SOCIAL Ming Wang Film Preview Event

BY BRENDA BATEY

PHOTOS BY BRENDA BATEY

Eye surgeon Dr. Ming Wang, founder of the Wang Vision Institute, held an event at the Steinway Piano Gallery where guests could view a preview of the film about his life, “Sight.”

Adapted from his autobiography, the biopic is about Wang as a pioneering medical entrepreneur, with the lead portrayed by actor Terry Chen. Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning Greg Kinnear plays a friend and mentor to Wang.

The story chronicles Wang’s rise from poverty and violence growing up in 1960s rural China, to his migration to the U.S. It shows his struggles with racial discrimination and rise to become a world-class surgeon, who would design new technology to help restore sight to millions.

Guests at the party enjoyed numerous types of Papa John’s pizza, as well as several kinds of wine.

Wang, a Harvard and MIT graduate with MD and PhD degrees, is one of the few laser eye surgeons in the world today who hold a doctorate degree in laser physics.

Amniotic membrane contact lens, invented by Wang and for which he holds two U.S. patents, has been used by tens of thousands of eye doctors in nearly every nation in the world, and millions of patients have had their eyesight restored with the lens.

Wang has been involved in numerous charitable endeavors through the years and he established the Wang Foundation for Sight Restoration. It has helped patients from more than 40 states in the U.S. and 55 countries, with all sight restoration surgeries performed free-of-charge.

He is co-founder of the non-profit Common Ground Network, which teaches individuals and organizations steps to enable them to be more successful in finding common ground and solutions in today’s polarized world.

In addition, Wang has received numerous awards including the Honor Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Association of Chinese American Physicians, an honorary doctorate degree from Trevecca Nazarene University, NPR’s Philanthropist of the Year Award, and Kiwanis Nashvillian of the Year Award for his lifetime dedication to helping blind orphan children from around the world.