Mina Chung, MD - Caring Clinician, Educator & Researcher
About Mina Chung, MD
As a 3rd-year resident at the Doheny Eye Institute University of Southern California, Mina Chung, MD, came across a young patient with strabismus. She invited her chief resident, Timothy Stout MD, PhD, MB.A, who is now the Chair of Ophthalmology at the Baylor School of Medicine, to help her evaluate the patient. Shortly after presenting her patient, Chung introduced four other siblings sitting behind in the room, all of whom had the same type of strabismus. Based on her clinical assessment, Chung diagnosed her patient and the patient’s siblings with Duane Retraction Syndrome, a congenital eye movement disorder. As she spoke with the patient’s mother, Chung learned that half of the patient’s extended family all had strabismus, with some living in the Los Angeles area and the majority living in Oaxaca, Mexico. Chung constructed a pedigree of about 170 family members, many of whom presumably had the same type of strabismus, and intuitively saw a unique opportunity to collect enough samples to map the gene linked to this syndrome.
Chung successfully applied and received a grant to investigate her hypothesis. Chung and Stout drove to the various families in the Los Angeles area and drew blood from approximately 50 patients. To reach the remaining family members who lived in Oaxaca, Mexico, Chung and Stout collaborated with Mark Bochert MD of the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, and traveled to small remote villages in Oaxaca, collecting blood specimens from an additional 70 patients. Chung spoke reminiscently of her trip to Mexico, of adventuring through dirt roads by jeep and donkey in search of families in remote villages, of interviewing and collecting blood samples from the various family members, and of being invited for simple meals in the houses of these families. The team later returned to Los Angeles with the samples, and, with a team of geneticists, successfully mapped the gene linked to Duane Retraction Syndrome to Chromosome 2q31.
This project reflected the characteristics that transformed Chung into an incredibly talented and successful research clinician, only for her career to be tragically shortened in a ski accident on February 13, 2020 in the Bus de Tofana in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. She began with an observation and hypothesis, devised a plan to investigate her hypothesis, and implemented her plan with diligence, precision, and tenacity, all the while enjoying the process and adventure of reaching her objective.
Chung cultivated her research interest early, first studying fruit flies as an undergraduate at Yale University, where she graduated in 1990. She thereupon graduated cum laude from the Yale School of Medicine in 1994 and completed her residency in ophthalmology at the Doheny Eye Institute University of Southern California in 1998. After completing her fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery at the University of Iowa in 2000, she returned to the University of Southern California as chief resident for not just one but two years, where she gained invaluable experience in adult and pediatric vitreoretinal surgery as a junior faculty member at the Los Angeles County Hospital. Accepting this position required audacity, compassion, and resolve, as the chief resident received minimal guidance and assistance, while providing high-quality care to the large volume of patients at the County Hospital. Steven Feldon, MD, then chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, soon after recruited Chung to join the faculty in 2002, whereupon she single-handedly started the vitreoretinal surgical division.
Chung maintained her interest in the genetic basis for inherited eye diseases. In her early years as an attending faculty member at the Flaum Eye Institute at the University of Rochester, Chung received a K08 Research Career Development Award from the National Institute of Health and was mentored by Ed Stone, MD, PhD, of the University of Iowa, where she worked with Stone’s laboratory one week every month while practicing at the University of Rochester Medical Center. As a testimony to her work in inherited retinal diseases, the University of Iowa posthumously created the Mina Chung Fellowship in 2022, a one-year fellowship allowing trainees to study inherited eye diseases.
At the University of Rochester’s Flaum Eye Institute, Chung developed an interest in the in vivo applications of adaptive optics imaging of the retina. In collaboration with outstanding science and research faculty , including David Williams, PhD, William Merigan Jr., PhD, and Jesse Schallek, PhD, Chung applied in vivo adaptive optics techniques to image individual cells of the retina in the adult population as well as in patients with age-related macular degeneration, macular telangiectasia, and degenerative inherited retinal diseases. This novel in vivo imaging of individual cells in the retina allows early detection of many retinal diseases, as well as the assessment of disease progression and response to intervention. Chung received funding from the National Institute of Health and National Eye Institute and helped to secure funding for the Flaum Eye Institute from private foundations and commercial contracts, in support of her research in adaptive optics imaging and various sporadic and inherited eye diseases. Her work contributed to the scientific literature on many conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa, fundus albipunctatus, Stargardt disease, macular telangiectasia, Best disease, Leber congenital amaurosis, cone-rod dystrophy, Batten disease and tritanopia. Chung continued to collaborate with Ed Stone of the University of Iowa, seeking to integrate his expertise in molecular genetics and gene therapy with the expertise of adaptive optics at the University of Rochester.
Throughout her training and post-graduate years as a faculty clinician, Chung practiced with the utmost compassion, kindness, and dedication to patients, bringing a culture of clinical excellence to the Flaum Eye Institute. Her sub-specialty expertise in pediatric retina and inherited eye diseases provided the world-class neonatal and pediatric care needed at the Golisano Children’s Hospital, drawing patients from the region as well as worldwide. She was instrumental in helping James Acquavella, MD, build one of the largest centers for pediatric artificial corneal transplantation. In their pioneering spirt, Chung and Ajay Kuriyan, MD implanted the first Argus2 retinal prosthesis at the Flaum Eye Institute, establishing the first program of its kind in New York State.
Chung carried her passion for patient care to teaching and mentoring the many residents and fellows who were fortunate to cross paths with her. Chung acted as program director for the Ophthalmology Residency Program for many years at the Flaum Eye Institute and with long-time friend and colleague, David Diloreto, MD, PhD, who is now chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and director of the Flaum Eye Institute, established the vitreoretinal fellowship in 2005. Chung took an active interest in supporting the careers of women in ophthalmology. She was a board member of the Women in Retina Section, an organization within the American Society of Retina Specialists, beginning in 2015, and was planning to act as vice chair in 2020. In honor of Chung’s legacy, the Women in Retina established the Mina Chung Memorial Award in 2020, providing funding for a selected woman training in vitreoretinal fellowship every year to attend the American Society of Retina Specialists annual conference.
Chung is survived by her husband, Edward Lin, MD, MBA, their samoyed, Nika, her mother, Heeja Chung, and her brother, Ernest Chung, and family. She was born on December 1, 1968 in New York City and grew up in Scarsdale, New York. She was an accomplished pianist, graduating from the Juilliard School Pre-college Division in 1985, and continuing her studies in performance at Yale University. She was an avid skier and marathon runner, having completed eight marathons, with her last at the age of 50 in Marathon, Greece.
Chung will always be remembered for her diligence, compassion, and dedication to patient care, education, and scientific knowledge, as well as her smile, generosity, and sense of adventure. The Dr. Mina M. Chung Professorship will continue her academic spirit in perpetuity at the University of Rochester’s Flaum Eye Institute, securing her legacy as a most gifted and brilliant research clinician.