International Cure Corneal Blindness Fellowship | Cornea Fellowships
3 corneal fellowships are currently offered via UBC
- Cure Corneal Blindness Fellowship (one position available)
- Cornea Fellowships (two positions available)
International Cure Corneal Blindness Fellowship
Supervisors
Dr. Matt Bujak, Fellowship Director
Contact Information
Dr Matt Bujak
Email: drbujakoffice@gmail.com
Locations
Surrey Memorial Hospital
Vancouver Hospital Eye Care Centre
Mount St. Joseph Hospital
St. Paul’s Hospital
BC Children’s Hospital
General Description
Two non-profit organizations, The Himalayan Cataract Project and Orbis International have paired up with University of British Columbia donors to provide a unique cornea and external ocular disease fellowship. This corneal fellowship has a mandate to train specialists from resource limited countries so that they may return to their countries and have an immediate impact. Corneal Blindness is the second leading cause of treatable blindness worldwide with a disproportionate burden being shouldered by low to middle income countries. Despite the great need, people in these regions have difficulty receiving corneal care because of lack of corneal tissue, shortage of necessary infrastructure, and inadequate medical training. Through this fellowship we aim to train surgeons in the medical and surgical management of corneal disease with a focus on modern corneal transplantation techniques.
Expectations
The Fellow is expected to be involved in clinics, OR, teaching, or research at a minimum from Monday to Friday. If the fellow is not involved in clinic or operating room time in the Fraser Health region then it is their responsibility to seek engagement with one of the corneal staff in the Vancouver coastal region, or to spend their time in grand rounds, wetlab, or eyebank. Although the hours may vary, the fellow should generally expect to work from 7:45 to 5 pm. The Fellow may occasionally be expected at evening or weekend emergency clinics and ORs. They will be expected to see post-op patients on Saturdays if surgeries occur on Fridays. Any absences must be cleared in advance. The fellow will be responsible for on-call duties in the Fraser Health region for about 1 week every 2 months. The Fellow is expected to assist the residents with emergency cornea cases if needed.
Fellowship Objectives
- To prepare a candidate for an academic career with subspecialty training in cornea and external diseases.
- To obtain strong clinical and surgical skills in Cornea, External Disease, and complex anterior segment surgery.
- To enhance resident teaching during clinics, OR, research, and on-call.
- To develop strong research skills (bench or clinical or both) leading to publication and presentations during the year, and teaching skills for medical students and residents.
Clinical Duties
The fellow will receive hands-on surgical training in traditional full thickness PKP corneal transplantation surgery as well as in modern lamellar techniques such as DSAEK, DMEK, DALK, and DSO. The fellow will be expected to participate in all clinical and surgical activities which will include high volume corneal clinics, anterior segment and cornea ORs, resident and medical student teaching, cornea rounds, academic rounds, journal clubs, wet labs, and clinical research. They will have exposure to five corneal surgeons across University of British Columbia with the predominance of training being done by a primary mentor who can better guide training needs.
Research
The candidate will be expected to spend 20% of his or her time on basic and/or clinical research. A basic or clinical science project will be outlined for the Fellow and he or she will be expected to present this at Research Day of the Department of Ophthalmology as well as at a national or international meeting.
Teaching
The candidate will be expected to enhance resident and medical student teaching. This would include encouraging resident involvement in interesting cases in the office, as well as allowing the resident to participate as first assist for selected cases. The candidate is expected to prepare lectures and cases to be given at Cornea Rounds, and to participate in teaching of Cornea Academic Half Days.
Licensing and Language Requirements
Fellows must be licensed or eligible for licensing in their country of origin. Fellows must obtain an educational license from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (https://www.cpsbc.ca/for-physicians/registration-licensing/applying). If English is not the language of instruction at medical school, native language of the country of residence or primary language of patient care, the candidate must prove language proficiency with Academic IELTS exam prior to time of application. A minimum score of 7 is required in each component of academic IELTS exam (https://www.cpsbc.ca/files/pdf/REG-ELP.pdf). Fellows will be responsible for mandatory medical malpractice insurance, which is obtained through the Canadian Medical Protective Association at a fellowship rate.
Conference
Up to 2 weeks of conference time may be taken on approval of the Supervisors for oral presentations.
Evaluation
An evaluation after 2 months of the fellowship will be held to determine performance. A mid year and year end evaluation will also be conducted to provide feedback on performance. Fellows are encouraged to provide feedback throughout the year on their clinical and research experience.
Duration
1 year, start and finish dates are variable and may change from year to year
Salary
An annual salary of $75,000 paid in quarterly installments is provided.
Application Process
Interested candidates should send a CV and letter of interest to Dr Matt Bujak prior to September 1 of the calendar year preceding the intended start date. Rolling applications are considered. Strong letters of reference will be reviewed. Successful candidates will be shortlisted for virtual interview in late September, with final notification by late October.
The aim of this one-year fellowship is not only to train a fellow in corneal surgery but also to help facilitate a smooth implementation of these skills and techniques in their home country upon their return. As such, priority will be given to applicants who can demonstrate a need in their home country, access to operating room time and a path for procuring corneal transplant tissue. Preference will be given to fellows who will return to academic training institutions where the knowledge and skills will be passed on.
