Tien-Yin Wong

Chair Professor & Senior Vice Chancellor, Tsinghua Medicine, China, Vice Provost, Tsinghua University, China; Senior Advisor, Singapore National Eye Center, Singapore

Profile

Ophthalmologist, Scientist, Innovator, Lifelong Learner

Tien Yin Wong completed his medical training in 1992 at the National University of Singapore, before taking up residency training at the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC). He then took up retinal fellowships in the USA (University of Wisconsin) and Australia (Westmead Hospital, University of Sydney). He also holds an MPH and PhD in epidemiology from John Hopkins University, Baltimore, completing his PhD in 2001.

Wong’s research interests focus primarily on the epidemiology of eye diseases, most specifically diabetic retinopathy (DR) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and on the inter-relationship between eye and systemic diseases, using advanced retinal imaging techniques.  He has written or co-authored over 1,500 peer-reviewed papers on these topics, and secured research funding totaling over $100 million from organizations such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Medical Research Council (NMRC, Singapore).

In recognition of both his academic research and his clinical service, Wong has received many national and international awards, including the Alcon Research Institute Award, Macula Society’s Arnall Patz Medal, APAO’s Jose Rizal Medal,  ARVO’s Friedenwald Award, as well as the two highest awards recognizing scientific contributions in Singapore: the President’s Science Award and the President’s Science & Technology Award. In 2020, Wong was elected into the U.S. National Academy of Medicine as an international (foreign) member of and in 2021, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences as an international (corresponding) fellow.

In 2022, he became the founding head of Tsinghua Medicine, a new healthcare and medical sciences institution based at the prestigious Tsinghua University, China. In this role, Wong focuses on leveraging the resources and capabilities of some of Beijing’s major institutions in the medical, biomedical, and pharmaceutical spaces, attempting to reform medical education in the country, as well as to strengthen scientific research, develop academic medicine, and build on international collaborations.

A major part of this international collaboration rests in Wong’s previous appointment as Vice Dean and Deputy Group CEO of the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Center (AMC). Wong serves as a liaison between the two countries, aiming to transform healthcare and patient outcomes through the convergence of clinical education, care, and research, an aim which is aided by the introduction of cross-campus faculty and student exchanges.

Tien Yin Wong’s clear dedication to the profession continues to advance our understanding of major eye diseases, with his research serving to substantially influence eye health policies worldwide, and his international collaborations further encouraging both clinical and academic steps towards preventing blindness and visual impairment in the global population. We are delighted to induct him into The Ophthalmologist Power List Hall of Fame.

Awards and Honors

2006 — Alcon Research Institute Award
2009 — Outstanding Researcher Award, the National University of Singapore
2010 — Fred Hollows Lecture, Australian Ophthalmic and Visual Sciences Meeting
2010 — National Outstanding Clinician Scientist Award, Singapore
2010 — President’s Science Award, Singapore
2014 — President’s Science and Technology Award
2014 — Arnall Patz Medal, the Macula Society
2015 — Tano Lecture, Asia Pacific Vitreo-Retina Society
2015 — ARVO Fellow (Gold Award), USA
2016 — Senior Achievement Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology
2017 — Senior Achievement Award, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology
2017 — Sir Runme Shaw Memorial Lecture, Academy of Medicine Singapore
2019 — Norman McAlister Gregg Lecture, Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO), Australia
2019 — Jose Rizal Medal, the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology​
2020 — Elected Member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine​
2023 — Friedenwald Award, ARVO, USA
2023 — College of Clinician Scientists Medal, Singapore