Kang Zhang BS, MD, PhD

Kang Zhang, MD, PhD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist whose expertise is in treating age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy (i.e. a diabetes complication that affects the eyes) and inherited retinal degeneration. Dr. Zhang is chief of Ophthalmic Genetics at UC San Diego Health’s Shiley Eye Institute, a program dedicated to the assessment and treatment of genetic eye diseases.He is also founding director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine and co-director of the Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering Center, Institute of Engineering in Medicine at UC San Diego.

Dr. Zhang is internationally recognized for his research on novel disease gene targets and treatments, and gene-based and stem-cell-based therapies for age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and inherited retinal degeneration. Prior to joining UC San Diego Health in 2008, he was an ophthalmologist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation and University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Zhang was a fellow in vitreoretinal disease and surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He completed residency training at Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He earned a medical degree and doctorate in genetics from the Harvard-MIT MD-PhD Program.