technologies shortlisted from more Aurolab observed Child Labour Abolition Day on Junethan 300 applicants. 12, 2016 and International Yoga Day on June 21, 2016. Festivals such as Pongal and Navaratri were celebrated Aurolab promoted its non-ophthalmic sutures at with great enthusiasm. Motivational talks on severalthe Annual Conference of Tamil Nadu Ophthalmic topics were held for various cadres of staff. HealthcareAssociation, Pondicherry Association of Plastic awareness talks were also arranged regularly. AnSurgeons and at the conference of Indian Society for awareness session on basic fire safety and evacuationReconstructive Microsurgery. procedures was arranged along with a mock drill on June 25, 2016. Gardeners and sanitary staff of AurolabHR Activities were taken on a tour to Pondicherry and Cuddalore on September 17, 2016.Silver Jubilee CelebrationsElaborate programmes were organised to commemoratethe Silver Jubilee of Aurolab. Celebrations startedoff with a mega signature board event on November25, 2016. The signatures/messages of employees arepreserved as an everlasting memory that shall illuminatethe spirit of the organisation and its people. As a mark of showing harmony, staff members linedup to form the Aurolab logo. Around 750 employeesparticipated. A get-together of the families of senior employees wasarranged on December 18, 2016. To many in the group,this was their very first visit to the facility, Aurofarmand Nithyatha. A photo gallery displaying the variousmilestones and developments of Aurolab was organised 81

CENTRAL FUNCTIONSHuman Resources DevelopmentTowards NABH AccreditationThe entire HR systems and practices were reviewedand streamlined for Aravind-Madurai and the hospitalsuccessfully cleared the pre-entry level assessment ofNABH certification. Policies related to the employmentof Mid-Level Ophthalmic Personnel (MLOP) wererevised with necessary modifications.Performance Appraisal System Aravind staff along with Mr. R.V. Duraisamy donating the Angaadi proceeds to Ms. Latha Guru Bharathy, Director, Admin.,Steps were taken to develop an appropriate M.S. Chellamuthu Trust, Maduraiperformance appraisal system for doctors. Ms. CindyHarrison, Vice-President, Talent Selections, Henry teams from all Aravind centres. A total of 52 staffFord Health Systems handled a session for the heads of attended the workshop which was held during Augustvarious departments on giving constructive feedback, so 17-18, 2016. The participants were sensitised to theas to elicit the best from their staff members. competency based approach and importance of adult learning principles. A plan was put together to bringMLOP Training in a standardised, effective training programme - by introducing skill certification, using rubrics forEfforts were taken to reintroduce competency based assessment, standardised scheduling of training andtraining for MLOPs at Aravind Eye Hospitals. utilising the online Aurosiksha platform to accessThe Aurosiksha team worked with the MLOP Training standardised training resources. In continuation toDivision, to initiate a skill certification process. The this workshop, the first year MLOPs at Aravind Eyeteam is now committed to certify the current batch of Hospitals were evaluated in 22 skills using AurosikshaMLOP trainees (2016-18) of the four clinical streams: rubrics.Out-patient and In-patient Services, Operating RoomAssistance and Refraction. In order to introduce Angaadithis new training paradigm across all Aravind EyeHospitals, a Training of Trainers Workshop was Last year too, the great charity fest, Angaadi evokedconducted bringing together the MLOP training good response from the staff members at Aravind- Madurai and Aravind-Pondicherry. The proceeds fromParticipants to the Training of Trainers Workshop the sales of goods were donated to needy charitable foundations. MLOP Alumni Meet The success of Aravind’s unique operational model owes a great deal to the whole-hearted commitment of the MLOP network that is rightly referred to as the backbone of the system. Right from the early days of the hospital, it was the MLOPs who played a prominent role in the care giving process. As Aravind celebrated its fortieth year of service, it was truly appropriate to bring all these MLOPs who had been with the organisation82

Moments of RelaxationHospital Day Celebrations, Aravind-Madurai Paeditaric Ophthalmology Clinic at Aravind-Pondicherry celebrating Children’s DayCelebrating Christmas, Aravind-Tirunelveli Motivational lecture for nurses, Aravind-Madurai Pongal celebrations at Aravind-CoimbatoreSports Day, Aravind-SalemPart of the LAICO team during the excursion 83

Participants to the Inspired Leadership Programmefor a minimum of 10 years on a common platform. Bengaluru facilitated Inspired Leadership ProgrammeThe Alumni meet was held on October 1-2, 2016 which which spanned over 6 months. Everyone goes throughgave an opportunity for the makers of the organisation periods of uncertainty at different points of life andto come together, relive old memories and spend time there should be someone to help them think through.with their peers and the founding members. As a step towards addressing this, Mr. Larry Hulbert, Coach and Organization Development Consultant,Employee Engagement Programme Seattle, USA, through a workshop sowed the idea of establishing mentor-mentee relationships. The initiativeEmployee engagement initiatives focused on Dialogue for Development is designed to establish dialogueCommunication and Growth at different levels. The Aravind around growth between employees and their respectiveWay project played a key role in helping demystify reporting authorities. This is very crucial to employeeAravind’s value system. The seven values / pillars engagement and will act as a fountainhead for moreidentified would act as guiding principles and empower relevant and desirable initiative in the future.people in decision making at all levels. Last year too, Aravind found place in the travel itinerary of Jagriti Yatris. The team consisting of close to 500 During the year, there was an attempt made to yatris visited the organisation on December 26, 2016address growth of an employee at different levels. and had an opportunity to interact with the seniorProfessor DVR. Seshadri, Faculty, Indian School management team of Aravind. The documentary, Healingof Business, Hyderabad and Dr. Thimappa Hegde,Director and Senior consultant Neurosurgeon,Narayana Hrudayalaya Institute of Neurosciences, Participants to the Alumni Meet sharing a light moment with Dr. G. Natchiar84

