EyeStar Program
EyeSTAR training is intended for ophthalmic physician scientists or geneticists who are interested in academic careers.
The Specialty Training and Advanced Research in Ophthalmology and Visual Science (EyeSTAR) program combines clinical ophthalmic practice with basic science or ophthalmic genetic research. This unique educational opportunity is intended for physicians who are committed to academic careers in ophthalmology, blending basic science or genetics with clinical practice in a 7-year curriculum. Trainees select their faculty mentors and laboratories or research groups from a wide range of participants throughout the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine including the Intercampus Medical Genetics Training Program, the UCLA College of Letters and Science, the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and the independent Pardee RAND Graduate School. The EyeSTAR program assists trainees in obtaining admission to degree programs or the Intercampus Medical Genetics Training Program. The EyeSTAR program pays all costs of trainees’ salaries, fringe benefits, and university tuition/fees. Salary and benefits are set to parity with level of PGY training completed.
The EyeSTAR curriculum blends laboratory research, graduate courses if not already completed, and ophthalmic clinical training; clinical genetics training is included for the genetics track.
Year 1. All tracks. The first year of all tracks in the curriculum is the PGY-1 training year in Internal Medicine at UCLA, but with four elective months assigned to the ophthalmology service of a UCLA-affiliated public hospital. Trainees will attend Ophthalmology Department lectures and teaching functions only as time otherwise permits during ophthalmology elective assignments.
Years 2 and 3. All tracks will attend Ophthalmology weekly clinical conferences and major lectures, including the Annual Seminar and annual weekend research retreat. All tracks will spend one half day weekly in an Ophthalmology clinical experience of the candidate’s choice, flexibly-scheduled to avoid conflict with classes or time-critical research activities. There will be no clinical call or service obligations during this time.
A. Ph.D. curriculum for trainees obtaining this degree. Graduate courses and research in the laboratory of the doctoral thesis adviser.
B. Post-Ph.D. fellowship curriculum. Post-doctoral research in the laboratory of the research mentor or mentors. Optional courses if desired.
C. Genetics curriculum. Course work in the UCLA Intercampus Medical Genetics Training Program (https://intercampus.genetics.ucla.edu/) providing eligibility for board certification by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics in Clinical Genetics and Genomics.
Year 4. All tracks will attend Ophthalmology weekly clinical conferences and major lectures, including the Annual Seminar and annual weekend research retreat. All tracks will spend one half day weekly in an ophthalmology clinical experience of the candidate’s choice, flexibly-scheduled to avoid conflict with classes or time-critical research activities. There will be no clinical call or service obligations during this time.
A. Ph.D. curriculum for trainees obtaining this degree. Completion and defense of thesis research in the laboratory of the doctoral thesis adviser.
B. Post-Ph.D. fellowship curriculum. Final post-doctoral research year in the laboratory research mentor or mentors. Optional courses if desired.
C. Genetics curriculum. Genetics research with mentor or mentors of the candidate’s choice.
Years 5 – 7. All tracks will complete PGY2 – 4 of the UCLA Stein Eye Institute Ophthalmology residency, with clinical and surgical duties identical to all other residents in the program, including call rotations leading to eligibility for board-certification by the American Board of Ophthalmology. Trainees may continue or initiate limited research projects as their interests and time may permit, but must attend the annual weekend research retreat.
Each trainee's educational course is individualized depending on his or her background, interests, and needs. The goal of the program is to generate leaders in ophthalmology who are investigators as well as practitioners—physicians who are as comfortable at the laboratory bench as in the examining lane or operating room. Alumni of the EyeSTAR program now hold endowed professorships in major academic departments on both coasts.