A/Prof Donny Hoang is a Senior Consultant with the Department of Ophthalmology at the National University Hospital (NUH), and directs a laboratory focused on High and Pathologic myopia (extreme short-sightedness) at the National University Singapore (NUS). As Principal Investigator, he has secured local funding exceeding $6.7 million, which includes two NMRC Clinician-Scientist Awards and two Clinician-Scientist Individual Research Grants. Additionally, he has served as Project Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator for projects totalling $39.4 million.
He graduated from Northwestern University in Chicago with triple-major with honours in Chemistry, Biology and Integrated Science in 1997. He subsequently earned both his Medical Degree (MD) and PhD in Anatomy and Cell Biology from the University of Illinois, where his doctoral thesis won the 2006 Top Life Sciences PhD Thesis Award. He completed his Ophthalmology training at the esteemed Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, where he received Top Research Awards in 2009 and 2010.
In 2012, he completed a two-year surgical and medical retina fellowship at Columbia University and VRMNY under world-renowned specialists Stanley Chang, Lawrence Yannuzzi, Richard Spaide and Bailey Freund. He then divided his time between working as a vitreo-retinal surgeon and serving as Director of the High Myopia Laboratory at Columbia University, where he received an NIH Clinician-Scientist Career Development Award.
A/Prof Hoang is a fellow of the prestigious Macula Society, Retina Society, American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) and Academy of Medicine Singapore (FAMS). He has received numerous accolades, including recognition as one of America's Top Ophthalmologists before relocating to Singapore in 2016. He is well-published with over 120 peer-reviewed high-impact articles and serves as Editorial Board member and/or reviewer for more than ten journals.
At NUH/NUS, he divides his time between clinical practice and research, both focused on extreme short-sightedness, a significant cause of blindness in Singapore. While mild myopia is merely inconvenient, pathologic myopia involves extreme levels of lifelong, progressive eye elongation and eyewall thinning that can lead to blindness. He employs cutting-edge non-invasive imaging to identify patients at greatest risk of vision loss. Concurrently, he leads laboratory-based studies to discover novel treatments to stunt short-sightedness and prevent blindness.
As a clinician-scientist, his patients inspire his passionate commitment to advancing treatments and cures for retinal disease and blinding disorders. He values his time with patients and strives to provide optimal care, both through existing treatments and by developing new therapies in the laboratory.
A/Prof Hoang holds concurrent appointments as Deputy Head of the Myopia Unit at the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI) and Adjunct Faculty at Columbia University.