Dr. S. Aravind and Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj with the Jagriti Yatris Aravind team with the Corporate Cricket League Trophythe eyes of the world capturing the unique Aravind model of all the staff members were examined for basic healthcompassion at work, was released on the occasion. problems. Those found to have serious issues were referred to general physicians. A total of 236 senior staffEmployee Development Activities and managers availed the medical insurance benefits.Continuing Professional Education (CPE) On the recreation front, different centres hosted sports day, magic show, Melody Friday, excursions andCPE programmes were held for different cadres of staff other entertainment programmes. At the third seasonon various occasions. These turned out to be platforms of Corporate Cricket League, organised by Maduraiwhere the staff could learn best practices from each Round Table on March 11, 2017, Aravind team sharedother, and share knowledge so as to bring out the best the Winners’ Trophy.in them. The paramedic staff were regularly updated onthe various developments in the clinical field. Under the Programme for Aravind Staff Support, funds to support education of staff children wereWelfare Activities disbursed. A total of 244 employees and 336 children benefited under this scheme.To promote the holistic welfare of the staff andemployees, motivational lectures, yoga sessions, Family get-togethers were organised for the staffhealthcare awareness programmes, meditations and of vision centres in Aravind-Tirunelveli and Aravind-bhajans were held in the various Aravind facilities. Pondicherry, to orient their family members to understand the importance of their job and render their As part of the Aurowel health check-up programme, fullest support.Participants to the Accounts CPE, Aravind-Madurai 85

Information Technology and Systems Aravind’s EMR team in discussion with their counterparts at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute and Sankara NethralayaElectronic Medical Record (EMR) has been successfullyimplemented in all Aravind community centres, at - Self-registration kiosk was introduced for patientsAravind-Udumalpet and Aravind-Coimbatore City thus eliminating the need for waiting in the queue Centre. It was launched in a phased manner in Aravind-Madurai and is currently being used for all new patients - Provision to capture photo of select group of patientsacross different specialities. With user feedback, the which is important to be included in the medicalsystem is constantly being improved. report. Materials Management System was upgraded so as In order to ensure integrity of data, the masterdatabases are now managed centrally. This ensures to enable automation of purchase details. Purchase andbetter continuity of care as patients’ medical records sales transaction details in pharmacy were integratedcan now be instantly accessed from any of the Aravind with Tally, an accounting software.centres. Modifications were made in the Vision CentreA Collaboration to Share and Learn Management System so that fundus images taken at these centres could be accessed at the base hospital forTo ensure best practices in EMR implementation, further consultation.Aravind, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute and SankaraNethralaya came together and formed an Information Integrated Human Resource Information SystemTechnology (IT) consortium to share and learn from underwent tremendous modifications making iteach other’s experience. While the initial objective of comprehensive with report generation capability.this collaboration was to enhance the EMR platform,discussing security and many other aspects of IT are Training Management Information system wasbeing discussed currently. further developed to capture details of all Aravind trainees.New Developments and Enhancements Provision for online application for long-termData Management System was developed and fellowship programmes was added. A portal wasimplemented for the Comprehensive Eye Care Work developed to conduct online exam for fellows inAssessment research study in Theni district. A web Glaucoma.based data-entry application was developed for theIndian Macular Carotenoids Research New module with provisions to upload necessary(INDMACARE) study. images were introduced in the Visitors Portal so as to capture the complete details of all who visit Aravind. A web-based application was developed to capture A web-based application was developed to store,and display images related to diseases of the cornea manage and export the details of INDMACARE studyfor learning purpose. Another web-based application, including patient records and fundus images.Geoeyedata was developed which enables to uploadcensus data in excel format. The files are organised IT Infrastructurestate-wise which makes it easy for the user to search /view and also to download. On the networking front, technology was updatedListed below are the existing software that underwent across all Aravind satellite centres, so as to ensureenhancements to improve their usability: system security and optimum utilisation of the servers.Integrated Hospital Management System (IHMS) wasupgraded with the following features:- Provision to capture denomination details of cash collected- Consolidated cash collection report covering both out-patient and in-patient services for accounting purpose- Central master for procedures was implemented to ensure that consistency in charging is followed across the system86

To ensure security and save costs, a number of systems Aravind Tele-Ophthalmology Networkhave now moved from Windows to Linux. Storagecapacity of the servers was increased tremendously to At Aravind, tele-ophthalmology network plays a greataccommodate ever growing outputs from investigation role in taking eye care to the rural masses, mainlydevices like OCT, FFA, and electronic medical records. by facilitating the tele-consulation process in visionPublic announcement system was implemented in the centres. Around 1,600 tele-consultations are beinghospital to use during emergencies. handled each day at Aravind across the various vision centres. During April 2016 - March 2017, nearly 244,160IT Services to Other Eye Hospitals cases were handled through tele-consultation across the 61 vision Centres. Aravind works with variousThe department provides IT solutions for eye hospitals diabetes centres in the screening of diabetics througheither as part of capacity building project or upon direct tele-consultation with the help of Aravind Diabeticrequests. The team visits these hospitals for a period of Retinopathy Evaluation Software (ADRES). In the yearthree to four weeks to implement the system, provide -ending March 2017, a total of 2,011 cases were evaluatedtraining to users, and also to ensure optimum utilisation using ADRES.of the software. In the last year, IHMS software wasimplemented in 8 hospitals in India and one each in The network also plays a major role in variousNepal and Bangladesh. Upon request, training was educational interactions that include grand rounds,provided to the respective hospital staff on the use journal clubs, clinical meetings, postgraduateof the software. The IT team also visited various user classes and classes for MLOPs. More than 400 videohospitals to assess the current utilisation, demonstrate conferencing sessions including a few for internationalnew features, and implement the upgraded version. conferences were conducted during the last year.During the last year, such visits were made to fourhospitals in Bangladesh, two in Nepal, Kenya and one Biostatisticseach in Zambia and India. The department supports data entry, management and Medical Shop Management System was installed statistical analysis for the various clinical and non-in GM Eye Hospital, Mettupalayam and Sankara Eye clinical research studies at Aravind. It also extendsHospital, Pammal. Optical shop Management System support to Aravind staff in pro-forma development,and Materials Management System were set up in sample size calculation, data management, dataSankara Eye Hospital, Pammal. analysis and reporting results for the various research projects. The team analysed and generated reports of Vision Centre Management system was installed in mass cleaning initiative held simultaneously acrossBRAC centres in Bangladesh and M.N Eye Hospital, the Aravind centres, which were very useful andChennai. appreciated by everyone.Mr. M. Karthikeyan trains the staff at Rotary Eye Hospital, Tele-consultation in progress at Alanganallur Vision centreNavsari on the use of IHMS software 87

