Prof Calvin CP PANG
S.H. Ho Research Professor of Visual Sciences
BSc (Lond),?DPhil (Oxon), FARVO





Contact :
(852) 3943 5801

cppang@cuhk.edu.hk









Academic AppointmentsS.H. Ho Research Professor of Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Director, Shantou University / The Chinese University of Hong Kong Joint Shantou International Eye Center







BiographyProf PANG received a BSc (Hon) in Biochemistry in 1978, University of London, and DPhil in 1982, University of Oxford, on an EP Abraham Research Fund Scholarship, followed by postdoctoral research in Oxford. In December 1983, Prof PANG was appointed Lecturer in Chemical Pathology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and became a Professor in 1995. In 1998, Prof PANG moved to the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences (DOVS) of CUHK. He was Chairman of DOVS during 2012-2015.
Prof PANG has served as academic assessor and reviewer for the Wellcome Trust (UK), National Eye Institute (USA), ARVO (USA), National Medical Research Council (Singapore), Health Research Board (Ireland), Catalan Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Research (Spain), National Science Foundation China, Changjiang Scholar Program China, and more than 20 funding organisations. He is also an academic reviewer, external examiner and honorary or visiting Professor of more than 60 clinical, research and tertiary academic institutions in Hong Kong, mainland China and overseas, including University of Melbourne, Purdue University, National University of Singapore, Peking University, Shanghai Fudan University, Zhejiang University, University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. ?Prof PANG is convener and coordinator of the visual sciences programmes of Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO), World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC) and International Society for Eye Research (ISER) Congresses. He has been co-chair of Asia-ARVO and APAO congresses.
Prof PANG received the China State Scientific and Technological Progress Award (SSTPA) second-class award in 2016, Special Achievement Award of Chinese Ophthalmological Society in 2017, and Senior Achievement Award, APAO in 2018. In 2017 Prof PANG delivered the National Institute of Health – Global Health Vision Lecture, Bethesda, USA. In 2018 Prof PANG became a Fellow of ARVO and has been honoured as the 2020 ARVO honoree. Prof PANG has delivered more than 300 invited lectures nationally and internationally. He has contributed more than 480 publications in SCI international peer review journals and 22 book chapters

Research AreasGenomics, gene mapping and identification, whole-genome association studies, exome sequencing, on primary open angle glaucoma, primary angle closure glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, polypoidal choridal vasculopathy, myopia, uveitis, congenital cataracts.
Molecular genetics, mechanisms, and epi-genetics of glaucoma, macular diseases, retinoblastoma, myopia, uveitis, thyroid eye diseases, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, rhematogenous retinal detachment, Bietti crystalline dystrophy, keratoconus, cornea dystrophie
Biology of human trabecular meshwork cells, human periodontal ligament-derived neural crest stem cells, limbal stem cells, corneal progenitor cells, pterygium cells, ciliary and iris epithelial cells, adipose tissue derived stromal cells, retinoblastoma cells, retinal ganglion cells.
Biological effects, metabolomics, proteomics, animal models (optic nerve crush, elevated IOP, retina degeneration, experimental induced uveitis, experimental autoimmune uveoretinitis), pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of small herbal molecules, green tea extract, catechins, neuropeptides of agonists and antagonists of growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor in ocular oxidative stress, inflammations, and degeneration.
Constitutive and inductive risk factors of children eye diseases. The concept of health care through children eye care.




