Taking Clinical Trials To The Next Level

In 2023, Associate Professor Shamira Perera became one of the recipients of the prestigious Clinical Trialist Development Award (CTDA), which seeks to highlight the role that clinical trialists play in bringing innovation to patient care.

As an awardee in the Master Clinical Trialist category, Associate Professor Shamira Perera boasts an impressive research resume that spans more than a dozen clinical trials worth millions of dollars.

When not running clinical trials, however, A/Prof Perera also serves as the Head of Glaucoma Department at Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), Head of Cataract Research at the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), and Programme Director for the SingHealth Residency programme.

While his various appointments undoubtedly keep him quite busy, A/Prof Perera firmly believes that they are important factors that contribute to making his work enjoyable and fulfilling.

“I try not to see my various appointments as competing tasks, but instead focus on how they can be integrated seamlessly within my clinical work. I think it’s very important to develop this natural fit. It will help you to enjoy what you do, which will then drive you to want to do more.”

Commitment to Innovation

Not unlike the experience of many other Clinical Trialists, A/Prof Perera’s early clinical trials involved playing a more technical or support role in trials that were run by pharmaceutical companies or other researchers.

“I was just there to do things like a technician, for example to give injections and wasn’t really involved in the ideation or creation process.”

It was only later when he had the chance to run his own projects that he was able to see clinical trial work as an extension of his own home grown clinical work. This, in turn, led him to develop a particular interest in the innovation and commercialisation aspect of clinical trials.

“I remember feeling this sense of fulfilment back in 2014, when I worked on a project that ended up with devices being licensed in several countries. Today, I continue to be passionate about coming up with meaningful innovations that can better diagnose and treat glaucoma and cataracts.

SERI also won a large collaborative grant worth $25 million to reduce the amount of glaucoma blindness by 30% over the next ten years. This is something I’m really proud of.”

Helping to Raise the Profile of Clinical Trialists

Prior to being awarded the Clinical Trialist Development Award, A/Prof Perera had already established his reputation as a clinical trialist who had successfully led numerous trials towards successful patents and innovation and commercialisation.

Nevertheless, he was still excited to learn about the Master Clinical Trialist Award, which offered a generous 0.4 FTE of protected time.

“The moment I heard about this award, I knew that it could help me to do things I couldn’t do before. For example, I could be freed up to spend time day-dreaming about the next big project, network with the different pharma companies, and play a bigger part in building up Singapore’s reputation as Asia’s laboratory for the eye.”

Beyond protected time, A/Prof Perera also appreciates how the award has helped to raise the profile of clinical trialists and build up a valuable ecosystem of likeminded researchers.

“This is why I think it’s extremely worthwhile for other clinical trialists to apply for this award. There are just so many intangible benefits of being part of a group of people that you can bounce ideas off and help tap on each other’s networks to further your research aspirations. It can really make a difference in developing the next generation of principal investigators.”