The National Eye Institute (NEI) offers one- and two-year post-residency clinical fellowships in uveitis and ocular immunology. The fellowships encompass clinical training in the diagnosis of uveitis utilizing cutting edge technology and broad experience in the medical and surgical management of patients with uveitis and immune-mediated diseases, with time allocated for translationalor clinical research. There is also the option to do a combined uveitis/medical-retina fellowship while still preserving protected research time. Fellows are involved in management of immunosuppressive regimens and continued follow-up of their patients and are staffed by the uveitis faculty. There are several regular weekly didactic sessions primarily for trainees as well as the opportunity to attend many other meetings organized by NIH and local ophthalmology community in the greater DC area.
Referrals to the ocular immunology and uveitis service come from all over the world, with about 1,200 patient visits per year. The clinical faculty members for the uveitis service include:
| Doctor | Title/Department | |
|---|---|---|
| H. Nida Sen, M.D., M.H.Sc. | Chair, Uveitis and Ocular Immunology Fellowship Program | |
| Chinwenwa Okeagu, MD | Staff Clinician, Uveitis and Consult Services | |
| Henry Wiley, MD | Staff Clinician, Vitreoretinal Surgery | |
| Leslie Jones, MD | Consultant, Glaucoma | leslie.jones2@nih.gov |
| Catherine Cukras, MD | Clinical Investigator, Medical Retina | |
| Laryssa Huryn, MD | Staff Clinician, Ocular Genetics and Visual Function |
In addition, the NEI has a large staff of immunologists, basic-research and clinician scientists, biostatisticians and clinical trial specialists who interact with the clinical fellowship program. The goal of the fellowships is to train academically-minded uveitis specialists. Fellows will learn to institute and manage immunosuppressive agents for the treatment of severe inflammatory eye diseases. Many of the patients seen at the NEI are subsequently enrolled into clinical trials. Fellows will have the opportunity to participate in designing and conducting clinical trials and will develop the ability to write clinical research protocols.
The NIH offers clinical fellows a competitive salary and benefits package. Candidates must hold an M.D. or equivalent degree, have completed at least 3 years of training in ophthalmology and be American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) eligible. The deadline to submit applications is September 30. Fellowships begin in July of the following year. Please refer to the San Francisco Matching Program (www.sfmatch.org) website to register for the match and apply to the program.
If you have any questions regarding the fellowship program you may contact:
H. Nida Sen, M.D., M.H.Sc.
Program Chair, Uveitis and Ocular Immunology Fellowship
National Eye Institute
National Institutes of Health
10 Center Drive, Bldg. 10 Rm. 10N112
Bethesda, MD 20892
Tel: 301-435-5139
Fax: 301-480-5798
E-mail: senh@nei.nih.gov
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