The Pediatric Retina Program and Ocular Oncology Center are located in Boston Children’s Hospital, 4th floor of the Fegan Building, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts. This facility is equipped with examination lanes, procedure rooms, and state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment. We routinely perform Heidelberg OCT, ocular ultrasonography (B-scan, A-scan, and UBM), digital fundus photography with RetCam, Optos wide-field imager, autofluorescence, wide-field fluorescein angiography, and indocyanine green angiography. We are also fully equipped with laser technology (Argon, Diode, and YAG).

Program director:
Efren Gonzalez, MD
Director, Pediatric Retina Program
Director, Ocular Oncology Center

Associate Program director:
Nimesh Patel, MD
Director, Pediatric Vitreoretinal Surgery

Clinical and Surgical Responsibilities

The fellow, working with the residents on the Retina Program rotation, will supervise the interpretation and reporting of angiograms, ultrasonography, and OCTs.

Patients are seen daily in clinic as well as in the operating room on examinations under anesthesia. The fellow will gain extensive experience in the diagnosis and management of surgical pediatric retina cases  and ocular oncology pathology. The fellow will participate in the medical and surgical management of patients having a wide range of medical, surgical, and ocular oncology diseases. This includes gaining experience with surgical techniques such as vitrectomy, scleral buckle, laser treatments, and cryotherapy. The fellow will interact with multidisciplinary teams, including radiation oncology, radiation physics, interventional radiology, genetics, and medical and surgical oncology. The fellow will manage inpatients admitted for retina and ocular oncology issues.

Educational Responsibilities

Fellows at Boston Children’s Hospital have traditionally played an integral role in the education of residents. The fellow serves as attending staff to the residents rotating at Boston Children’s Hospital Ophthalmology Department. The fellow will also teach Pediatric Ophthalmology and Pediatric Medical Retina Fellows.

Fellows will present cases at Grand Rounds of Boston Children’s Hospital and, on some occasions, at MEEI. The fellow is also expected to write a review paper, to be published in an ophthalmic journal, undertaken with faculty mentorship.

Research Responsibilities

Research opportunities are currently available in many areas. The Retina Program and Ocular Oncology Center faculty members are involved in a wide variety of projects encompassing a full spectrum of investigation from clinical trials and epidemiology to basic science bench research.

Fellows are encouraged to defray the cost of the stipend through external support when possible.

Program goal

The goal of our training program is to provide broad and extensive clinical activity, academic stimulation and research experience in order to train the next generation of leaders in the field of Pediatric Vitreoretinal Surgery and Ocular Oncology.

Application Requirements

• Applicants will need to submit the application form online – SF match
• Three letters of recommendation from Vitreoretinal surgeons who have been involved in your training and one letter from the program director of ophthalmology residency.
• A one-page personal statement
• The applicant should have completed residency training in Ophthalmology and Vitreoretinal surgery fellowship (2 year program), as well as received certification by the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) or the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG).
• Applicants must obtain a Massachusetts Limited Medical license for credentialing purposes. USMLE Step 1, Step 2 CS & CK, and Step 3 required.
• An ECFMG certificate is required for international medical graduates.
• Apply here: Boston Children’s Hospital – Pediatric Vitreoretinal Surgery and Ocular Oncology Ophthalmology Fellowship – Retina #8958