Biography

Born in Saigon, Vietnam, and immigrated with his parents and three brothers to the United States in 1980, Dr. Quan Dong Nguyen currently is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine. 

Dr. Nguyen received his baccalaureate from the Phillips Exeter Academy and his bachelor and Master of Science degrees simultaneously in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University.  Subsequently, he earned his medical degree at the University of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine. He completed an internship in Internal Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and a residency in Ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Nguyen also completed fellowships in Immunology and Uveitis at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Ocular Immunology at the Wilmer Eye Institute of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, and medical and surgical retina at the Schepens Eye Research Institute and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

After completing his education in 2001, Dr. Nguyen joined the faculty at the Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, as Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of Medical Education.  In 2013, he was appointed as the McGaw Endowed Chair in Ophthalmology, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology and the Inaugural Director of the Stanley M. Truhlsen Eye Institute, and Assistant Dean for Translational Research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.  

Dr. Nguyen serves as principal investigator on multiple clinical trials sponsored by the National Eye Institute and other organizations for macular edema (from diabetes and uveitis), neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD), and ocular inflammatory and uveitic diseases, as well as co-investigator on numerous other clinical trials involving novel therapeutic agents.  Dr. Nguyen is known for his innovative work in early proof-of-concept, first-in-human clinical trials to evaluate potential pharmacotherapeutic agents for retinal vascular and uveitic diseases.  Dr. Nguyen and his team were among the first clinician scientists in the world to evaluate aflibercept for neovascular AMD and ranibizumab for diabetic macular edema (DME); the initial results of these studies served as the foundation for subsequent trials leading to the approval of these pharmacologic agents by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for the indicated diseases.  Dr. Nguyen has chaired the United States multi-center READ-2, READ-3, and iDEAL studies, evaluating the potential role of VEGF antagonists, through different pathways, for diabetic macular edema.

Dr. Nguyen has lead the SAVE, and the multi-centered SAVE-2, and STOP-UVEITIS studies to evaluate the role of new pharmacologic agents, including specific interleukin inhibition, in uveitis and ocular inflammatory diseases.

Dr. Nguyen has been elected to many prestigious national and international professional organizations, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Macula Society, the Retina Society, the American Society of Retina Specialists, the American Uveitis Society, the International Ocular Inflammation Society, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the Club Jules Gonin, and the American Ophthalmological Society.  

Throughout his career thus far, Dr. Nguyen has been prolific to share his scientific work through numerous manuscripts published in the literature.  He serves on the Editorial Board of several journals, including the Journal of Ophthalmic Infection and Inflammation and Ophthalmic Surgery, Laser, and Imaging – Retina, among others.  Given his scientific achievements and accomplishments, Dr. Nguyen has been chosen as the Inaugural Editor-in-Chief of American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports, which has been launched in the fall of 2015 as the companion journal to the American Journal of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Nguyen has been very active in Vietnamese medical professional organizations since 1992 when he was still a medical student.  In 2004, Dr. Nguyen became the first US medical school graduate to lead the Vietnamese American Medical Association (VAMA) as President; Dr. Nguyen was re-elected as President of the VAMA in 2007 and served until 2010. Dr. Nguyen also served as President of the Vietnamese Medical Association of the Free World from 2005 to 2008.  Most recently, Dr. Nguyen has been elected as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the VAMA (2016-2019).

At the Byers Eye Institute at Stanford, Dr. Nguyen has an active clinical and surgical retina practice as well as uveitis and ocular inflammatory diseases while he continues his research in pharmacotherapy and ocular imaging for retinal and uveitic diseases. In addition, he teaches and trains students, residents, and clinical and research retina and uveitis fellows at Stanford.