Dr Samuel Abokyi is a Research Assistant Professor in the School of Optometry at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), Hong Kong. Before this appointment, Dr Abokyi worked as a Lecturer/Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Optometry of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) in Ghana for almost a decade. His other past employment history includes working as Research Associate (part-time) at PolyU and as Teaching Assistant and Principal Research Assistant at UCC. He obtained his PhD in Vision Science from PolyU, in 2021. Also, he holds other educational qualifications, including Doctor of Optometry (2010) from UCC and MPhil in Pharmacology (2015) from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana.

Dr Abokyi has a special interest in eye disorders associated with aging, systemic diseases, and neurodegeneration. His research domain cuts across basic translational and clinical studies. His PhD work investigated the role of autophagy in cellular and animal models of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In that study, it was demonstrated that oxidative stress in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) leads to lysosomal dysfunction and autophagy defect. More interestingly, it was determined that upregulating autophagy with trehalose, a natural disaccharide, was protective against RPE oxidative damage, which is a crucial factor in AMD pathophysiology. These findings have been published in peer-reviewed journals, including Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity and the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. In addition, he has had several clinical studies published in top-ranked Ophthalmology and Optometry journals, including Eye (nature), Experimental Eye Research, Contact lens and Anterior Eye, Current Eye Research, and Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics. He serves as a regular reviewer for many reputable journals, including Optometry and Vision Science, Experimental Eye Research, and Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

Dr Abokyi’s contributions and promising career as an early researcher have been recognised. He was awarded the Hong Kong PhD Fellowship by the University Grant Council of Hong Kong in 2016. In 2021, he was awarded the Best College-Level Researcher in the College of Health and Allied Sciences in UCC by the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy.

• Age-related eye diseases
• Systemic diseases and the eye
• Molecular targets and interventions in neurodegeneration