About the Program

The Uveitis and Medical Retina Fellowship at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is a 1-year AUPO certified clinical and research fellowship that encompasses both uveitis and medical retina training. Throughout the fellowship, fellows will gain experience in the diagnosis and management of inflammatory ocular conditions and in the medical management of adult and pediatric vitreoretinal disease. Our goal is to provide our Uveitis and Medical Retina Fellows with a comprehensive training experience and give them the necessary tools to succeed in academic medicine or private practice.

One fellow will be chosen through the 2021 match program. The fellowship starts on July 7, 2022 and ends on July 6, 2023. Stipends are provided at the PGY5 level. 24 days of vacation per year are available as provided in the University system.

Clinical Opportunities and Responsibilities

The Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary Uveitis and Retina services evaluate patients from the surrounding underserved neighborhoods who may not have early access to care and can present with severe and vision threatening ocular diseases. It is a tertiary referral center and evaluates patient consults for a second or third opinion of complex ocular diseases.

Uveitis fellows will learn to diagnosis and treat ocular inflammatory conditions such as anterior, intermediate, posterior and panuveitis as well as scleritis and episcleritis. Fellows will learn to evaluate patients with ocular inflammation due to infectious conditions such as syphilis, tuberculosis and herpes viruses as well as autoimmune conditions such as sarcoidosis, Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease and Behcet’s disease, in addition to a number of other entities. Fellows will also learn the management of these conditions including the need for ocular fluid sampling, intravitreal injections, and steroid-sparing immunosuppressive therapies with methotrexate, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, cyclosporine, biologics and alkylators. Fellows will perform and assist with complex uveitic cataract surgeries, and will have the opportunity to staff cataract surgeries with residents.

In addition to spending time in the uveitis clinics, the fellows will also participate in the care of patients of our Retina Service Faculty (Dr. Jennifer Lim, Dr. William F. Mieler, Dr. R.V. Paul Chan, and Dr. Yannek I. Leiderman). Fellows will get exposure to a wide variety of medical retina patients including ocular oncology, pediatric retina, retinal vascular disease, and age-related macular degeneration.

In the clinic, fellows have the opportunity to manage a wide spectrum of patients with the guidance of the faculty. The patients include those referred to the faculty and those referred from the General Eye Clinic and other services at UIC. The fellows are provided with a comprehensive medical retina experience, as they will rotate with experts in uveitis, ocular oncology, pediatric retina, clinical trials, and retinal degenerations.

In the hospital, fellows examine patients with uveitis and medical vitreoretinal consultations including examinations in the neonatal unit of premature infants to monitor and treat retinopathy of prematurity (ROP).

Educational and Research Opportunities

The fellow will participate in departmental Grand Rounds, Imaging Conference, the Annual Retina Symposium, Chicago’s Rabb Retina Club, and other UIC Continuing Medical Education Courses. Fellows also have a significant teaching role as they are involved with instruction to medical students and ophthalmology residents.

Fellows are required to take part in clinical and/or basic science research projects. Opportunities to conduct research and scholarly activity will be provided and fellows will be encouraged to present their work at local, national, and international meetings as well as submit their work for publication.