Research Internship Programs

The UC San Diego Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and Shiley Eye Institute offers a wide range of training opportunities to help undergraduates, postbaccalaureate students, medical students, residents, and fellows in achieving their career goals as well as provide a more in depth understanding of vision science and clinical ophthalmology. These internship programs provide faculty mentorship, career development, hands-on research experience, networking opportunities, and a wide range of instructional courses. We also value diversity and inclusion, and these internship programs aim to recruit trainees from diverse backgrounds.

Internship Programs:

AI Ready and Equitable Atlas for Diabetes Insights (AI-READI) Research Internship Program

This program is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the Bridges to Artificial Intelligence (Bridge2AI) program, a large trans-NIH initiative to generate new datasets for advancing artificial intelligence (AI). This yearlong internship program aims at diversifying the future workforce in ophthalmology and vision science, and it will be centered on developing skills and providing early exposure to AI, data science, and research, as well as the opportunity to gain exposure to faculty with expertise in biomedical, clinical, and behavioral research. This program is open to interns from a wide range of backgrounds and experience levels.

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Short-Term Research In Vision & Eye Health (STRIVE)

The objective of this summer internship program funded by the National Eye Institute (NEI) is to train qualified medical students who have an interest in ophthalmology and vision research. The program will include hands-on research experience, career development, and direct mentorship, as well as instruction in areas such as biostatistics, research ethics, and leadership skills. There are also close collaborations with the UCSD Medical Student in Aging Research (MSTAR) Program as well as the UCSD Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Informatics. This program is open to those who have successfully completed one year of medical school at a US institution before starting the program.

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Translational Vision Research Training at UCSD

The objective of this program funded by the National Eye Institute is to provide postdoctoral fellows with training and instruction by mentors in ophthalmology and vision research who direct NIH-funded laboratories. The program includes instruction in the area being studied, research experience with a lead mentor as well as professional development seminars, lectures and journal clubs in various disciplines. This program is open to those who have already completed an MD or a PhD.

K12 Award Program

The objective of the National Eye Institute Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Program Award is to develop outstanding clinician scientists to successfully compete at the national level for NIH grants and help guide new clinician scientists to careers in ophthalmology and vision research. This program offers mentoring, research and education, as well as career development and clinically relevant instructional courses. This program is open to early career faculty.

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