The University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences offers a 1-year clinical pediatric ophthalmic genetic fellowship.
This sub-specialty fellowship includes active, full-time participation in all aspects of the clinical and research programs of the pediatric ophthalmic genetic service. The Fellow will work closely with the attendings, genetic counselor, and the Pediatric Ophthalmology Fellow and will have some shared responsibilities. We are a very busy service and see a comprehensive range of pathology that includes inherited retinal disorders, congenital ocular malformations, genetic syndromes, and metabolic diseases that affect the eye.
The Fellow will participate in all pediatric ophthalmic genetics clinics and inpatient consultations. The fellow will have dedicated time for training in electrophysiology. The electrophysiology service has equipment and expertise in all necessary testing including ERG, VEP, FST, and dark adaptoptometry in awake patients and under anesthesia. At the end of their Fellowship, the ophthalmic genetic Fellow will be experienced in performing and interpreting a broad range of electrophysiology testing.
The Fellow will have the opportunity to participate in the full range of additional didactic and other educational activities, including weekly Medical Genetic conferences with the Division of Medical Genetics, Stone Rounds, daily departmental morning rounds, and weekly didactic post-clinic teaching together with residents and orthoptic students. The Fellowship includes attending one external genetics conference, usually the Ophthalmic Genetics Study Club, with an accepted presentation. The Fellow is also expected to teach medical students and residents who rotate through the Pediatric Ocular Genetics service. The Fellow will present in pediatric genetics case rounds, ocular genetics team meetings, genetics journal clubs, and multidisciplinary genetics conferences.
Research is an integral part of the ocular genetics fellowship, and opportunities range from bench laboratory to clinical research and participation as an investigator in clinical trials. Prospective studies involving new diagnostic tools and therapies are always ongoing. Our faculty are investigators in human gene therapy trials. Ocular Genetics Fellows are expected to complete a research project and are encouraged to submit their research papers to local/national/international ophthalmology/ocular genetics meetings.
We have a faculty of 2 genetic-eye disease-fellowship trained pediatric faculty who collaborate with colleagues in retina, cornea, glaucoma, medical genetics and other specialists and have the resources of the University of Iowa Institute for Vision Research and the Carver Lab for molecular diagnostics.