Background

Background

The roots of the ophthalmology Residency Program at the Cleveland Clinic trace back to 1935, at which time the first official ophthalmology resident began training. In 1949, the Residency Program received ACGME certification, typically training two or three residents per year.

In 1976, the Cleveland Clinic ophthalmology residency program was expanded to four residents per year under the transformative leadership of Froncie Gutman, MD (Department Chair, 1969-1991), a renowned retina specialist and former President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He appointed Roger H.S. Langston, MD, a fellowship-trained cornea specialist, as the first Residency Program Director, a position which he held for 25 years of his forty year career at the Cleveland Clinic.

In 1994, under the tenure of Dr. Gutman's successor, acclaimed retina specialist Hilel Lewis, MD (Department Chair, 1993-2008), the Cole Eye Institute as an entity was born. Following a multi-year fundraising campaign, in 1999 the ophthalmology department was relocated to the building now known as the Cole Eye Institute, a 130,000 square foot state-of-the-art outpatient facility in which research, clinical care, and education are seamlessly integrated.

In 2001, Elias I. Traboulsi, MD, MEd, a fellowship-trained pediatric ophthalmologist and board-certified geneticist, succeeded Dr. Langston as the Residency Program Director, further elevating the reputation of the program as one of the premier academic institutions in the nation.

In 2008, Daniel F. Martin, MD (Department Chair, 2008-present), an internationally-recognized retina and uveitis specialist and leader of numerous landmark clinical trials, was appointed Chairman of the Cole Eye Institute. Under his leadership, the Cole Eye Institute solidified its standing as a top-ten ophthalmology department in the United States and increased its reach and reputation to unsurpassed heights.

In 2014, Jeffrey M. Goshe, MD, a fellowship-trained cornea specialist and former Chief Resident of the Cole Eye Institute, succeeded Dr. Traboulsi as Residency Program Director. During Dr. Goshe's tenure, a year-long pre-surgical training program was instituted and resident surgical experience was prioritized, reflected by resident surgical volumes soaring into the top 10% of programs nationally.

In 2022, the Cole Eye Institute residency officially became a 48 month integrated training program. Simultaneously, the resident complement increased from four residents per year to five per year, a reflection of the sustained growth of the department and in response to a wealth of currently untapped educational opportunities. Katherine Talcott, MD, vitreoretinal surgeon and former Chief Resident at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, assumed the position Associate Program Director to direct the PGY-1 training and assist with the day-to-day administration of the residency program.

MetroHealth Medical Center

The Cole Eye Institute has partnered with Cuyahoga County MetroHealth Medical Center for more than twenty years to provide ophthalmologic care to residents of the greater Cleveland metropolitan area. Cole Eye Institute residents spend approximately one third of their residency rotating at MetroHealth, spread across the three years of clinical training. The ophthalmology service is structured as a resident-run clinic in which residents are supervised by experienced comprehensive and subspecialty physicians covering the entire spectrum of ophthalmologic care. A number of Cole Eye Institute staff physicians are dually credentialed at MetroHealth Medical Center, providing educational continuity and further reinforcing the symbiotic relationship between the two institutions.

Accreditation

Our residency program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) and fulfills all requirements of the American Board of Ophthalmology.

Residents Rotations Surgical Training Education Call Structure Research Apply/Benefits