Dr. Lingjun Zhang is a first-year student in NECO’s Advanced Optometry Doctorate Program (AODP). Her journey brought her to NECO after many years of study and research in China and at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. The beginning of her doctoral and medical journey started in Shijiazhuang, China at Hebei Medical University where she earned her MD. Following that, Dr. Zhang elected to study the eye more in depth and began a PhD in Ophthalmology at Tianjin Medical University in Tianjin, China. 

During her PhD program, Lingjun was accepted into the Predoctoral Fellowship program at the Department of Inflammation & Immunity at the Cleveland Clinic. Over the next four years, Dr. Zhang completed multiple studies and published papers exploring the role of complement in ocular and hematological disorders, and investigating pericyte damage through complement activation during diabetic retinopathy.

Following her four years as a Predoctoral researcher, Dr. Zhang officially completed her PhD in Ophthalmology and accepted a position as a full time Science Researcher focusing on Immuno-Ophthalmology at the Cleveland Clinic. For the next five years, Dr. Zhang was actively involved in an R01 grant from the National Eye Institute investigating the role of CD6 (a T-cell marker) in the pathogenesis of autoimmune uveitis. In total, she authored sixteen published articles throughout her time at the Cleveland Clinic, and she continues working on her paper manuscripts during her studies at NECO. The most recent manuscript is “A CD6-targeted antibody-drug conjugate as a potential therapy for T cell-mediated disorders”, published in JCI insight in November 2023.

 

Over her years of research, Dr. Zhang became increasingly interested in patient interaction and patient care. She desired to help people in a new way, and to help change the way people see the world through clinical care. “Working in the research field is rewarding. However, for many international medical students in the United States, we often feel that the research world isolates us from knowing the patient’s needs, which requires interacting with, and treating them directly.” explains Dr. Zhang. “Many of us go into nursing or physician assistant programs to try and get back into patient care, but for me that was not specific enough to my passion for the eye.”

Dr. Zhang recalls her experiences as a child growing up outside one of China’s larger cities.  It was difficult to access doctors, and eye care was especially hard to receive.  Access to health care involved having to go into a major city, which was very costly. These experiences left a lasting impact on Dr. Zhang, and she was inspired to go into medicine to help people in communities where healthcare isn’t easily accessible. Though her journey wasn’t as straightforward as she imagined it to be, she is proud of her accomplishments and confident that she made the right choice.

“I want my international peers who have had a similar experience to know that our unique journey is neither bad nor anything to regret,” shares Dr. Zhang. “We have all taken our own path and there was never a wrong turn. It was certainly much longer than I expected, but I would not change anything about how I got to where I am today.” 

While there were many paths that would get her to patient care, she credits her mentor and interaction with study participants as the main reason why she decided to pursue optometry. Dr. Zhang’s expertise and study in eye care presented a unique opportunity to train further in treating and caring for patients with eye disease, and NECO’s accelerated program offered the chance to treat patients much sooner compared to other programs.  

There are many reasons why Dr. Zhang chose NECO.  The school offers the unique experience of training at community health centers, providing exposure to patients from different communities and backgrounds.  The medical community and network in Boston is also highly advanced, further enhancing her clinical training.

Even after just one semester, Dr. Zhang has discovered new interests in eye care. Her exposure to pediatric optometry and learning about early detection of eye diseases in childhood has sparked a new passion for treating children and educating parents about the importance of eye care.

Dr. Zhang is committed to learning how to provide the best eye care possible. Her experiences highlight the many unique journeys that NECO students take to become an optometrist, and she hopes to continue the school’s longstanding tradition of changing the way people see the world as a future optometrist.