Vision Research Opportunities

During bi-weekly rounds, COPLOW’s pathologists and trainees present to the veterinary and medical ophthalmology and pathology community the most interesting ocular pathology cases as received through this diagnostic service.

COPLOW’s education mission also includes a one-year Ocular Pathology Fellowship program designed to provide training in comparative ocular pathology and vision science by exposing the students to an extensive caseload of ocular pathology cases.

Residents and faculty present interesting, “classic,” or difficult cases to an audience of department and community ophthalmologists, technicians, researchers and other interested parties including veterinary and medical students. Every resident is required to present at a minimum of two Grand Rounds during the first year, while second and third-year residents should expect to present three Grand Rounds per year. Residents work closely with faculty as they develop their presentations and prepare for a brief question and answer period that follows their talk. A regular part of Grand Rounds is the Science of Disease rotation, which highlights the collaboration between clinicians and researchers. Occasionally, visiting lecturers, often experts in a subspecialty, are invited to speak. These conferences offer CME credit for ophthalmologists and optometrists.

The Glaucoma Research Group includes members of research laboratories engaged in all aspects of glaucoma-related research and clinicians involved in the management and treatment of glaucoma. All members from individual research programs, including technical personnel and graduate students, are welcome to attend the group’s monthly meetings to discuss research and clinical activities of individual groups.

Monthly, first Tuesday, 10 am. Questions? Contact Dr. Nickells.

The Retina Research Group consists of members of basic science laboratories conducting research in all aspects of retina and clinical physician-scientists involved in management, treatment and clinical research of various retinal diseases. During its quarterly meetings, the members discuss research and clinical activities of individual groups. The Retina Research Group is dedicated to multidisciplinary approaches involving the areas of cellular and molecular biology, genetics, epidemiology and clinical trials, as well as structural analysis, pathology, and physiology. Fridays, 8 am. Questions? Contact Bikash Pattnaik, PhD, MPhil.

The objective of this initiative is to contribute to the advancement of our knowledge about the diseases of the retina. In addition to promoting critical thinking, the Retina Journal Club, through its facilitation of collegial relationships, helps improve clinical and research practices by building bridges between the two. The regular monthly meetings offer presentations by distinguished faculty members and are open to broad audiences, including UW clinical and research faculty, medical students, residents, and fellows.

Our residents are welcome to attend an annual Resident Refractive Surgery Course presented by the University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. This year the course included a series of lectures on refractive surgery, the VISX Certification Course, and hands-on experience in the wet lab with Intralase/VISX laser and Lasik flap suturing, as well as a session in the Corneal Topography practice lab.

All residents attend a weekly half-day didactic session, designed as an 18-month curriculum to cover all topics in the Basic and Clinical Science Course (BCSC) published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Faculty members specializing in each respective topic present the lectures, which are recorded and available for review when a resident is absent.

A collective exploration into the ever-changing landscape of sight-saving discoveries with colleagues and peers from around the globe.

Our department benefits from a close relationship with one of the world’s foremost multidisciplinary vision research institutes. As MERI members, our faculty serve as frequent presenters at the MERI Seminar Series.