Academic Activities
Convener (Visual Sciences Program) World Ophthalmology Congress 2018 (Spain)
Scientific Program Committee and Convener (Visual Sciences Program) The 33rd Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress 2018 (Hong Kong)
Co-Chair Asia-ARVO Annual Meeting 2017 (Australia)
Invited Faculty World Glaucoma Congress 2017 (Finland)
Convener (Visual Sciences Program) World Ophthalmology Congress 2016 (Mexico)
Scientific Program Committee and Convener (Visual Sciences Program) The 31st Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Congress 2016 (Taiwan)




Research Highlights
Research ProgrammesMolecular genomics and gene mapping on glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, polypoidal choridal vasculopathy, myopia, and congenital cataracts.
Molecular genetics and mechanisms of glaucoma, macular diseases, high myopia, uveitis, etinoblastoma, Bietti crystalline dystrophy, Graves’ ophthalmopathy, diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, retinitis pigmentosa, keratoconus, and cornea dystrophies.
Therapeutic effects of herbal molecules and GHRHR (growth hormone related hormone receptor) agonists and antagonists in eye diseases.
Animal models of ophthalmic inflammation and retina degeneration.
Analytical studies: gas chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, tandem mass spectrometry. Sample molecules, including herbal molecules and peptides, identification, characterization, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.


AccomplishmentsThrough international consortiums and collaboratiions, novel gene loci and variants have been identified for complex eye diseases in the past two years: (i) Khor C.C. et.al., Genomewide association study identifies five new susceptibility loci for primary angle closure glaucoma. Nat Genet. 2016 May;48:556-62. (ii) Huang L. et.al., A missense variant in FGD6 confers increased risk of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. Nat Genet. 2016 Jun;48:640-7. (iii) Fan Q. et.al., Meta-analysis of gene-environmentwide association scans accounting for education level identifies additional loci for refractive error. Nat Commun. 2016 Mar;7:11008. (iv) Li Z., et.al., A common variant near TGFBR3 is associated with primary open angle glaucoma. Hum Mol Genet. 2015 Jul;24:3880-92. (v) Huang LZ et.al., Whole-exome sequencing implicates UBE3D in age-related macular degeneration in East Asian populations. Nat Commun. 2015 Apr;6:6687. (vi) Cheng C.Y. et.al., New loci and coding variants confer risk for age-related macular degeneration in East Asians. Nat Commun. 2015 Jan;6:6063.
New genes and gene variants identified for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (PCV): (i) Ma L. et.al.,. Identification of ANGPT2 as a New Gene for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy in the Chinese and Japanese Populations. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017 Feb;58:1076-1083. (ii) Ma L., et.al. Association of ABCG1 With Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy in Chinese and Japanese. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2016 Oct;57:5758-5763. (iii) Ng T.K. et.al., HTRA1 promoter variant differentiates polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy from exudative agerelated macular degeneration. Sci Rep. 2016 Jun;6:28639. (iv) Chen L.J. et.al. Identification of PGF as a New Gene for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration in a Chinese Population. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2016 Apr;57:1714-20. (v) Ma L. et.al. Association of toll-like receptor 3 polymorphism rs3775291 with age-related macular degeneration: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sci Rep. 2016 Jan;6:19718.
We are establishing ethnic differentiation in the glaucoma genes: (i) Rong SS, et.al. Ethnic specific association of the CAV1/CAV2 locus with primary open-angle glaucoma. Sci Rep. 2016 Jun;6:27837. (ii) Rong SS, et.al. Genetic Associations of Primary Angle-Closure Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Ophthalmology. 2016 Jun;123:1211-21.
We further establish the anti-oxidative properties of green tea catechins in tissue cells in a rat model: (i) Zhang XY, et.al. Continuous exposure to non-lethal doses of sodium iodate induces retinal pigment epithelial cell dysfunction. Sci Rep. 2016 Nov;6:37279. (ii) Yang Y, et.al. Green tea catechins are potent anti-oxidants that ameliorate sodium iodate-induced retinal degeneration in rats. Sci Rep. 2016 Jul;6:29546.
We have proved the involvements of ocular and gastric cancer of the Growth hormonereleasing hormone, Growth hormone, Insulinlike growth factor-1 (GHRH-GH-IGF1) Axis. The therapeutic potential of GHRH-R antagonist is confirmed. (i) Chu WK, et.al. Antagonists of growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor induce apoptosis specifically in retinoblastoma cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Dec;113:14396-14401, (ii) Gan J, et.al. Growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor antagonists inhibit human gastric cancer through downregulation of PAK1-STAT3/NF-3κB signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Dec;113:14745-14750.
In collaboration with Dr Y Fai Leung of Purdue University, USA, who is world leader in retina investigations in zebrafish models, novel retina disease mechanisms are revealed: (i) Liu Y, et.al. Statistical Analysis of Zebrafish Locomotor Behaviour by Generalized Linear Mixed Models. Sci Rep. 2017 Jun;7:2937. (ii) Ganzen L, et.al. Utilizing Zebrafish Visual Behaviors in Drug Screening for Retinal Degeneration. Int J Mol Sci. 2017 Jun;18(6). (iii) Zhang L, et.al. A Naturally-Derived Compound Schisandrin B Enhanced Light Sensation in the pde6c Zebrafish Model of Retinal Degeneration. PLoS One. 2016 Mar;11:e0149663. (iv) Gao Y, et.al. Computational classification of different wild-type zebrafish strains based on their variation in light-induced locomotor response. Comput Biol Med. 2016 Feb;69:1-9. (v) Liu Y, et.al. Statistical Analysis of Zebrafish Locomotor Response. PLoS One. 2015 Oct;10(10):e0139521