Library and Information Centre Aravind CommunicationsAravind Library and Information Centre continues to One of the main achievements of the department duringimplement new technology to improve its resources the last year was the standardisation of all stationariesand share information in the most productive way. - clinical forms, signage, patient information/educationGeo Eye Database was created which provides data materials etc. across the system. Most of the stationarieson population and demographics as well as Cataract used in the clinics were revamped in compliance to theSurgical Rate for countries all over the world. NABH standards. Visits were made to satellite hospitals to ensure this and also to develop a good rapport with Supported by Seva Foundation, a two-day Continuing the teams there. The department also helped bring outEducation Programme for Medical Librarians was the manual on outreach eye care for developing nationsorganised at Aravind-Pondicherry from November 19- by laying out the design and assisting in editorial works.20, 2016. The purpose was to provide the participants Video developed by the Audiovisual Department wonan understanding of medical database and principles first prize at the Phaco Excel CME held in Pondicherry.of effective online searching. A total of 15 librariansfrom hospitals such as Sadguru Netra Chikitsalaya, Aravind Communications team during its visit to Aravind-SalemChitrakoot; Vivekananda Mission Ashram NetraNirmay Niketan, West Bengal; H V Desai Eye Hospital,Pune; Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai and GandhigramInstitute of Rural Health, Dindigulparticipated. In addition, librariansfrom Aravind Eye Hospitals alsoparticipated. The entire programmewas led by Ms. VasumathiSriganesh, Director - QMedFoundation, Mumbai. A bibliometric analysis of Aravindpublications, from 1978 till datewas carried out and the result waspublished as a poster and book.With a view to promote readinghabits among the MLOPs, librarieswere opened in different Aravindcentres. Participants to the Continuing Education Programme for Medical Librarians at Aravind-Pondicherry88

RECOGNITIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTSAravind Eye Care System (AECS) and several of the Kundrakudi Thiruvannamalai Mutt Awardsenior leaders of the organisation were felicitatedrecognising the unique service rendered by them to At the auspicious celebration of Maha Guru Pujathe field of ophthalmology and eye care. Several of conducted by Kundrakudi Thiruvannamalai Mutt,the faculty were invited to deliver titled orations in an age-old monastery of southern India on August 21,different fora. Last year too, Aravind was fortunate to 2016, Guruji Ponnambalam Adigal awarded the titleswin laurels in various prestigious meets, thanks to the ‘Manithaneya Maruthuva Maamani’ towhole-hearted dedication and commitment of the staff Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, and ‘Manithaneya Maruthuvamembers. Thilagam’ to Dr. G. Natchiar, Director Emeritus, AECS appreciating their selfless and enormous medicalRECOGNITIONS service.BOS Gold Medal Oration Dr. C.S. Grover OrationMr. R.D. Thulasiraj, Executive Director, LAICO Dr. Haripriya Aravind, Chief, Intraocular Lens anddelivered the Oration titled Holy Grail of Universal Eye Cataract Services, Aravind-Madurai, delivered theHealth - A Possibility at the Annual Conference of the Dr C.S. Grover Oration on Preventing Post-operativeBangalore Ophthalmic Society (BOS) held in Bengaluru Endophthalmitis - The Aravind Perspective at the North Zonefrom June 18 to 19, 2016. Ophthalmic Society and Uttarakhand State Ophthalmic Society Meeting held at Dehradun from October 17 to 19,Telemedicine Society of India Scroll of Honour 2016.Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, Chairman Emeritus, AECS Mehra ACOIN AWARD - 2016was presented with the Scroll of Honour towardshis outstanding services in delivering eye care to the Dr. R. Ramakrishnan, Chief, Glaucoma Services,rural poor through telemedicine at the Tele-e-Health Aravind-Tirunelveli was presented with the award byconference held in Madurai on June 19, 2016. the Association of Community Ophthalmologists of India (ACOIN) at the annual conference held at TrichyVocational Excellence Award from October 21 to 23, 2016.Ms. S. Avudaiammal, Superintendent, Medical Records Dr. Ishwarchandra OrationDepartment, Aravind-Tirunelveli received VocationalExcellence Award from Rotary Club of Tirunelveli on Dr. Haripriya Aravind delivered the Dr. IshwarchandraJuly 10, 2016. Oration on Measuring outcomes following cataract surgery at the Annual Conference of Vidarbha Ophthalmic SocietyBireswar Chakrabarti Oration Award 2016 held at Nagpur from October 21 to 23, 2016.Professor K. Dharmalingam, Director, Research, AMRF Lifetime Achievement Awardreceived Bireswar Chakrabarti Oration Award 2016 atthe 23rd Annual Meeting of Indian Eye Research Group Aravind Eye Care System was honoured with Lifetime(IERG) held at L.V. Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad Achievement Award at TiECON 2016, flagshipfrom July 30 to 31, 2016. entrepreneurship conference held at Chennai on November 4, 2016. Dr. P. Namperumalsamy received theOPPI Healthcare Access Award 2016 award.Aravind Eye Care System was presented with the Prestigious Positions at GSI for Aravind Glaucomaprestigious Healthcare Access Award 2016 by the TeamOrganisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India(OPPI) at New Delhi on August 19, 2016. The award Three of Aravind’s senior glaucoma consultants wererecognises Aravind’s contributions in the field of access elected unanimously for prestigious positions in theto healthcare achieved through innovative ideas. Glaucoma Society of India (GSI). 89

