Dr Mark Chia

About Mark

Mark Chia is an eye doctor with a passion for improving health equity amongst rural and Indigenous communities. He was awarded a Group of Eight Scholarship to study medicine at the University of Western Australia where he graduated with Honours. He completed a Master of Medicine (Clinical Epidemiology) at the University of Sydney as the top-scoring student. After working for two years as a junior doctor, Mark spent a year delivering outreach eye care across outback WA on the Lions Outback Vision Van.

Away from his clinical work, Mark has held several health leadership positions, advocating for junior doctor wellbeing and mentoring junior medical graduates. He enjoys the challenge of competing in endurance events, including ultramarathons and Ironman triathlons.

As a 2021 John Monash Scholar, Mark completed a PhD in Ophthalmology at University College London in collaboration with Moorfields Eye Hospital and the Lions Eye Institute. His research focused on applying artificial intelligence and advanced retinal imaging to improve diabetic eye care for Indigenous Australians. He contributed to a pilot AI screening project led by Professor Angus Turner that won the $5 million Pilbara Challenge prize, and was a key contributor to the first open-source foundation model for retinal images, published in Nature.

Mark returned to Australia in 2024 to continue his surgical training through the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital.