Jing (Meghan) Shan, MD, PhD, receives the 2022 Irene Perstein Award

Jing (Meghan) Shan, MD, PhD, joined the UCSF Department of Ophthalmology as an Assistant Professor in October 2021. Her STEM career began in Canada as a National Gold Medalist in the Fermat Mathematics Competition followed by completing her undergraduate degree at Columbia University’s Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science Summa Cum Laude in Biomedical Engineering. She went on to the combined Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) MD-PhD program, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the Division of Health Sciences and Technology. 

While at MIT for her PhD in Medical Engineering and Medical Physics, Dr. Shan helped develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to study formerly inaccessible aspects of liver biology and drug bioactivity. These tools have subsequently empowered studies into drug discovery, cell biology, and organ regeneration, culminating in translational data in a clinically relevant liver failure model. In addition to multiple patented technologies, her PhD thesis work has led to numerous high-impact publications, including in sister journals of Nature and Cell. 

As a clinician, Dr. Shan underwent ophthalmology residency training at the University of Southern California, followed by a glaucoma fellowship at UCSF. She continued research at the interface of engineering and medicine, now geared towards developing and using engineering tools to enhance healthcare. Her work adopts engineering solutions to address glaucoma specialists’ daily challenges in managing this complex disease. Dr. Shan introduces quantitative methods for analyzing diagnostic testing to further our understanding of glaucoma pathophysiology and propose objective improvements to current subjective practices in glaucoma diagnosis and management. 

Projects funded by the Perstein Award leverage deep learning to address critical open questions regarding whether an automated image processing algorithm can empower population-based glaucoma screening to prevent irreversible vision loss, thereby furthering the development of accurate and scalable AI screening tools for this leading cause of blindness worldwide. 

“I am extremely honored to be this year’s recipient of the Irene Perstein Award.,” said Dr. Shan. “It has provided crucial resources for building essential infrastructures to power AI tool development for healthcare. As a fellow, I was a direct beneficiary of UCSF’s stimulating and nurturing environment. I am now thrilled to contribute to this vibrant community, supported by the unique platform of the Irene Perstein Award.”