The Vitreoretinal Fellowship Program is comprised of clinical training, research and teaching components.

• Clinical Training: Clinical training includes time spent in the office with the vitreoretinal patients of Glenn Jaffe, MD, Brooks McCuen, MD, Eric Postel, MD, and Cynthia Toth, MD, and participating in vitreous and retinal surgery. Additional time is spent in activities such as specialized vitreo-retinal conferences, vitreoretinal rounds and fluorescein angiography interpretation.
• Research: The Duke program is oriented towards the development of academic vitreoretinal surgeons. Research training plays an important part in our program. Currently, we offer two different options for fellowship training. Individuals may select option 1 alone, option 2 alone or both options when completing the match lists.

1. A two-year clinical fellowship during which research time will be made available. Typically, clinical research projects or translational research projects are undertaken with guidance from one of the vitreoretinal faculty members.
2. A three-year vitreoretinal fellowship program. The first year is devoted primarily (approximately 80%) to research. Research projects may include clinically oriented basic research, translational research or clinical research under the supervision of a basic science and/or clinical vitreoretinal faculty member. Multi-disciplinary projects are strongly encouraged. During this year, there will be ample opportunities to interact with members of the Duke Ophthalmology clinical and basic science faculty, in addition to basic and clinical faculty members in other Duke departments. Laboratory facilities, equipment, etc. will be made available. The last two years are spent completing the clinical fellowship described above.

• Teaching: Vitreoretinal fellows are expected to spend time supervising residents, both at Duke and at the Durham VA Hospital on cases involving vitreous and retinal problems. This also involves assisting the residents in retinal detachment, ocular trauma surgical cases and cataract extractions.

The following applies to both the Vitreoretinal and Medical Retina Programs:

Didactics

Clinical Trials

Duke Eye Center has been, and continues to be, a main study site for many industry-sponsored clinical trials. For FDA regulatory reasons, these trials are generally under the direct auspices of the retina faculty primary investigator. In certain circumstances, the fellow may play an active role in such clinical trials. With several clinical trials ongoing at any given time, the fellow will gain a firsthand understanding of clinical trial operations and procedures. 

Fluorescein Angiography Conference 

During the academic year, a weekly fluorescein conference is held every Wednesday at 7am. This conference is organized and conducted by the medical retina fellow, the two first-year surgical retina fellows, and the ophthalmology resident on the retina rotation. A rotating schedule is developed wherein each person conducts approximately one fluorescein conference per month. 

During the fluorescein conference, the fellow presents interesting cases that illustrate a particular disease or physical finding. The fellow presents the case and calls upon the residents to describe and diagnose the physical findings. The fellow will then provide a summary of the disease topic and quote the literature in reviewing current standards of management. The retina faculty fully participate in these discussions. 

The retina fellows, retina faculty, residents, research fellows and several private practitioners attend the fluorescein conferences. 

Vitreoretinal Rounds

As part of a longstanding Duke Eye Center tradition, vitreoretinal rounds are held weekly during the academic year. These rounds alternate between Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings. In these rounds, which are attended by the retina faculty, retina fellows and retina research fellows, the surgical fellows will review challenging vitreoretinal cases. The retina faculty participate in and facilitate these discussions. Despite this being primarily a surgical conference, it is a valuable conference for the medical retina fellow to attend. 

Journal Clubs

During the academic year, a journal club is held at a faculty member’s home each month. This is attended by all of the retina faculty, the retina fellows, the research fellows, and the retina resident. The evening begins with a catered dinner followed by a presentation and discussion of selected articles by each fellow. The evening concludes with dessert.

Other Lectures

There are numerous lectures and seminars ongoing at the Duke Eye Center and the Duke Medical Center at any given time, which all fellows may attend. 

National and International Conferences

The medical retina fellow is encouraged to attend conferences pertinent to his/her interest. The fellow must be sure that clinic responsibilities are covered prior to attending a conference. The fellow is encouraged to present cases at various national fluorescein angiography conferences, in particular the Annual Atlantic Coast Fluorescein Conference. Such conferences are excellent learning resources for the fellow and an important opportunity to network with retina colleagues. 

Fellowships For Foreign Nationals

Because of licensing difficulties, we are not able to offer clinical fellowships to individuals who are not US citizens or permanent immigrants. We do have research fellows at the Duke Eye Center from all over the world. These fellows spend a year or more on our research team participating in a variety of clinically related ophthalmology research projects. During this time there is ample opportunity for observation, both in our vitreoretinal clinics as well as in surgery. More information regarding the Research Fellowship Program is also available. 

Alternatively, we have many visitors who come for a maximum of one month merely to observe vitreoretinal clinics and surgery. This can certainly be arranged if you would prefer. If you would like to come for a short visit or further inquire about the fellowship, then please contact: Duke Eye Center, Box 3802, Durham, North Carolina 27710, and telephone (919) 684-3316.