Dr. R.D. Ravindran, Chairman receives the OPPI Healthcare Access Scroll of Honour to Dr. P. NamperumalsamyAward 2016 at the Tele-e-Health Conference Professor K. Dharmalingam receives the Bireswar Chakrabarti Oration Award from Dr.G.N. RaoDr. P. Sundaresan receives the Hari Om Ashram Alembic ResearchAward from Shri. Pranab Mukherjee, the Honorable President of IndiaAlim Memorial Oration by Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj Dr. Marie Fredrick receives the BMJ Award Dr. R. Ramakrishnan at the Dr. Noel Moniz Memorial Award ceremony90

Dr. Haripriya Aravind receives the Dr. C.S. GroverOration Award from Dr. K.K. Paul, Governor ofUttarakhand Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi receives the Lifetime Achievement Award at Sadguru Conclave Professor VR. Muthukkaruppan being honoured by the Indian Immunology Society Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj being honoured by the Bangalore Ophthalmic SocietyDr. S. Aravind receives the Madurai Dr. P. Namperumalsamy at the FILA ceremonyManagement Association AwardDr. Haripriya Aravind receives theDr. Ishwarchandra Oration Award 91

Dr. S.R. Krishnadas, Aravind-Madurai was elected the Alim Memorial OrationPresident, Dr. R. Venkatesh, Aravind-Pondicherry,the Treasurer and Dr. Ganesh V Raman, Aravind- Mr. R.D. Thulasiraj delivered the prestigious AlimCoimbatore, the Convenor for the Southern Zone Memorial Oration on Eye Care for Everyone: UniversalGlaucoma Education at the Annual Conference of Eye Care, Now a Possibility at the Annual Conference ofthe GSI held at Palampur, Himachal Pradesh from Ophthalmological Society of Bangladesh held at DhakaNovember 4 to 6, 2016. from February 5 to 8, 2017.Forbes India Leadership Award (FILA) Special Honour by Indian Immunology SocietyDr. P. Namperumalsamy was honoured with FILA Indian Immunology Society honoured Professor2016, in the category of Entrepreneur with Social Impact at VR. Muthukkaruppan, Advisor-Research, AMRF atMumbai on November 8, 2016. The award celebrates its 43rd Annual Meeting held at GITAM University,transformational leadership and corporate excellence. Visakhapatnam on February 16, 2017. He was recognised for his contributions as the founding member, pastBMJ Award president and architect of the Society.AECS was awarded the South Asia BMJ Award in Madurai Management Association Awardthe category, Excellence in Medical Education. Dr. MarieFredrick, Medical Consultant, Aravind-Pondicherry The Association presented Public Service Excellencereceived the award on behalf of the organisation at New Award to Aravind Eye Hospital, Madurai on theDelhi on November 19, 2016. occasion of National Management Day Celebration held at Madurai on February 21, 2017.Best Social Service Award Hari Om Ashram Alembic Research AwardMs. M.N. Chidambaram, Nursing Superintendent,Aravind-Tirunelveli received the Best Social Service Dr. P. Sundaresan, Senior Scientist, Molecular Genetics,award for her selfless work and service by Annai AMRF received the Medical Council of India-Hari OmTheresa Social Service Organisation at Tirunelveli on Ashram Alembic Research Award for 2010 from theDecember 11, 2016. Honorable President of India at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi on March 28, 2017.Lifetime Achievement Award at SadguruConclave Honour for Aravind Eye Hospital, SalemDr. P. Vijayalakshmi, Professor, Paediatric Aravind-Salem was honoured by the NGO, PeopleOphthalmology and Adult Strabismus Services, Development Initiatives for serving the poor throughAravind-Madurai was presented with the Lifetime outreach. Ms. K.B. Sasikala, Out-patient DepartmentAchievement Award at Sadguru Conclave held in received the award on behalf of the hospital on Marchcollaboration with the American Association for 31, 2017.Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at SadguruNetra Chikitsalaya, Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh from ACHIEVEMENTSDecember 7 to 8, 2016. Best Paper AwardLifetime Achievement Award by Centre for Sight Mr. Sanil Joseph, Senior Faculty, LAICO won the BestDr. P. Namperumalsamy was presented with the award Paper award for his paper Effectiveness of telemedicinefor his contribution towards teaching generations of in identifying diabetic retinopathy cases compared with usualresidents and fellows in ophthalmology by Centre for referral at the Annual Conference of Vision 2020 held inSight at Hyderabad on January 13, 2017. Pune from June 4 to 5, 2016.Dr. Noel Moniz Memorial Award IERG Best Poster AwardDr. R. Ramakrishnan was bestowed with the 8th Ms. A. Divya, Proteomics Department, AMRF receivedDr. Noel Moniz Memorial Award in recognition of his the Best Poster Award for the presentation on Aspergillusoutstanding contributions in the field of Glaucoma by flavus infection induced changes in the proteome of human cornealCochin Ophthalmic Club on January 22, 2017. epithelial cell line at the 23rd Annual Meeting of Indian Eye Research Group (IERG) held at Hyderabad on July 30-31, 2016.92

