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Dr Andri Kartasasmita Riau

Dr Riau Andri Kartasasmita

​PhD

Academic Appointments

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

Profile

​Dr. Riau obtained his master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU) in 2012. He graduated with PhD in materials science and engineering from NTU in 2017. Under the tutelage of Profs. Subbu Venkatraman, Bo Liedberg, and Jodhbir Mehta, his research focused on the application of bioactive coatings for the biointegration of corneal prostheses.

During his postdoctoral training in Prof. Mehta’s research group at the Singapore Eye Research Institute, Dr. Riau established his research portfolio in translational ocular bioengineering. Currently, his research focuses are in developing a fully synthetic corneal prosthesis as a tool for corneal blindness, repurposing and recycling discarded corneas for tissue engineering and refractive surgeries, corneal cell therapy and exosome administration to treat corneal opacities due to surgical trauma, infections and inflammatory eye conditions, and mitigating microplastics in ophthalmic practices.

Dr. Riau is also committed to teaching and training international clinical fellows, medical students, final-year-project students, and interns in lab research, guiding them to produce research articles and conference abstracts.

Education

  • ​PhD (Singapore) (2017)
  • MSc (Singapore) (2012)
  • BSc (USA) (2006)

Professional Appointments and Committee Memberships

  • ​Member, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (2018 – present)
  • Member, Biomedical Enginering Society (Singapore) (2012 – present)
  • Member, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (2010 – present)

Awards

  • ​Journal of Refractive Surgery Silver Reviewer (2021)
  • Journal of Refractive Surgery Silver Reviewer (2019)
  • Duke-NUS Khoo Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (2018)
  • SNEC/SERI Long Service Award (2017)
  • SingHealth Publish! Award (2016)
  • World Biomaterials Congress 2016 Trainee Award (2016)
  • SGH 21st Annual Scientific Meeting, Young Investigator’s Award (3rd place) (2014)
  • SERI Outstanding Graduate Student/Fellow Award (2013)
  • School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, NTU Certificate of Excellence (2012)
  • SingHealth Talent Development Fund Award (2012)
  • SingHealth Medical Research Publication Award (2011)
  • Asia ARVO 2009 Travel Fellowship Award (2009)
  • Robert Henney Memorial Scholarship (2002)
  • Minnesota State University In-State Tuition Scholarship (2001)

Research Interests

  • ​Tissue recycling
  • Surface functionalisation of biomaterials
  • Corneal prosthesis
  • Cell therapy
  • Microplastics
  • 3D-bioprinting

Publications

​Selected 10 publications:

  1. Yusoff NZ, Riau AK, Yam GH, Halim NS, Mehta JS. Isolation and propagation of human corneal stromal keratocytes for tissue engineering and cell therapy. Cells. 2022;11:178.

  2. Riau AK, Boey KP, Yusoff NZ, Goh TW, Yam GH, Tang KF, Phua CS, Chen HJ, Chiew YF, Liu YC, Mehta JS. Experiment-based validation of corneal lenticule banking in a health authority-licensed facility. Tissue Eng Part A. 2022;28:69-83.

  3. Riau AK, Liu YC, Yam GH, Mehta JS. Stromal keratophakia: Corneal inlay implantation. Prog Retin Eye Res. 2020;75:100780.

  4. Riau AK, Lwin NC, Gelfand L, Hu H, Liedberg B, Chodosh J, Venkatraman SS, Mehta JS. Surface modification of corneal prosthesis with nano-hydroxyapatite to enhance in vivo biointegration. Acta Biomater. 2020;107:299-312.

  5. Li Z, Goh TW, Yam GH, Thompson BC, Hu H, Setiawan M, Sun W, Riau AK, Tan DT, Khor KA, Mehta JS. A sintered graphene/titania material as a synthetic keratoprosthesis skirt for end-stage corneal disorders. Acta Biomater. 2019;94:585-596.

  6. Damgaard IB, Riau AK, Liu YC, Tey ML, Yam GH, Mehta JS. Reshaping and customization of SMILE-derived biological lenticules for intrastromal implantation. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2018;59:2555-2563.

  7. Riau AK, Mondal D, Setiawan M, Palaniappan A, Yam GH, Liedberg B, Venkatraman SS, Mehta JS. Functionalization of the polymeric surface with bioceramic nanoparticles via a novel, non-thermal dip coating method. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2016;8:35565-35577.

  8. Riau AK, Mondal D, Yam GH, Setiawan M, Liedberg B, Venkatraman SS, Mehta JS. Surface modification of PMMA to improve adhesion to corneal substitutes in a synthetic core-skirt keratoprosthesis. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2015;7:21690-21702.

  9. Angunawela RI, Riau AK, Chaurasia SS, Tan DT, Mehta JS. Refractive lenticule reimplantation after myopic ReLEx: A feasibility study of stromal restoration after refractive surgery in a rabbit model. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012;53:4975-4985.

  10. Riau AK, Beuerman RW, Lim LS, Mehta JS. Preservation, sterilization and de-epithelialization of human amniotic membrane for use in ocular surface reconstruction. Biomaterials. 2010;31:216-225.

Research Trials

  • ​Microplastics in dry eye practices (2022-present)
  • Bioengineering new treatment modalities for corneal stroma and ocular surface diseases (2019-present)
  • Bioactive coatings and bioceramic/biometal composites for artificial cornea (2013-present)
  • Recycling and repurposing of discarded corneal tissues for tissue engineering and refractive surgeries (2010-present)
  • Modifications of human amniotic membrane for ocular surface reconstruction (2009-2012)