Representative Publications:>480 papers in international indexed peer reviewed journals, 25 book chapters, edition of 3 journal special issues and 1 book, and more than 700 abstracts in international conference proceedings.
Citation metrics as of 30^th November 2020:
Sum of the Times Cited: >18,300. h-index: 71 (Source: Google Scholar)
Selected Publications:??????
Liang WC, Ren JL, Yu QX, Li J, Ng TK, Chu WK, Qin YJ, Chu KO, Schally AV, Pang C.P*, Chan SO (2020) Signaling mechanisms of growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor in LPS-induced acute ocular inflammation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2020 Mar 17;117(11):6067-6074.
Yam JC, Jiang Y, Tang SM, ……, Tham CC, Chen LJ, Pang CP*. Low-concentration Atropine for Myopia Progression (LAMP) Study: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial of 0.05%, 0.025% and 0.01% Atropine eye drops in myopia control. 2019 Jan; 126(1):113-124.
Chu KO, Chan KP, Chan SO, Ng TK, Jhanji V, Wang CC, Pang CP*. Metabolomics of Green-Tea Catechins on Vascular-Endothelial-Growth-Factor-Stimulated Human-Endothelial-Cell Survival. J Agric Food Chem. 2018 Nov 27.
Cen LP, Ng TK, Liang JJ, ……, Zhang M, Pang CP*. Human Periodontal Ligament-Derived Stem Cells Promote Retinal Ganglion Cell Survival and Axon Regeneration After Optic Nerve Injury. Stem Cells. 2018 Jun;36:844-855.
Wang YM, Ng TK, Choy KW, Wong HK, Chu WK, Pang CP*, Jhanji V. Histological and microRNA Signatures of Corneal Epithelium in Keratoconus. J Refract Surg. 2018 Mar 1;34(3):201-211.
Ma L, Brelen ME, Tsujikawa M, ……, Pang CP, Chen LJ. Identification of ANGPT2 as a New Gene for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy in the Chinese and Japanese Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017 Feb 1;58(2):1076-1083
Chu WK, Law KS, Chan SO, ……., Pang CP*. Antagonists of growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor induce apoptosis specifically in retinoblastoma cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Dec 13;113:14396-14401
Khor CC, Do T, Jia H, … Chen LJ, …., Pang CP, …., Aung T. Genome-wide association study identifies five new susceptibility loci for primary angle closure glaucoma. Nat Genet. 2016 May;48:556-62.
Huang L, Zhang H, Cheng CY,…., Chen LJ, …., Pang CP*, Yoshimura N, Yang Z. A missense variant in FGD6 confers increased risk of polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. Nat Genet. 2016 Jun;48:640-7.
Ma L, Li Z, Liu K, Rong SS, Brelen ME, Young AL, Kumaramanickavel G, Pang CP, Chen H, Chen LJ. Association of Genetic Variants with Polypoidal Choroidal Vasculopathy: A Systematic Review and Updated Meta-analysis. 2015 Sep;122(9):1854-65.
Huang LZ, Li YJ, Xie XF,………, Pang CP, Wong TY, Khor CC, Zhang K, Zhou P, Li XX. Whole-exome sequencing implicates UBE3D in age-related macular degeneration in East Asian populations. Nat Commun. 2015 Apr 15;6:6687.
