Resident Research and Research Mentorship Program

Research activities are abundant amongst the faculty at the Doheny Eye Institute, both clinical and basic, and residents are strongly encouraged to participate in research during the three years of training.(Faculty Research List) Participation in research projects allows the residents to gain a greater understanding of the mechanisms of disease processes and stay abreast of novel and evolving strategies in diagnosis and management. Over the past three years there have been an average of 12 residents per year giving presentations at the annual ARVO meeting, in addition to various other scientific meetings. The residents in the Doheny Eye Institute training program have received numerous awards and honors for their research efforts and have been very successful in having their work published in respected journals.(Resident ARVO Presentations, 2006, Resident Research)

Residents who are successful in having an abstract accepted for presentation at a scientific meeting enjoy the additional reward of being given an additional week of meeting time to attend the meeting and will be reimbursed up to $1,000 of travel costs. In addition, all talks being presented at the annual ARVO meeting are eligible to compete for the prestigious Doheny Professional Association Travel Award, a prize of $500 given to the best poster or talk.(2006 Award Winners)

An additional benefit of this research focus is the mentorship relationship that develops between the resident and faculty member. The faculty who accept a resident into their field of research are also asked to provide the guidance and feedback in areas ranging from academic performance, developing further research interests and future fellowship and career choices. These faculty are invaluable in assisting residents on the path to further training and research. Mark Humayun has served in the role of research liaison for the past three years and has facilitated this process at the Doheny Eye Institute.