The UCSD Ophthalmology Informatics and Data Science Fellowship Program is a unique postdoctoral training opportunity for physicians and scientists interested in advancing their understanding of biomedical and clinical informatics as applied to vision science and clinical ophthalmology.

This fellowship is conducted in close collaboration with several renowned training programs at UC San Diego: the T15 Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biomedical Informatics funded by the National Library of Medicine, the T32 Translational Vision Research Training Program funded by the National Eye Institute, and the ACGME Clinical Informatics Fellowship Training Program. Depending on the specific interests of the fellow, the fellow will have access to the funding support, training resources, and opportunities available through one or more of these programs.

The faculty affiliated with the Division of Ophthalmology and Data Science have a strong track record of mentorship and are dedicated to helping fellows achieve their professional and career goals.

Coursework and Training

The fellowship offers access to a range of foundational coursework such as the following:
• Principles of Biomedical Informatics
• Informatics in Clinical Environments
• Modeling Clinical Data and Knowledge for Computation
• Bioinformatics Applications to Human Diseases
• Statistics Concepts in Biomedical Research
• Grant Proposal Writing Practicum
• Introduction to Biomedical Natural Language Processing
• Data Mining and Predictive Analytics
• Designing Clinical Research
• Health Services Research
• Data Management and Informatics
• Research Ethics

A wide range of seminars and journal clubs are also available to our fellows, such as:

• UC San Diego Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and Shiley Eye Institute Departmental Grand Rounds and Distinguished Lecturer Series
• Current Trends in Biomedical Informatics Seminar Series
• Qualcomm Institute Amazon Web Services Seminar Series
• Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute Distinguished Lecturer Series
• Cancer Genomics Journal Club
• Biomedical Informatics Journal Club
• UC San Diego Biomedical Ethics Seminar Series

The fellow will also have the opportunity to complete a master’s degree in one of the following areas:
• Master’s of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research
• Master’s in Data Science
• Master’s in Health Informatics (anticipated availability in Fall 2021)

Research and Other Activities

• Active research areas span a spectrum of related areas, including big-data analytics, predictive modeling, machine learning, deep learning, imaging analysis, genomics/bioinformatics, and applied clinical informatics
• Projects are available in all ophthalmic subspecialties
• Fellows will also have the opportunity to engage in broader health system operational activities, such as participating and engaging with the UC San Diego Health Information Services Medical Directors Committee, the UC San Diego Health Clinical Decision Support Committee, and the UC San Diego Health Artificial Intelligence Committee
• Networking and career development activities are conducted locally and at regional, national, and international conferences

How to Apply

Applications are typically coordinated with our collaborating programs which provide funding for the fellowships: the UCSD National Library of Medicine-funded Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biomedical Informatics and the UCSD ACGME Clinical Informatics Fellowship Program. Please see their individual pages for program details and application timelines. These programs require US citizenship or permanent resident status. Occasionally we also have openings for postdoctoral fellows based on individual grants, which are not limited to US citizens or permanent residents and may potentially include international scholars. If you are interested in pursuing training opportunities at UCSD, please reach out to program coordinator Victoria Patronilo at vpatronilo@health.ucsd.edu.