Dept of Biochemistry, Cell Biology and Bioinformatics is part of Medical and Vision Research Foundation unit of Sankara Nethralaya started in a small way in 1985 as a Biochemistry Research Dept supporting the need of the hospital by carrying out several special investigations related to ocular diseases such as Inborn errors of metabolism and amino aciduria. Active research was started in year 1991 with the entry of Prof. S. Ramakrishnan and Dr. K. N. Sulochana , into Ocular Biochemistry. The extensive areas of research includes, cataract, Eales disease, Diabetic Retinopathy, pathways of homocysteine and proteoglycan, novel protein isolation, use of amino acid as antiglycating substances to mitigate diabetic complication were the focus of the lab.

Later Dr. N. Angayarkanni since 2002 has been working in primary cultures of Bovine retinal pigment epithelium, retinal capillary Endothelial and pericytes in establishing ECM changes along with the clinical perspectives of vitreo-retinal pathologies.

Current Focus is on drug development for the treatment of ocular angiogenesis, alterations in metabolic pathways leading to diseases, structural function studies of proteins, protein-protein interactions, clinical proteomics, lipidomics, toxicology etc.

Department is activitly collaborating with IISc, Bangalore, and participating in Ph.D. programms enrolling students for Ph.D in collaboration with BITS Pilani and SASTRA. It has received several awards and international recognition for research and above 90 publications.