This fellowship will combine the strengths of the refractive surgery service, corneal disease service and basic science/clinical research into a single program that will offer the most comprehensive and advanced academic training in the subspecialty of corneal diseases and surgery, and refractive surgery.
This combined program will offer a comprehensive, high quality educational experience to candidates interested in becoming expert in treating patients with diseases of the anterior segment of the eye, performing refractive surgery and conducting research.
Fellowship Program Director
Steven E. Wilson, MD
Teaching Faculty
The fellowship program will encompass comprehensive active clinical practice in the fields of cornea, external disease and keratorefractive surgery geared to treat not only the common clinical problems encountered in this field but also the most challenging cases referred to a tertiary-care level institution. These include high-risk corneal transplantation, ocular surface reconstruction with amniotic membrane grafting, limbal stem cell grafting, treatment of inflammatory diseases of the eye and management of surgical complications.
During the one-year program, the active clinical experience will provide candidates with the opportunity to participate in relevant clinical investigation trials that would allow implementation of new technologies and concepts being developed in these fields.
An environment of translational research will be provided by promoting the candidates to work in basic science research provided by laboratories at the Cole Eye Institute dedicated to the study of corneal cell biology, physiology, wound healing, immunological responses, anterior segment imaging and physiologic optics.
The overall goal of the fellowship program is to train the next generation of academic leaders in the field of corneal external diseases and refractive surgery by providing an excellent academic environment with mentorship support.
Fellows will be expected to do research at the basic science level or clinical arena. Four months per year (eight total) of completely dedicated research time has been incorporated into the schedule so fellows can devote a substantial amount of the time to their projects. The faculty of both services has the capacity to provide research projects at the basic science level, as well as the clinical service, and this will be supervised throughout the trainee’s time at the Cole Eye Institute. The research will be performed at the Department of Ophthalmic Research at the Cole Eye Institute and in the clinical suites. At present, the principal investigator in our department committed to the basic science research of the anterior segment will provide funding for materials and resources for trainees to do their research. Trainees will be encouraged to apply for independent fellowship grants and awards.
As an important part of their principal responsibility, fellows will teach and give didactic lectures to residents. They will be available during the clinic time while residents rotate through the cornea and refractive surgery service and should expect to participate in cornea rounds and conferences every other week. Moreover, fellows will be integrated into the residency conference program to give lectures on different topics regarding this field.
Key accomplishments by our team of cornea and refractive surgery specialists
Refractive Surgery
- More than 2,000 refractive procedures performed each year: LASIK, PRK, LASEK, and customized ablation
- Investigational clinical trials in Custom Cornea
Corneal and External Disease
- Treatment of corneal diseases: infection, dystrophies, immunology
Corneal Research
- Corneal cell biology and wound healing
- Corneal immunology and inflammation
- Anterior segment imaging and physiologic optics
- Advanced laser technology
- Gene therapy
