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Global Ophthalmology Fellowship

The Department of Global Ophthalmology at UIC was established in 2015. Our goal is to treat and cure global eye conditions through clinical and educational outreach, innovative research, and advocacy. We strive to unite individuals with the resources to optimize access to ophthalmic treatments for international institutions and communities in need, and we do this in collaboration with several organizations including Orbis, See International, and Helen Keller International.

Overview Heading link

Program Goal

Our goal is to train physicians to tackle complex issues that face delivering eye care to underserved communities across the globe. The fellowship can help address these needs through education and collaboration to build capacity that can sustain local healthcare.

What to Expect From Rotations

The global ophthalmology rotations will focus on learning local health care systems, identifying deficiencies and setting up and implementing programs to meet the needs of underserved communities. Some of this time may also be spent in direct patient care in the clinic and the OR.

Locations

The training will be based at the main University of Illinois campus for a minimum of 6 months of the year, while the rest of the fellow’s time will be spent at rotations at various global ophthalmology sites. These global ophthalmology rotations can be designed in many different ways to tailor the experience and training to the fellow. Locations include

  • Hôpital d l’Universite d’Etat d’Haiti (HUEH), Port au Prince, Haiti
  • Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, India
  • King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Asociados de Macula Vitreo y Retina de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica
  • Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Kisii Eye Hospital, Kisii, Kenya
  • Honduras Distance Surgical Mentorship Project, Hospital San Felipe, San Felipe, Honduras

Important Dates Heading link

  • Application Deadline

    Monday, September 30, 2024

  • Applicant Interviews

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

Meet the Program Director Heading link

Faculty Heading link

Thasarat Sutabutr Vajaranant

Jacob T. Wilensky Professor
  • Dan Alter, MD, PhD – Midwest Retina Consultants and Hôpital d l’Universite d’Etat d’Haiti (HUEH), Port au Prince, Haiti
  • Michael Maingrette, MD – Hôpital d l’Universite d’Etat d’Haiti (HUEH), Port au Prince, Haiti
  • Marco Mura, MD – Chief of Retina Division, King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
  • Narendran Venkatapathy, DO, DNB – Chief Medical Officer of Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, India
  • Parag Shah, DNB – Department of Pediatric Retina & Ocular Oncology, Aravind Eye Hospital, Coimbatore, India
  • Lihteh Wu, MD – Asociados de Macula Vitreo y Retina de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica
  • Wallace Chamon, MD – Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil

Visit Department of Global Ophthalmology