Dr. V. Mathangi and Dr. Soham Basak being felicitated Mr. Sanil Joseph receiving the Ms. G. Prakadeeswari receiving awardat the annual day celebrations of Aravind-Madurai Best Paper Award for the best oral presentationTNOA Quiz Winners homocysteine gene polymorphisms in southern Indian individuals with Pseudoexfoliation Syndrome at the Conference onDr. Sabyasachi Chakrabarty and Dr. Anubhuti Vyas , Emerging Trends and New Challenges in Biotechnologypostgraduate students, Aravind-Tirunelveli won the held in Hosur from February 2-3, 2017.quiz competition conducted as part of the AnnualConference of Tamil Nadu Ophthalmic Association held Awards at the All India Ophthalmic Societyat Vellore from August 5-7, 2016. ConferenceProficiency Awards - 2016 Jaipur, February 16-19, 2017 - Dr. Karthik Srinivasan, Medical Officer, Retina-At the annual day celebrations of Aravind-Madurai,Dr. Soham Basak and Dr. V. Mathangi were honoured Vitreous Services, Aravind-Tirunelveli – Bestwith Dr. G. Venkataswamy Endowment Award Innovator Award (South Zone)for securing the highest mark in the MS and DO - Dr. Abhijit, Medical Consultant, Aravind-Tirunelveliexaminations respectively. and Dr. R. Sindhusree, Glaucoma Fellow, Aravind- Tirunelveli were awarded Fellow of All IndiaBest Video Award Collegium of Ophthalmology - The Retina-Vireous Service team from Aravind-Dr. R. Venkatesh, Chief, Glaucoma Services, Aravind- Coimbatore consisting of Dr. P. Sheth Vanee, Fellow,Pondicherry won the Best Video Award for the video Dr. George J Manayath, Medical Consultant,titled Opportunistic Screening to Tackle Glaucoma at the Dr. V.R. Saravanan, Medical Consultant andAnnual Conference of the Glaucoma Society of India Dr. V. Narendran, Chief Medical Officer – Best Paperheld at Himachal Pradesh from November 4-5, 2016. Award in Retina Session - Dr. Siddharth Narendran, Medical Officer andWinner-Dinamalar Kolam Competition Dr. Soham Basak, MS Resident from Aravind- Coimbatore – Third Prize in PG Thesis presentationMs. K.R. Deepa, Housekeeping Supervisor, Aravind- - Dr. Nilam Gohlil, Cornea Fellow, Aravind-Madurai –Pondicherry participated and won second prize for Best Poster Award in Cornea sessionthe fourth consecutive year in the Kolam Competition - Dr. Komal Mehta, Cornea Fellow, Aravind-Maduraiorganized by Dinamalar group in Pondicherry on - Best Poster Award in the Community and SocialDecember 18, 2016. Ophthalmology session. - Dr. Kirandeep Kaur, and Dr. Surbhi Saboo, DNBBest Case Presentation – ERUDIO 2016 Residents, Aravind-Pondicherry – winners of the IJO YOSI Essay writing CompetitionDr. Arkaprava Pradhan, postgraduate student, Aravind- - Dr. Girish Bharat Velis, Retina Fellow and Dr. SpurtiTirunelveli won the award for the best case presentation G Reddy, Senior Resident, Aravind-Pondicherry –at ERUDIO 2016 held in New Delhi from January 7-8, Best Poster Award2017. - Dr. Bhagya Sudheer, Uvea Fellow, Aravind-Madurai – Best Paper Award in Uvea sessionFirst Prize for Oral PresentationMs. G. Prakadeeswari, Junior Research Fellow,Department of Molecular Genetics, AMRF won firstprize for her oral presentation titled Association Study on 93

ARAVIND EYE FOUNDATIONThe Aravind Eye Foundation (AEF) was created in 2001 mutations were found in Ahalya and her mother. Whento support Dr. G. Venkataswamy’s vision of eliminating Ahalya’s baby sister was born, her parents brought her inneedless blindness. With a growing network of advisors, for testing, when she was just five months old. Owing tovolunteers, and donors, Aravind Eye Foundation seeks early diagnosis, Aravind’s doctors could start treatmentto promote Aravind’s model of sustainable, quality, at a very early stage, saving her sight and life. She ispatient-centric healthcare to other NGOs, academic now four and a half years old and cancer-free. She willand healthcare organisations, social enterprises, and continue to come to Aravind for follow-up visits, untilinterested individuals. Aravind’s main operations pay she is seven years of age.for themselves, thus the foundation focuses on areaswhere external support can be a catalyst for starting or Spectacles for Scholars programmeexpanding a programme. Aravind’s Spectacles for Scholars programme providesRing of Hope (ROH) free vision screening and eye glasses for school children, between the ages of five and 17, from underprivilegedEach year in India, more than 1,500 children between the families in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. Aravind’sages of zero and five are diagnosed with retinoblastoma, unique all-classroom teacher method of screening ensuresor cancer of the eye. The Ring of Hope fund pays higher accuracy of diagnosis and compliance, becausefor diagnosis and treatment, including surgery, classroom teachers know their students personally andchemotherapy, radiation, family counselling, custom- can detect vision problems effectively.made prostheses, and genetic testing to determinewhether future generations are likely to develop the This year, Aravind screened 327,287 school childrendisease. Since it was founded in 2004, the Ring of Hope and distributed 11,007 pairs of spectacles. In addition,has helped save the sight and lives of 452 children and nearly 3,000 children with potentially blinding eyepaid for more than 4,000 patient visits. Apart from defects, such as retinoblastoma, juvenile cataracts,children, adults with ocular malignancies receive genetic glaucoma, amblyopia and strabismus, werefunding from ROH for diagnosis and treatment. identified, and more than 1,000 teachers were trained for vision screening. Among those fortunate to receive help from ROH isAhalya. The child and her twin sister came to Aravind Aravind Eye Foundation is grateful to the Madisonfrom their hometown in Kerala. Ahalya was diagnosed Community Foundation Jaya G. Iyer Endowmentwith cancer in both the eyes, and one eye had to be Fund, the Umberto Romano and Clorinda Romanoenucleated. The whole family was tested, and genetic Foundation, the So-Hum Foundation, and Warby Parker for their support.AEF team and Dr. Usha Kim with a Retinoblastoma patient Ahalya with her younger sister and mother94

