Ms Heng's Research Interest

Chief Investigatorship

Ms Heng is chief investigator for several clinical studies

SIBA study- looking at inequality within the medical retina digital clinics

Wet AMD Burden Study- looking at treatment burden and efficacy across different types of antivegf to patients, carers and service providers.

She was also involved as principal and subinvestigator of numerous pivotal clinical trials including the 2RT RETILASE study and OZLASE study(one of the first studies to evaluate use of ozurdex steroid implant in diabetic macular oedema in the UK) in the course of her career.

She has made in excess of 50 international presentations across the world.

Retina Lasers:

Ms Heng's PhD was on preventative therapy in Age Related Macular Degeneration- 'The use of the nanosecond laser technology to retard the onset of age related macular degeneration'. Her PhD is often used as a teaching guide for the pathophysiology of lasers.

Treatment in Diabetic Macular Oedema and Age Related Macular Degeneration:

Ms Heng was involved in numerous phase II/III clinical trials in medical retina diseases (AMD and Diabetic Retinopathy) including OZLASE, TENAYA, RHINE studies. These studies investigated new treatment or protocols for Diabetic macular oedema and AMD.

Digital Medicine:

Ms Heng has keen interest in improving clinical governance within the digital medicine. She is also chief investigator of a health inequality study to determine barriers and acceptability of digital clinics.

Publications:

1. A Comparison of Ultra-Widefield Imaging Quality Obtained with Zeiss Clarus and Optos for Virtual Medical Retina Services

May 2025- Journal of Clinical Medicine

2. Effect of ethnicity and other sociodemographic factors on attendance at ophthalmology appointments following referral from a Diabetic Eye Screening Programme: a retrospective cohort study. Jan 2025- British Medical Journal Open

3.Bilateral Diffuse Uveal Melanocytic Proliferation (BDUMP) in a Man with Prostate Adenocarcinoma

Journal of French Ophthalmology

4. Efficacy and Safety outcomes of a novel model to assess new medical retina referrals in a high- volume medical retina virtual clinic

Eye 38, 168-172 (2024)pages168–172 (2024volume 38, pages168–172 (2024 volume 38, pages168–172 (2024

5. An Update on Susac’s Syndrome

Heng LZ, R Lee, C.Bailey, A.D Dick, A Ross

Survey of Ophthalmology, Jul-Aug 2019;64(4):477-485

6. Novel Macular Findings in KLHL 7 Gene Mutation

Heng LZ, A churchill

BMJ Open Ophthalmology, 2019

7. Emergency Ophthalmology (Dec 2018, Journal of Medicine)

Heng LZ, R. Hamilton

8.Medicine in Ophthalmology (Dec 2018, Journal of Medicine)

Heng LZ, R. Hamilton

9. Clinico- pathological Correlation of Lens Epithelial Metaplasia and Late Spontaneous ‘In‐the‐bag’ Intraocular Lens Dislocation Associated with Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment.

Heng LZ, ****, M.P Snead

Jama ophthalmology, Jul 2016 134(7):827-30

10.A Late Complication of Polymethyl Methacrylate(PMMA) Intraocular Lens- an Unusual Degeneration

Heng LZ, ****, M.P Snead

Journal of clinical and Experimental ophthalmology

Published 3 August 2015

11. Interobserver agreement in detecting spectral-domain optical coherence tomography features of diabetic macular edema.

Heng LZ, Pefkianaki M, Hykin P, Patel PJ.

PLoS One. 2015 May 21;10(5)

PMID: 25996150

12. A prospective randomised controlled clinical trial comparing a combination of repeated intravitreal Ozurdex and macular laser therapy versus macular laser only in centre-involving diabetic macular oedema (OZLASE study).

Heng LZ, Sivaprasad S, Crosby-Nwaobi R, Saihan Z, Karampelas M, Bunce C, Peto T, Hykin PG.

Br J Ophthalmol. 2015 Oct 15.

PMID: 26472406

13. Injection frequency and response to bevacizumab monotherapy for diabetic macular oedema (BOLT Report 5)

S.Sivaprasad, ****, PG Hykin

Br J Ophthalmol. 2013 Sep;97(9):1177-80. PMID: 23823078

14. Age related macular degeneration is associated with liver transplantation but not with with hepatic complement factor H modification.

Khandhadia S, Hakobyan S, ****, Gibson J, Adams DH, Alexander GJ, Gibson JM, Martin KR, Menon G, Nash K, Sivaprasad S, Ennis S, Cree AJ, Morgan BP, Lotery AJ.

Ophthalmology. 2013 Aug;120(8):1612-8. PMID: 23562165

15.Diabetic retinopathy: pathogenesis, clinical grading, management and future developments.

****, Comyn O, Peto T, Tadros C, Ng E, Sivaprasad S, Hykin P.

Diabet Med. 2013 Jun;30(6):640-50. PMID: 23205608

16.The Role of OCT in the diagnosis of early age related maculopathy.

****, S.Sivaprasad

European Ophthalmic Review, 2012;6(5):255–60

17.Repeatability of SPECTRALIS OCT measurements of macular thickness and volume in diabetic macular edema.

Comyn O,***, Ikeji F, Bibi K, Hykin PG, Bainbridge JW, Patel PJ.

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2012 Nov 21;53(12):7754-9. PMID: 23111610

18. Retinal vascular calibre, geometry and progression of diabetic retinopathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Crosby-Nwaobi R, *** Sivaprasad S.

Ophthalmologica. 2012;228(2):84-92. PMID: 22517193

Advisory Board

Co-editor on the Inspire teaching platform for medical retina (Royal College of Ophthalmologist)
Editorial Board Member, Journal of Eye
Biomarker Steering Group Committee for ABBVIE Ltd