Professor Calvin Pang was conferred Honorary Fellow of the College of Ophthalmologists of Hong Kong (COHK) in the College Conferment Ceremony on 15th July 2021.

Honorary Fellowship is the highest honour bestowed upon an individual by the COHK to recognize immense contributions to the advancement of ophthalmology.  The COHK sets a very rigorous selection criteria for conferring this honour.  To be eligible, a candidate shall have demonstrated distinguished contributions either to the advancement of the pursuits of the College in the practice of, education or research in ophthalmology, or other objects or the welfare of the College.  Professor Pang is only the second person, and the first non-ophthalmologist ever, to receive this highest honour by COHK since its inception in 1994.

Prof Pang studies the molecular genetics and genomics of complex and monogenic eye diseases, including POAG, PACG, AMD, PCV, CSCR, DR, inherited retinal diseases, retinoblastoma, uveitis, Grave’s disease, congenital cataracts, corneal dystrophies, keratoconus and myopia.  He also investigates microRNA in adult ocular stem cells, and constitutive and inductive risk factors of children eye diseases, advocating the concept of health care through children eye care.  In animal models he explores ophthalmic effects of green tea catechins, herbal molecules, and GHRHR agonists/antagonists for the alleviation of oxidative stress and inflammation. In 2017 Prof Pang received the Special Achievement Award, Chinese Ophthalmological Society, and was bestowed the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award (SSTPA) second-class, China. He also delivered the National Institute of Health – Global Health Vision Lecture, Bethesda, USA. In 2018 Prof Pang became a Fellow of ARVO also received the Senior Achievement Award, Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology.  Prof Pang has been honoured as the 2021 ARVO honoree. Prof Pang is convener and coordinator of the visual sciences programs of APAO, World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) and International Society for Eye Research (ISER) Congresses, and is reviewer for the Wellcome Trust, National Eye Institute (USA), National Medical Research Council (Singapore), National Health & Medical Research Council (Australia), National Science Foundation China, Changjiang Scholar Program China, and >20 national and international funding organisations. He is academic assessor, external examiner and honorary/visiting professor of >60 tertiary academic institutions across the world including Singapore National University, University of Melbourne, Purdue University, Shanghai Fudan University, and Zhejiang University. As of July 2021, Prof Pang has contributed >490 publications in SCI journals and 28 book chapters, with total citations >20,000 times and H-index 73 by Google Scholar.

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