A doctor examining a boy at a school children screening camp Tele-consultation in progress at a rural vision centreRural Vision Centres from the Allene Reuss Memorial Trust, the So-Hum Foundation, and individual donors. During the firstRural vision centres are at the heart of Aravind’s year of operations, genetic analysis and counsellingstrategy to bring primary eye care to one billion people have been provided to 200 families with retinoblastomaby 2020. Each centre is staffed by a highly trained (eye cancer), greatly improving the likelihood of earlyophthalmic technician who provides eye examination diagnosis and treatment. Genetic testing enablesand screening for different conditions, dispenses eye Aravind to predict the risk of retinoblastoma in aglasses, and treats minor ailments and injuries. Via patient’s siblings and offspring, as well as the risk ofAravind’s award-winning telemedicine system, patients secondary cancers. Aravind offers the service at $200are then examined by doctors at a base hospital. per test, compared to $1400 per test in the US andThe Aravind Eye Foundation has funded 14 such Canada; patients throughout India and neighbouringcentres, through the generous support of the JJ Keller countries will have access to the centre.Foundation, the So-Hum Foundation, and individualdonors. Last year, these centres saw 97,915 patients, Capacity Building5,118 were referred for cataract surgeries and 11,880ordered eye glasses. Through LAICO, Aravind mentors hospitals throughout India and the developing world, adding roughly 800,000Research surgeries per year and greatly improving the quality of patient care. The Conrad Hilton Foundation hasAravind inaugurated the Ocular Genetic Testing Centre awarded Aravind a second multi-year grant to continueat the Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai with support capacity building work with hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa. Highly trained ophthalmic personnel is criticalDr. K. Tiruvengada Krishnan and Mr. A. Mohammed Gowth at for both internal and external capacity building.Kisii Eye Hospital, Kisii, Kenya as part of Hilton Foundation Aravind received a seed grant and technology supportproject from iEinstein to develop software to track trainee performance across multiple hospitals and to upgrade classroom equipment. Aravind Eye Foundation is deeply grateful to the many supporters who share our founder’s vision. 95

PARTNERS IN SERVICEAravind is, indeed, fortunate to be associated with a group of organisations and individuals, who support its variousinitiatives to restore vision to millions. Aravind’s journey, spanning over four decades, would not have been possiblewithout the wholehearted commitment of the organisations and individuals in sharing the organisation’s mission.Aravind gratefully acknowledges their support and looks forward to a continuing partnership with them in itsefforts to eliminate needless blindness.For service delivery, training and more - VISION 2020 - The Right to Sight, India - Wescott Williams Ltd., UK- Acumen, USA - World Association of Eye Hospitals, Netherlands- Alcon Laboratories Inc, USA - World Diabetes Foundation, Denmark- Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) - World Health Organization, Switzerland- Carl Zeiss Meditec, Germany - XOVA: Excellence in Ophthalmology Vision Award,- CBM International, Germany- Centre for Innovation in Public Systems, Hyderabad, USA India For research- Combat Blindness Foundation, USA- Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, USA - Alagappa University, Karaikudi, India- Dana Center, Johns Hopkins University, USA - All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India- Essilor, India - Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi,- Fred Hollows Foundation, Australia- T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, India - Department of Biotechnology, New Delhi, India USA - Department of Science and Technology, New Delhi, India- Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru, India - Francis I. Proctor Foundation for Research in- Indian Overseas Bank, India- International Agency for Prevention of Blindness, UK Ophthalmology, UCSF, USA- International Council of Ophthalmology, UK - Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth, USA- Kaushal Devendra Gupta, Pune, India - Indian Council of Medical Research, New Delhi, India- Lavelle Fund for the Blind, USA - Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, India- Lions Clubs International Foundation, USA - Kalasalingam University, Krishnan Koil, India- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK- Manohar Devadoss, Chennai, India - Madurai Kamaraj University, Madurai, India- Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation, Mumbai - National Eye Institute, USA- ORBIS International, USA - Sastra University, Thanjavur, India- Rotary International, USA - Singapore National Eye Centre, Singapore- Schwab Foundation and Social Entrepreneurship, - Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences and Sichuan Switzerland Provincial Peoples Hospital, Sichuan, China- Seva Foundation, USA - Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai, India- Seva Service Society, Canada - Science and Engineering Research Board, New Delhi,- Shyam Prakash Gupta, Madurai, India- SightLife, USA India- SightSavers, UK - Mindtree, Bengaluru, India- State Bank of India, India - Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University, Chennai,- Standard Chartered Bank and Scope Intl., UK- So-Hum Foundation, USA India- Subroto Bagchi, Bengaluru, India - University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK- The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust, UK - University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA- Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, India - University of Tasmania, Australia- TOMS, USA - University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA- Topcon, Japan - Wellcome Trust, UK- University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada - The Wellcome-DBT India Alliance, India- University of California, Berkeley, USA - World Health Organization, Switzerland- University of Michigan, USA - Institut Pasteur, Paris- University of Pennsylvania, USA- USAID, USA96

GOVEL TRUST ARAVIND EYE CARE SYSTEMBOARD OF TRUSTEES Chairman &President Director - QualityEr. G. Srinivasan Dr. R.D. Ravindran, ms., do Trust SecretaryDr. N. Venkatesh Prajna Chairman Emeritus &Members Director - ResearchDr. P. Namperumalsamy Dr. P. Namperumalsamy, ms, fams Mrs. Lalitha SrinivasanDr. G. Natchiar Directors EmeritusMr. Ravi Nallakrishnan Dr. G. Natchiar, ms, do Dr. R. Kim Dr. M. Srinivasan, ms, do Dr. S. AravindPresident, Rotary Club, CENTRAL FUNCTIONSMadurai Main Branch -(Ex-Officio) FINANCE PROJECTS Director Director Dr. S. Aravind, ms, mba Er. G. Srinivasan, be, ms INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Director Secretary Dr. R. Kim, do, dnb Senior Manager Dr. N. Venkatesh Prajna, do, dnb, B.S. Ganesh Babu, m.com, ms Senior Network Administrator frcophth S.J. Rajan, mca Manager-Web Applications Volunteer-Development & S. Santha Subbulakshmi, mca, mba, m.li.sc Manager Operations R. Mala, mca Chitra Prasad, m.com, mba OPERATIONS Director R.D. Thulasiraj, mba Managers-Operations and HR C. Gnanasekaran, mba HUMAN RESOURCES ARAVIND COMMUNICATIONS Chitra Thulasiraj, b.sc Director Dr. S.R. Krishnadas, do, dnb PURCHASE & MAINTENANCE S. Jayachandran, mhm Manager R. Deepa, mhm ACADEMICS OUTREACH Senior Manager Director-Residency Training R. Meenakshi Sundaram, mhm Dr. N. Venkatesh Prajna, do, dnb, BIOSTATISTICS M. Iswarya, m.sc. frcophth LIBRARY & INFORMATION CENTRE Director-Mid Level Ophthalmic R. Kumaragurupari, ma, m.li.sc, m.phil Personnel Dr. Usha Kim, do, dnb Academic Consultant Prof. J. Danrita Manager-Instructional Design Hepsibha Jawahar, ma 97

