A Brief Introduction to

Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University

Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center (ZOC) of Sun Yat-sen University is the first and leading advanced ophthalmic center and the last resort for advanced eye care in China, integrating eye care, teaching, eye research and blindness prevention.

Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center is located at 54 South Xianlie Road, Guangzhou, China, occupying an area of 8,969 square meters, with 35,522 square meters of floor space. It grew out of the Eye Research Laboratory of Zhongshan Medical College, which was established in 1953. In 1965, the Eye Hospital was founded by the late famous ophthalmic experts Professors Yaozhen Chen (Eugene Chan) and Wenshu Mao (Winifred Mao). Built with only 122 beds, the number has increased from 210 in 1970s to 317 today. The Center has a full-time staff of 673, where 112 hold high academic titles and 129 hold intermediate academic titles. 87 of them hold doctoral degrees and 52 hold masters degrees. This is a well-balanced talent echelon, which excels in the number of talents and academic level in China. Of the whole, 140 engage in medical care, education and research.

In 1983, approved by the Ministry of Health, the Eye Hospital was named “Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences,” consisting of the Eye Hospital, Eye Research Institute and Office of Prevention and Treatment for Blindness (Preventive Ophthalmology). In 1997, the Department of Optometry of Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences was additionally established in the Center. In 2001, when Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences and Zhongshan University merged into a new multiversity, the Center was renamed “Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University.” It has become one of the 20 largest general ophthalmic centers in the world.

Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center was one of the first institutions approved to award master and PhD degrees. In 1989, the Center was appointed by the State Education Commission as the national key unit of ophthalmology. In 1990, the ophthalmic laboratory of the Ministry of Health was set up in Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center. In later years,the laboratory has also gained supervision and support from the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology, and the Guangdong Provincial Department of Education.

After half a century of arduous endeavor, the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center has gained remarkable achievement in medical treatment, ophthalmic education, research and blindness prevention. In 1995, the eye Hospital was rated an “A+ level hospital” after evaluation and inspection. It is the first “A+ level hospital” of its kind in China. In 2006, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center was approved to be the State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, the only one of its kind in China.

Ever since 1995, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center has earned many honorary titles, such as “Civilized Unit of Guangdong Province,” “100 Civilized Hospitals of Guangdong Province,” “Advanced Group of National Health System,” “Advanced Group of Norman Bethune-Style of Guangdong Province,” “Advanced Unit of Guangdong Province in Ethical Conduct,” “Advanced Group of Guangdong Province” and “Civilized Window Unit of Guangdong Province.”

Medical Service

The Eye Hospital of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center consists of an outpatient department and 11 sub-specialty departments including corneal diseases, glaucoma, cataract, medical retina, surgery retina, ocular trauma, ophthalmic myopathy and optometry, eye tumor and orbital diseases, oculoplasty, Lasik, and traditional Chinese medicine for ophthalmology. The Center places much emphasis on the quality of medical service. The Center is the last resort for patients with complicated eye diseases in China. Both domestic and overseas patients with eye diseases are diagnosed and treated here. The Center receives over 500,000 outpatients and performs more than 30,000 surgeries annually. The methods and techniques of diagnosis and treatment of disease are the best in the country.

Eye Hospital

Outpatient Department

Operation Center

Inpatient Department

Glaucoma

Cataract

Corneal Diseases

Surgical Retina

Medical Retina

Ocular Trauma

Ophthalmic Myopathy

Oculoplasty

Lasik Center

Eye Tumor and Orbital Diseases

Traditional Chinese Medicine for ophthalmology

Scientific Research

The Eye Research Institute of Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center has 11 sub-specialty research departments: ophthalmic pathology, ophthalmic biochemistry, ocular genetics and molecular biology, cataract research, orbital disease and ocular tumor research, visual physiology, visual science, vitreous-retinal diseases, ocular immunology, eye bank, and clinical ophthalmic pharmacology.

The Center is very involved in research. The doctors are encouraged to apply for research grants in carrying out basic and clinical ophthalmic research, ranging from the eye organs and cells to molecules and genes. Ever since 1992, the Center has obtained 430 fundings of various levels for scientific research. Through the specialists’ creative work, remarkable achievements in scientific research have been obtained. Some research projects are advanced in China, and some have approached internationally advanced status. The Center has won 130 awards, including 8 national awards for scientific and technological advancement.

Key Laboratory

Public lab

Animal Unit

Functional Divisions

Electro physiology

Biochemistry

Pathology

Eye Bank & Cornea Disease

Genetic Molecular Biology

Immunology

Pharmacology

Cataract

Ocular Tumor and Orbit Diseases

Visual Science

Ocular Surface

Education and Training

The Center has rich human resources for education and training. There are 31 supervisors for doctoral degree candidates and 36 supervisors for master degree candidates. These supervisors undertake the teaching task for postgraduates, domestic visiting scholars, foreign students, undergraduates, professional students and students for continued education. In recent years, the Center annually recruits about 70 candidates for doctoral and master degrees, one to two domestic visiting scholars, four to five post-doctoral candidates and about 200 students for continued education. Over 400 undergraduates receive ophthalmic education in the Center every year. Since 1997, 20 undergraduates are enrolled by the Department of Optometry annually.

Preventive Ophthalmology

The Office of Prevention and Treatment of Blindness was established to address the need of population-based epidemiological research and the service for people in rural settings. In collaboration with the World Health Organization, US National Eye Institute, US Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, London Moorfields Eye Hospital and University College London, population-based research was conducted for visual function and quality of life outcome for cataract surgery in rural adult Chinese, refractive error and needs for spectacle correction in rural and urban school-aged children, prevalence and clinical characteristics of glaucoma in adult Chinese, randomized clinical trial for prophylactic treatment of angle closure. Genetic epidemiologic research on myopia through the twin study approach was just initiated, over 20,000 population-based twins aged 5 to 18 years have been identified and enrolled in Guangzhou city alone. The establishment of Twin Registry in this region is on-going. Other operational research specifically tailored for the needs in the rural communities were also conducted in order to understand the willingness to pay for cataract surgery, preoperative counseling by trained paramedics and the improvement of the uptake of cataract surgery, cost-effective model of community participation for improving cataract surgery rates. Since 2005, the Department of International Health and medical school of Johns Hopkins has started to send summer students, PhD students and fellows to participate these operational research. Supported by Helen Keller International, a US-based charity Not-for-Profit organization, cataract rehabilitation centers using based-hospital approach were established in three poorest regions in Guangdong. Annual volume of surgery considerably increased to over 2,000 cases. This service was able to equally cover the poor patients, over 35% of surgeries were conducted for poor bilateral blind people and 15% of surgeries were conducted completely free of charge. More than 20 surgeons and 1200 village doctors completed the 3-months to 1-year training program and have been effectively working for rural cataract surgery campaign. Programs on massive community-based screening for angle closure glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy and health education are planned to start very soon.

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