Prof. Fung-Rung Hu of the College of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology has been elected as a member of the prestigious Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis this year.  AOI membership is regarded as one of the highest international honors in the field of ophthalmology.  Prof. Hu’s election not only reflects the high value of her clinical and research accomplishments to the international ophthalmologist community, but shines a light as well on the world-class research being conducted here at NTU.

Prof. Hu’s election makes her the first ophthalmologist from Taiwan to have been bestowed with the honor of AOI membership.  This is an especially remarkable achievement, as the AOI limits its membership to only 100 scholars in total, and grants membership to just a small fraction of the candidates nominated each year.  Moreover, the great majority of the institution’s members are highly respected ophthalmologists from North America and Europe; only a small number of scholars from Asia have ever been elected.

Apart from lecturing at the College of Medicine, Prof. Hu also serves patients as an attending physician at NTU Hospital’s Department of Ophthalmology.  After earning her medical degree at NTU, Prof. Hu went abroad to work as a research fellow at the Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology.  She has held such prominent positions as chair of the College of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology, vice superintendent of NTU Hospital, and president of the Ophthalmological Society of Taiwan.

As to research, Prof. Hu has investigated extensively into the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of corneal diseases.  Her main areas of research include corneal and conjunctival diseases, laser refractive surgery, microbial keratitis, and corneal transplantation.  Prof. Hu has published nearly 200 papers in major medical journals and is frequently invited to deliver speeches at international medical conferences.  Most importantly, the new AOI member’s research has led to numerous treatment applications that have improved the wellbeing of countless patients around the world.