Aravind Eye Hospitals & Postgraduate Institute of OphthalmologyRun by GOVEL TrustARAVIND-MADURAI Medical Consultants GLAUCOMA SERVICES Dr. Pamona Samson, do Chief / ProfessorChief Medical Officer / Professor Dr. K.N. Jayasri, do Dr. George Varghese Puthuran, msDr. R. Kim, do, dnb Dr. Gomathi Ramya, do Director-HRD / Professor Dr. Barath Janakiram, do Dr. S.R. Krishnadas, do, dnbAdministrator / Professor Dr. Liz Mary Santhosh, do ProfessorsDr. S. Aravind, ms, mba Dr. D. Sathish, do Dr. Manju R Pillai, do, dnb Dr. Leenu Jeris, do Dr. R. Sharmila, dnbRETINA-VITREOUS SERVICES Dr. S. Thanemozhi, do Associate Professors Dr. Raji Koshy Daniel, do Dr. H. Kasthuri Bai, do, dnbChief / Professor Dr. B. Abirami, do Dr. P.S. Vivek, do, dnbDr. R. Kim, do, dnb Dr. V. Mathangi, do Assistant Professors Dr. Neethu Mohan, msProfessors CORNEA & REFRACTIVE SURGERY Dr. Indira Durai, dnbDr. Anand Rajendran, do, dnb, frcs (g) Medical ConsultantDr. K. Naresh Babu, ms SERVICES Dr. S. Vidya Raja, doAssociate Professors Chief / Professor UVEA SERVICESDr. T.P. Vignesh, ms Chief / ProfessorDr. Manish Tandon, dnb Dr. N. Venkatesh Prajna, do, dnb, Dr. S.R. Rathinam, do, dnb, ph.d ProfessorAssistant Professors frcophth. Dr. T. Radhika, dnbDr. Renu P. Rajan, md Medical ConsultantDr. Karthik Kumar, ms Director Emeritus / Professor Dr. G. Vedhanayaki, doTutors Dr. M. Srinivasan, ms, do ORBIT, OCULOPLASTY ANDDr. M.Y. Vishal, ms OCULAR ONCOLOGY AND OCULARDr. Bhanu Pratap Singh Pangtey, ms Professor PROSTHETIC SERVICESDr. Haemoglobin, ms Chief / Professor Dr. Manoranjan Das, dnb Dr. Usha Kim, do, dnbINTRAOCULAR LENS & CATARACT Tutor Assistant Professors Dr. Subha Raghuram, msSERVICES Dr. M. Purushothama Rajkumar, ms NEURO-OPHTHALMOLOGYChief / Professor Dr. Arunkumar Panigrahi, ms SERVICESDr. Haripriya Aravind, ms Dr. Ashish Kumar, dnb Chief / Professor Dr. Mahesh Kumar, do, dnbProfessor Tutors ProfessorDr. S. Aravind, ms, mba Dr. R . Naveen, ms Dr. A. Kowsalya, do, dnb Dr. V. Lumbini Devi, msAssistant Professors VISION REHABILITATION CENTREDr. Madhu Shekhar, ms Medical Consultant ProfessorDr. Aruna Pai, ms Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi, msDr. Ashok Vardhan, do, dnb Dr. B. Ashwin, do MICROBIOLOGIST/ PROFESSORTutors PAEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY & Dr. Lalitha Prajna, md, dnbDr. Lopamudra Biswal, msDr. G.N. Subathra, ms ADULT STRABISMUS SERVICESDr. Abirama Sundari, msDr. Amish Shah, ms Chief / ProfessorDr. R. Ram Sudarshan, ms Dr. Shashikant Shetty, msDr. S. Kanimozhi, msDr. V. Balaji, ms ProfessorDr. Zervin Baam, ms Dr. P. Vijayalakshmi, msDr. Suresh Yalla, msDr. B. John Samuel, ms Assistant Professor Dr. Sathya T. Ravilla, ms Tutors Dr. Navdeep Kaur, dnb Dr. Anukul Dixit, ms Medical Consultant Dr. A. Rupa, do98

