Albert Bing-Ching Young Professorship in Ophthalmology

Professor Christopher K S Leung is a clinician-scientist specializing in glaucoma detection, diagnostic imaging of the optic nerve, and neuroprotection. He earned an MSc in Molecular Medicine from Imperial College London and completed his medical training (MB ChB) and doctoral education (MD) at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Awarded the Croucher Foundation Fellowship, he undertook a clinical and research fellowship at the Hamilton Glaucoma Center at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). His research team has been instrumental in introducing key concepts and new technologies for the early diagnosis of glaucoma and monitoring its progression. Additionally, his group conducts both clinical and laboratory studies aimed at developing new treatment strategies for neuroprotection and neuroregeneration in glaucoma and optic neuropathies.

Professor Leung has received 28 local and international awards and honors for his research and professional services. Notable recognitions include being named in The Ophthalmologist Power List 2024 as one of the Top 100 most influential leaders in ophthalmology worldwide, and the Asia Pacific Eye 100 in 2023 as one of the Top 100 most influential ophthalmologists in the Asia Pacific region. His accolades also include the World Information Technology and Services Alliance Global Information and Communications Excellence Award (2019), the Hong Kong Information and Communications Technology Awards – Smart Living Grand Award (2019), the American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Achievement Award (2015), and the UCSD Stuart Brown Lecturer (2013). Additionally, he received the American Academy of Ophthalmology Secretariat Award (2012), the Asia Pacific Glaucoma Society Young Investigator Award (2012), the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Clinician-Scientist Research Award (2010), and the World Glaucoma Congress Science Award (2009), among others. As a principal investigator, he has secured 27 external competitive research grants from various organizations, including the Hong Kong Research Grants Council General Research Fund (equivalent to the U.S. National Institutes of Health R01 grant), the Hong Kong Medical and Health Research Fund, the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Fund, The Glaucoma Foundation (New York, USA), and The American Health Assistance Foundation. He has delivered over 200 invited lectures at 146 scientific meetings across 67 cities in 28 countries. Supported by the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Commission's Technology Start-up Support Scheme for Universities, Professor Leung founded two start-up companies aimed at translating patented vision diagnostic technologies into clinical applications. At the University of Hong Kong (HKU), he directs the Glaucoma and Optic Nerve Diagnostics Lab, the Optic Nerve Protection and Regeneration Lab, and the Virtual Reality Lab.

Professor Leung provides clinical services at Queen Mary Hospital, Grantham Hospital, Hong Kong Eye Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital, and the HKU Eye Centre. As a Volunteer Faculty member with Orbis, he has trained ophthalmologists aboard the Flying Eye Hospital and in local hospitals in Mainland China and Vietnam. He serves as Section Editor for the British Journal of Ophthalmology, Associate Editor for Frontiers in Medicine, and Contributing Editor for the International Glaucoma Review. Additionally, he is an Editorial Board Member for the American Journal of Ophthalmology, Journal of Glaucoma, Ophthalmic Epidemiology, and Translational Vision Science and Technology. Professor Leung was a Section Leader and Consensus Development Panel Member at the World Glaucoma Association Consensus Meetings, and co-chaired the Asia Pacific Glaucoma Guidelines, which were published in 2024.

He has supervised more than 20 PhD students as their direct supervisor and previously served as Head of the Graduate Division and MSc Program Director in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at CUHK. Moreover, he has been teaching in instructional courses organized by the American Academy of Ophthalmology for more than 15 years.