This fellowship is possible only through the generous donations made to UBC and to the non profit organizations Orbis Canada and Himalayan Cataract Project.
Cornea Fellowships
These fellowships are equivalent with details as follows:
Supervisors
- Dr. Greg Moloney, Fellowship Director
- Dr. Hall Chew
- Dr. Alfonso Iovieno
- Dr. Sonia Yeung
Contact Information
Dr Greg Moloney
Email: greg@drmoloney.com
Locations
Vancouver Hospital Eye Care Centre
Mount St. Joseph Hospital
St. Paul’s Hospital
BC Children’s Hospital
General Description
The goal of this fellowship is to prepare a candidate for an academic career in Cornea and External Disease. There is a considerable academic component to this fellowship with involvement in basic science research or clinical research or both, teaching of Ophthalmology residents and medical students, and presentation at national and international meetings.
Expectations
The Fellow is expected to be involved in clinics, OR, teaching, or research at a minimum from Monday to Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Fellow will be expected at evening or weekend emergency or post op clinics and ORs as they arise. Any absences must be cleared in advance. Although there are no formal on-call duties, the Fellow is expected to assist the residents with emergency cornea cases if needed and participate in on call responsibilities of the supervising clinicians.
Fellowship Objectives
- To prepare a candidate for an academic career with subspecialty training in cornea and external diseases.
- To obtain strong clinical and surgical skills in Cornea, External Disease, and complex anterior segment surgery.
- To enhance resident teaching during clinics, OR, research, and on-call.
- To develop strong research skills (bench or clinical or both) leading to publication and presentations during the year, and teaching skills for medical students and residents.
Clinical Duties
Time will be divided in 6 month blocks between Dr Moloney/ Chew and Dr. Yeung/ Iovenio. The fellowship consists of both clinical and research components, both of which are required for successful completion of the fellowship. Approximately 80% of the time is spent in clinical activities, of which 2/3 of the time is spent in patient care clinics. The fellow is involved in the diagnosis and management of routine and complex subspecialty patients. One third (1-2 days per week) of the clinical time is spent in the OR progressing from first assist to primary surgeon under supervision. The Fellow will be exposed to a variety of adult and pediatric corneal and ocular surface diseases. Surgical procedures will include adult and pediatric corneal transplantation, (PKP, DMEK, DSAEK, DALK,DSO, KPro), Limbal stem cell transplantation (KLAL, SLET, CLAL), pterygium surgery, treatment of ocular surface neoplasias, and complex anterior segment reconstruction (irido/pupilloplasty, artificial iris prostheses, sutured IOLs). Basic exposure to excimer laser procedures (PTK, PRK) is expected in low volumes. As cataract surgery is prioritized for resident teaching, the Fellow is expected to have adequate training in cataract surgery as s/he will participate in combined cases. Surgery will be allocated in a graded fashion of responsibility. A candidate with strong surgical skills may achieve 80+ cases as primary surgeon within the year. This volume may vary greatly depending on pre-existing surgical skillset and available caseload.
Research
The candidate will be expected to spend 20% of his or her time on basic and/or clinical research. A basic or clinical science project will be outlined for the Fellow and he or she will be expected to present this at Research Day of the Department of Ophthalmology as well as at a national or international meeting.
Teaching
The candidate will be expected to enhance resident and medical student teaching. This would include encouraging resident involvement in interesting cases in the office, as well as allowing the resident to participate as first assist for selected cases. The candidate is expected to prepare lectures and cases to be given at Cornea Rounds, and to participate in teaching of Cornea Academic Half Days.
Licensing and Language Requirements
Fellows must be licensed or eligible for licensing in their country of origin. Fellows must obtain an educational license from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia (https://www.cpsbc.ca/for-physicians/registration-licensing/applying). If English is not the language of instruction at medical school, native language of the country of residence or primary language of patient care, the candidate must prove language proficiency with Academic IELTS exam prior to time of application. A minimum score of 7 is required in each component of academic IELTS exam. Fellows will be responsible for mandatory medical malpractice insurance, which is obtained through the Canadian Medical Protective Association at a fellowship rate.
Conference Leave
Up to 2 weeks of conference time may be taken on approval of the Supervisors for oral presentations.
Evaluation
An evaluation after 2 months of the fellowship will be held to determine performance. A mid year and year end evaluation will also be conducted to provide feedback on performance. Fellows are encouraged to provide feedback throughout the year on their clinical and research experience.
Duration
1 year, June 30-July 31. Minor variations to these dates may occur at times and only when strictly necessary.
Salary
An annual salary of approximately $40,000 paid in quarterly installments is provided.
Application Process
Interested candidates should send a CV and letter of interest to Dr Greg Moloney prior to September 1 of the calendar year preceding the intended start date. Rolling applications are considered. Strong letters of reference will be reviewed. Successful candidates will be shortlisted for virtual interview in late September, with final notification by late October.