ANAESTHETISTS Dr. M. Manoranjan, do CORNEA & REFRACTIVE SURGERYDr. A. Ravichandar, md, da Dr. Prasanna Kumar, doDr. A. Hari Narayana Prabhu, md, da Dr. V. Chandrasekar, do SERVICES Dr. D. Hema, msPHYSICIANS Chief / Associate ProfessorDr. R. Banushree, md ADMINISTRATION Dr. V. Anitha, dnb, faicoDr. Naveen Meera, ms Manager - Vision Centre R. Balasiva, ba, msw PAEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY &FREE HOSPITALMedical Consultant NURSING ADULT STRABISMUS SERVICESDr. V.P. Ravichandran, do Nursing Superintendents R. Seeniammal Chief / Professor NURSING R. Gowri Dr. R. Meenakshi, do, dnbNursing SuperintendentsB. Dhagirnisa Begum Associate Professor R. Jeeva Dr. A. Fathima, msMLOP Manpower Co-ordinator- Central HR Assistant ProfessorS. Krishnaveni Dr. Neelam Pawar, msADMINISTRATION ARAVIND-TIRUNELVELI GLAUCOMA SERVICESSenior Manager-EMRDeepa Krishnan, be, mba Chief Medical Officer / Professor Chief / Professor Transport & Public Relations Officer Dr. R. Ramakrishnan, ms, do Dr. Mohideen Abdul Kader, dnbS.G. Ramanathan, m.a Deputy Chief Medical Officer /Manager-Office Professor Chief Consultant / Professor K.S. Kandasamy, b.a Dr. R. Meenakshi, do, dnb Dr. R. Ramakrishnan, ms, doAccounts OfficerR. Rethinasabapathy, b.a RETINA-VITREOUS SERVICES Assistant Professor Manager-Accounts Dr. Devendra Maheshwari, msR. Velumani, b.com, (ba) Chief / Assistant Professor Manager-Personnel Dr. Y.C. Venugopal Reddy, ms TutorA. Venkatachalam, b.sc Dr. K. Ravichandra, msManager-Patient Care, Associate ProfessorsFree Hospital ORBIT, OCULOPLASTY ANDDamien Jacob, mba Dr. Karthik Srinivasan, msManager-Electrical Dr. Syed Mohideen Abdul Khadar, OCULAR ONCOLOGY SERVICESR.V. Vishnu Kumar, dece ms Chief / Professor Dr. V. Maneksha, ms Assistant Professor Dr. H. S. Vishwanath, do, dnb NEURO-OPHTHALMOLOGY Tutors SERVICES Dr. Shah Pratik Kanaiyalal, ms Dr. Abishek Reddy, ms Chief / Professor Dr. S. Padmavathy, ms CONSULTANT ANAESTHETIST INTRAOCULAR LENS & CATARACT Dr. S. Navaneetha Krishnan, mbbs, SERVICES d.a Chief / Professor GENERAL OPHTHALMOLOGY Dr. Shivakumar Chandrashekharan, SERVICESARAVIND-THENI ms Professors Dr. R. Ramakrishnan, ms, do Associate Professor Dr. S. Padmavathy, ms Dr. V. Maneksha, msChief Medical Officer / Professor Dr. A. Fathima, ms TutorDr. Dipankar Datta, do, dnb, mnams, Assistant Professor Dr. Abishek Reddy, ms (oph) Dr. M. Sherin Haroon, msMedical Consultants TutorsDr. Vedang Shah, ms Dr. Abhijith, msDr. Manisha Shah, do Dr. R. Aarthy, ms, doDr. V. Raghuram, ms 99

VISION REHABILITATION CENTRE Dr. A. Ramya, md TutorsAssistant Professor Dr. S . Prema, ms Dr. Vaidee Vikram, dnbDr. Neelam Pawar, ms Dr. Mohan Krishna Podile, ms Dr. Sakthi Rajeswari, dnb Dr. S. Rajesh Kumar, ms Dr. Devi Rosette, msFREE HOSPITAL Dr. Ratnesh Ranjan, ms Dr. N. Kavitha, msProfessor Dr. Sakthivel, ms INTRAOCULAR LENS & CATARACT PAEDIATRIC OPHTHALMOLOGY &Manager ADULT STRABISMUS SERVICESS. Balakrishnan SERVICES Chief / Professor Dr. Kalpana Narendran, do, dnbNURSING Chief / Professor ProfessorNursing Superintendents Dr. Kalpana Narendran, do, dnb Dr. C. Sandra, do, dnbM.N. Chidhambaram Assistant ProfessorV. Arumugam Professor Dr. Sasikala Elizabeth, dnb Dr. Kavitha Yuvarajan, do, dnb TutorsADMINISTRATION Dr. Dhage Aashish Ramesh, dnbManager-Office Associate Professor Dr. Amrudha Sindhu, dnbP. Navaneetha Krishnan Dr. S. Guhapriya, dnbPublic Relations Officer GLAUCOMA SERVICESM. Mahadevan, d.pharm. Assistant Professors Chief / ProfessorManager-Human Resource Dr. Mumdhaj, dnb Dr. Ganesh V Raman, msR. Lakshmi, mba Dr. Anita Mohanan, ms Assistant ProfessorsManager-Inpatient Services Dr. P. Vivekanand, do, dnb Dr. Rohan Daniel Dawalikar, msM. Vikky Kumar, mba Dr. C. Prem Anand, msManager-Glaucoma Clinic Tutors TutorsD. Ranitha Guna Selvi, bpt, mba Dr. V. Arjun, dnb Dr. Mrunali Mohan, msManager-IT & Systems Dr. B. Krishna Babu, ms Dr. C.R. Viswaraj, msP. Thiruvengadam, ma, pgdca Dr. R. Nisanth Rajan, ms Dr. A. Vinoth, ms Dr. D. Chandrasekar, ms Dr. A. Nabeed, dnbARAVIND-COIMBATORE Dr. Manju Vinythera, dnb Dr. Siddharth Narendran, ms UVEA SERVICESChief Medical Officer / Professor Dr. S. Vijay Kumar, ms Chief / Assistant ProfessorDr. V. Narendran, do, dnb Dr. S. Navaneeth Kumar, ms Dr. V.K. Anuradha, md, frcs Dr. Swapnil Gavit, msRETINA-VITREOUS SERVICES Dr. D. Balasaraswathy, ms ORBIT, OCULOPLASTY ANDChief / Professor Dr. Jebinth Brayan, ms OCULAR ONCOLOGY SERVICESDr. V. Narendran, do, dnb Dr. Mahesh Pathak, dnb Chief / Medical OfficerProfessors Dr. G.S. Gopinathan, ms Dr. Viji Rangarajan, doDr. Rodney John Morris, ms Dr. Basil George, msDr. V.R. Saravanan, do, dnb Dr. Aradhana Basu, ms NEURO-OPHTHALMOLOGYDr. Parag K Shah, dnb SERVICESAssociate Professor Medical Officers Chief / Medical OfficerDr. George Manayath, ms, frcs Dr. Shoba Chinnan, do Dr. Virna Shah, doAssistant Professors Dr. S. Dhanalakshmi, do TutorDr. Upendra Babu, ms Dr. S.M. Sindoory, do Dr. P. Shalini, msDr. Karan Annapur Kumarasamy, ms Dr. A. Srinila, doTutors NURSINGDr. Palmeera D Souza, do, dnb CORNEA & REFRACTIVE SURGERY Nursing SuperintendentDr. Adarsh Naik, ms S. Sulochana SERVICES Chief / Professor Dr. R. Revathi, ms Professor Dr. Anita Raghavan, do, frcs (g) Assistant Professors Dr. P. Mangala, dnb Dr. V. Prabhu, ms100