Department of Ophthalmology

The Department of Ophthalmology at Peking University People’s Hospital (PKUPH) was ranked as the 4th Top 15 Eye Center of China in 2014 by the National Medical Data Center. It now consists of the Eye Center and the Eye Diseases and Optometry Medical Research Institute.

The Department of Ophthalmology was established with the assistance of Polish Physician Sunieviteh in 1937. Under the leadership of Dr. Luo Zongxian, Suo Manxia, Yang Jun, Fei Peifen, Hu Yutong, Li Xiaoxin, and current director Zhao Mingwei, after 79 years of development, the department has become one of the best eye care centers in China. It has also served as a predominant training and research center in ophthalmology in China. It has long been reputed for its rich clinical experience in retinal disease, ocular tumors, and Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in China. The department was authorized as a National Key Discipline under Project 211 and Project 985 (a higher education development and sponsorship scheme) in 2000. The Eye Center is accredited by the Ministry of Education to offer doctorate degrees. It is a postdoctoral scientific research station, a training center for ophthalmologic specialists of the National Health Commission and the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, a test center for ophthalmologic specialists of the Beijing Municipal Health Commission, a drug research center of the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and a national continuing medical education center.

The College of Ophthalmology & Optometry at Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC) was founded on December 16, 2016. The PKUHSC initiated the construction of this new college. During its construction, we received significant help from domestic and international partners, including Wenzhou Medical University, the Illinois College of Optometry, and the School of Optometry at UC Berkeley. As a rising school focusing on ophthalmology and optometry education, we began graduate education in September 2017, recruiting medical students who previously had an M.D. background. The curriculum covers spectacle lenses, contact lenses, binocular vision, low vision, visual development, strabismus, and refractive surgery, among others. The program is designed to train advanced optometrists with a strong background in ophthalmology. The college is based on three first-class hospitals affiliated with the PKUHSC. The president of the college is Prof. Mingwei Zhao, who initiated the construction of the College of Ophthalmology & Optometry and also serves as the director of the Ophthalmology Department of Peking University People’s Hospital. The two vice presidents are Prof. Wei Wang and Prof. Liu Yang, who are also the deans of the Ophthalmology Departments at Peking University Third Hospital and Peking University First Hospital, respectively. In addition to the master’s program in optometry, we will also include a doctoral program in optometry in the future and focus on optometry research, product development, and public welfare.

With the establishment of the College of Ophthalmology & Optometry at PKUHSC in 2016, under the leadership of Prof. Mingwei Zhao, who serves as the dean of the College of Ophthalmology & Optometry and director of the Ophthalmology Department, the Ophthalmology Department of PKUPH has established an excellent clinical specialty team covering nearly all subspecialties of ophthalmology, including optometry, lacrimal diseases, corneal diseases, cataracts, glaucoma, oculoplastics, ocular tumors, retinal diseases, and neuro-ophthalmology, to provide high-quality professional eye care services to our patients.

There are currently more than 70 staff members in the Eye Center, including 4 doctoral supervisors, 1 former president of the Chinese Ophthalmology Society (2007–2010), 1 chief editor of the Chinese Ocular Fundus Diseases Journal, 1 former president and 1 vice president of the Chinese Ocular Fundus Diseases Society, 1 vice president of the Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and Amblyopia Group of the Chinese Medical Association, and 6 committee members of the Chinese Ophthalmology Society. Nine experts serve as editorial board members of the Chinese Journal of Medicine. Currently, the Eye Center has 64 open ward beds. In the past three years, the annual average number of inpatients was 3,585, and the annual average number of outpatients was 138,765, of which 55% were from other provinces. The number of outpatients and surgeries has continued to increase over the past 45 years.

The Eye Diseases and Optometry Medical Research Institute of PKUPH was established in 2009. The Institute aims to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of visual impairment, explore the mechanisms of vision loss and restoration, develop new clinical therapies, and conduct effective clinical translational research to reduce the incidence of visual impairment in our country. It focuses on the pathological mechanisms and intervention strategies of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the pathogenesis of retinal detachment with proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), diabetic retinopathy (DR), and retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

The equipment in our institute includes a DNA sequencing system, a research surgical microscope, a flow cytometer, electrophysiology equipment, a lyophilizer, and an optical microscopic imaging system. These systems support vital research platforms such as the confocal scanning laser microscope, the immunohistochemical automatic analyzer, the PCR amplifier, the dissecting microscope, and the freezing microtome. At the same time, investment has been made in the management and construction of an animal operating room to provide strong support for the development of proteomics and genomics research.

To date, 61 research projects have been undertaken by our Eye Diseases and Optometry Medical Research Institute, including two National Program on Key Basic Research Project (973 Program) grants, two National High-tech R&D Program (863 Program) grants, five national “Eleventh Five-Year” and “Twelfth Five-Year” support funds, three “985” projects, 17 National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, two international collaborative studies, one WHO-funded grant, and other provincial grants. Total research funding has exceeded 44 million CNY. Based on this research, more than 459 articles have been published in Chinese, 200 in SCI-indexed journals, and 12 patents have been authorized by the National Patent Office. The institute has received four provincial and public organization awards, three first and second prizes for scientific and technological advancement from the Ministry of Education, and one “Soong Ching Ling Prize in Pediatrics” from the 4th China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (CSCLF).