Cheng CY, Yamashiro K, Pang CP, Yoshimura N, Yin Wong T, Khor CC. New loci and coding variants confer risk for age-related macular degeneration in East Asians. Nat Commun. 2015 Jan 28;6:6063
Qin YJ, Chan SO, Chong KK, Li BF, Ng TK, Yip YW, Chen H, Zhang M, Block NL, Cheung HS, Schally AV, Pang CP*. Antagonist of GH-releasing hormone receptor alleviates experimental ocular inflammation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2014 Dec 23;111:18303-8
Chen Y, Lin Y, Vithana EN, ……., Pang CP*, Sun X, Yang Z. Common variants near ABCA1 and in PMM2 are associated with primary open-angle Nat Genet. 2014 Oct;46:1115-9.
Hou S, Du L, Lei B, Pang CP, Zhang M, …… Yang Z, Yang P. Genome-wide association analysis of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome identifies two new susceptibility loci at 1p31.2 and 10q21.3. Nat Genet. 2014 Sep;46:1007-11
Liu K, Chen LJ, Lai TY, ………, Pang CP*. Genes in the high-density lipoprotein metabolic pathway in age-related macular degeneration and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. 2014 Apr;121(4):911-6.
Khor CC, Miyake M, Chen LJ,.…., Pang CP, Saw SM, Yoshimura N. Genome-wide association study identifies ZFHX1B as a susceptibility locus for severe myopia. Hum Mol Genet. 2013 Dec 20;22:5288-94.
Lu Y, Vitart V, Burdon KP, ….., Pang CP, ……., Wong TY. Genome-wide association analyses identify multiple loci associated with central corneal thickness and keratoconus. Nat Genet. 2013 Feb;45:155-63.
Liu K, Chen LJ, ……., Pang CP*. Associations of the C2-CFB-RDBP-SKIV2L locus with age-related macular degeneration and polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. Ophthalmology. 2013 Apr;120:837-43
Vithana EN, Khor CC, Qiao C,………, Wong TY, Pang CP, Wang N, Aung T. Genome-wide association analyses identify three new susceptibility loci for primary angle closureglaucoma. Nat Genet. 2012 Oct;44:1142-6.
Thorleifsson G, Walters GB, Hewitt AW,….,Pang CP, et al. Sequence variants near the CAV1 and CAV2 genes associate with primary open angle glaucoma. Nat Genetics 2010 Oct;42:906-9.
Lee SK, Teng Y, Wong HK, ……, Pang CP*. MicroRNA-145 Regulates Human Corneal Epithelial Differentiation. PLoS One. 2011;6(6):e21249.
Chu KO, Chan KP, Wang CC, Chu CY, Li WY, Choy KW, Rogers MS, Pang CP*. Green tea catechins and their oxidative protection in the rat eye. J Agric Food Chem. 2010 Feb 10;58:1523-34.
Lam CY, Tam POS, Fan DSP, Fan BJ, Wang DY, Lee CWS, Pang CP*, Lam DSC. A genome-wide scan maps a novel high myopia locus to 5p15. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2008 Sep; 49:3768-78.
DeWan A, Liu M, Hartman S,……, Pang CP*, Hoh J. HTRA serine protease predisposes Asians to age-related macular degeneration. Science 2006;314:989-92.
Find out more on ?






In the Media 23/4/2018 香港电台精灵一点：彭智培教授、陈理佳医生分析遗传性眼疾
5/2/2018 香港中文大学彭智培教授一行来我院访问交流