Prof. Clement Tham graduated from Oxford Medical School in 1993, after receiving his first degree in the medical sciences at Cambridge University. He joined the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences of the CUHK in 2003. Prof. Tham was appointed Clinical Professor at CUHK in 2009, and then S.H. Ho Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at CUHK in 2012. Prof. Tham became Honorary Chief-of-Service of Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the Prince of Wales Hospital and Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in 2010. In 2011, Prof. Tham was appointed Honorary Chief-of-Service at Hong Kong Eye Hospital. Prof. Tham was appointed as the Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences of the CUHK in August 2015.

For his work in the prevention of blindness, Prof. Tham was awarded the inaugural Nakajima Award by the APAO in 2005. In the same year, Prof. Tham was one of the awardees of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons Award in Hong Kong. Prof. Tham received the Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) in 2008, the APAO Achievement Award in 2010, the APAO Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award in 2011, and the APAO Distinguished Service Award in 2013., Prof. Tham presented the APAO Holmes Lecture at the 28th APAO Congress 2013 Hyderabad, the APAO De Ocampo Lecture at the 30th APAO Congress 2015 Guangzhou, and the Honored International Lecture at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) in San Diego in 2015. Prof. Tham has also received numerous other awards in recognition of his contributions to research and teaching in the field of glaucoma.

The primary academic interest of Prof. Tham lies in angle closure glaucoma, as well as the laser and surgical treatments of glaucoma. Prof. Tham’s earlier work established a role for argon laser peripheral iridoplasty in the treatment of acute primary angle closure and other forms of angle closure glaucoma. More recently, his randomized controlled trials provided insight into the roles of lens extraction and other glaucoma surgeries in both acute and chronic primary angle closure glaucoma eyes. Prof. Tham was a member of the research consortium that identified the first genetic mutation associated with primary angle closure glaucoma.

Terms of Appointment: Jan 2016 – Dec 2019