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Vitreoretinal Diseases & Surgery Fellowship

The Vitreoretinal Diseases & Surgery Fellowship is a two-year medical and surgical program. Our retina fellowship programs are ideal for ophthalmology residency graduates seeking advanced subspecialty training. Our programs provide intensive medical and surgical training curricula designed to develop management expertise in vitreoretinal diseases, ranging from common conditions to never-before described diseases.

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AUPO FCC Compliant

 Training Sites

Most of the clinical, surgical and research activity occurs at the Sorrel Rosin Eye Center, located on the Northwestern medical campus in downtown Chicago. Our surgical fellows also work closely with colleagues at Retina Services of Illinois, LLC, a nearby private practice group affiliated with Northwestern for many years. Opportunities to care for children with complex ophthalmologic and retinal diseases occurs at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, also located downtown. The proximity of these training sites permits convenient collaboration in patient management, didactic programs and research.

 Education

Fellows gain experience with state-of-the-art retinal imaging technologies, such as optical coherence tomography angiography (OCT-A), fundus autofluorescence, wide-field fluorescein and indocyanine green angiography and ultrasound biomicroscopy. Our comprehensive educational program includes journal clubs, case conferences, imaging conferences and grand rounds. Active engagement in resident and medical student teaching is an integral part of these fellowships.

 Research

Fellows actively engage in various investigations, are expected to culminate in a major meeting presentation and peer-reviewed publication. Other scholarly activities include writing book chapters and review articles, book reviews and participating in the peer review process for articles submitted to major ophthalmology journals.

 How to Apply

One medical position and one surgical fellowship position is offered each year. Applications may be obtained through the San Francisco Match website. Please also send a photograph and copy of your CV to Alicia Frasz.

Prospective fellows must successfully complete a residency in ophthalmology, be ABO board-eligible in ophthalmology and be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident or have appropriate visa status. Applicants from outside the United States must have passed the USMLE examination and be able to secure an Illinois State Medical license.

The application deadline is Sept. 1 for training beginning in July.

The surgical retina fellowship program is AUPO FCC compliant. The fellowship is overseen by the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University.

 Why Northwestern?

Millennium Fountain in ChicagoHousestaff training through McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University provides diverse and challenging clinical experiences and world-class education located in the heart of the beautiful city of Chicago. Learn more via the links to the McGaw website below.

 

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Meet Our Team

Program Director

Dr. Gill"We believe in training physicians who will be knowledgeable, skilled and compassionate retinal specialists."
Manjot K. Gill, MD

Associate Program Director

Dr. Mirza
Rukhsana G. Mirza, MD

Current Fellows

First-Year Fellow

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Muhammad Shamim, MD

Residency: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Second-Year Fellow

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Ivy Zhu, MD

Residency: University of Illinois at Chicago

Video of Current Fellow Experience

Recent Alumni

  • Tony Chen, MD (2021-2023), residency at University of Illinois at Chicago
  • Hassan Tausif, MD (2020-2022), residency at Oakland University William Beaumont Hospital
  • Omar Hassan, MD (2019-2021), residency at University of Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary
  • Neil Kalbag, MD (2018-2020, residency at Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ)
  • Will Carroll, MD (2017-2019, residency at Emory University)
  • Ilya Leskov, MD (2016-2018, residency at Mass Eye and Ear Infirmary)

For more information, contact program administrator Alicia Piatkowski at alicia.frasz@northwestern.edu or 312-503-3649.

Physician-Scientist Training & Resources

We offer a wide range of resources, mentorship opportunities and training to help our fellows excel as physician-scientists. Explore all of the resources and hear from housestaff who are making research a major part of their career development plans.

Visit the Starzl Academy Site

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