While he is new to the role of Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation Research Chair in Ophthalmology, Dr. Edsel Ing (pictured centre) knows the importance of a strong foundation. His vision for the future integrates building off the successes of his predecessors.

“A University Chair is nothing without his team,” he stated, shortly after being announced as the new Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation Research Chair in Ophthalmology, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Alberta and the AHS Chief of Ophthalmology for the Edmonton Zone. Effective August 1, 2023, he took over these three positions. Funded by the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, the Research Chair in Ophthalmology is an endowment established to support ophthalmic research at the University of Alberta and the Eye Institute of Alberta, located at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. 

Through the years, this partnership has led to many benefits and improved outcomes for patients seeking eye care at the Eye Institute of Alberta. The Institute is the proud home of the only hospital-based eye treatment centre in northern Alberta, treating conditions from infections to genetic disorders that cause blindness as well as urgent eye trauma, and serving thousands of patients every year. It is also internationally recognized for its work in ophthalmology research, providing valuable training and experience for current and future ophthalmologists.

A recent report from former Chair Ian McDonald noted, “We are witnessing the future of precision medicine. The Royal Alexandra Hospital and Eye Institute of Alberta will be part of that patient journey now and into the future.”

So, too, will Dr. Edsel Ing. His role will be to foster and maintain collaborative research across disciplines, provide mentorship opportunities, and strengthen the partnership between the Royal Alexandra Hospital and the University of Alberta.

In providing insight into his vision for his initial five-year term, he outlined goals in four focus areas: clinical, research, education, and diversity and inclusion. These goals build from the excellent foundation of his predecessors including the most recent former chairs such as Dr. Ian MacDonald (pictured left), Dr. Chris Rudnisky (pictured right), as well as Dr. Karim Damji, Dr. Mark Greve, and Dr. Garry Drummond.

Dr. Ing’s specific goals include, “To champion patient care and physician wellness, advance translational ophthalmology discovery, continue the Eye Institute of Alberta’s trajectory as a leading ophthalmology residency program in North America… to enable, through the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation, equity, diversity and inclusion via two ophthalmic technician scholarships for local and northern Alberta Indigenous or under-represented minorities… and, to establish a network of sister eye hospitals throughout the world.”

His goals may be ambitious, but with the support of the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation for its Research Chair in Ophthalmology, his vision can come into focus much sooner.