UC San Diego Shiley Eye Institute UC San Diego Shiley Eye Institute The Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology UC San Diego Shiley Eye Institute
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Informatics STRIVE Banner

Short-Term Research In Vision & Eye Health (STRIVE) Summer 2025 Internship Program



Program Overview:


The National Institute of Health (NIH)/National Eye Institute (NEI) has funded the Short-Term Research In Vision & Eye Health (STRIVE) Program which aims to train qualified medical students who have an interest in ophthalmology and vision research, as well as improve diversity in the workforce. This would be the first and only summer medical student research training program at UC San Diego (UCSD) focused on ophthalmology, vision research, and eye health. This program is specifically tailored to medical students who have some clinical knowledge and academic interest, but who may not have extensive prior research experience.

The program will provide full-time research and clinical support for 10 consecutive weeks at UC San Diego during the summer for 4 qualifying medical students per year from across the country. The program will include hands-on research experience, career development, and long-term mentorship. The multi-disciplinary research training experience will also include instruction in areas such as biostatistics, research ethics, and leadership skills. There will be an opportunity at the summer research symposium for the trainees to present their work. The trainees will be able to collaborate with mentors to develop their work for presentations at national conferences.

This is a paid internship, with monthly stipends ranging from about $2200 per month for predoctoral interns.

Curriculum Highlights:


  • Faculty mentorship
  • Campus seminars
  • Lectures on ophthalmology and vision research
  • Research reproducibility workshop
  • Lectures on bioethics and biostatistics
  • Understand research with older, underserved populations
  • Communication workshops for effective writing, presentation skills, and publication strategies





How to Apply:





Eligibility Questions:

For any questions regarding the application process or eligibility requirements, please contact UC San Diego program coordinator Victoria Patronilo at vpatronilo@health.ucsd.edu

Eligibility:


  • Per NIH funding guidelines, this program is only open to US citizens or permanent residents.
  • The program requires full-time effort, and the applicant cannot be doing medical school rotations or other jobs concurrently.
  • Applicants must provide a personal statement of career goals and their interest in the training program (word limit: 750 words).
  • Two letters of reference from a faculty member from their undergraduate school and/or medical school must be included in the application.
  • Provide academic transcripts (unofficial is acceptable).
  • The application requires contact information and a history of the individual’s education, previous honors/rewards, activities, and experience in ophthalmology and research (in any area, not just limited to ophthalmology/vision science).



Faculty:


Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and Shiley Eye Institute


Department of Biomedical Informatics


Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care


Geriatric Medicine and Psychiatry


Scripps Department of Molecular Medicine




Alumni Testimonials: STRIVE Interns


Marissa Stinnett, 2024


I loved the opportunity to be able to shadow clinically this summer to learn the basics of ophthalmology as well as the opportunity to develop my research skills in order to possess the tools I need in order to help future patients.

Collin Else, 2024


I had an amazing experience through the STRIVE program and got to work on a basic science project with an excellent mentor who ensured that the scope of my project was manageable while allowing me to work independently.

I really appreciate how the program supplements research time with lectures and workshops to give you a better understanding of the life of an ophthalmologist.

Karla Murillo, 2023


Before the STRIVE program, I only had exposure to epidemiological research and basic science research as an undergraduate student.

UCSD STRIVE helped me feel comfortable exploring clinical research with databases that are racially and ethnically diverse. I am hoping to continue working on clinical research with my STRIVE mentors beyond the internship.

Bryanna Lee, 2022


The STRIVE Program was my first real introduction to ophthalmology research specifically. The program piqued my interest in this area and I hope to continue it!



2024 Program Alumni:


Collin Else

Collin Else


Glycomics of the Human Trabecular Meshwork: Heparan Sulfate as a Mediator of Aqueous Outflow Resistance

Ashley Hong

Ashley Hong


Resetting the Brow: A Small-Incision Frontalis Advancement Approach to Brow Ptosis

Patrick Akarapimand

Patrick Akarapimand


Associations Between Physical Activity and Glaucoma: Analysis of the National Institutes of Health All of Us Research Program

Marissa Stinnett

Marissa Stinnett


Association of Social Determinants of Health on Visual Outcomes in Pediatric Blepharokeratoconjunctivitis

2023 Program Alumni:

Jason Zhou

Jason Zhou


Use of EHR to Extract Normative Eyelid Measurements

Karla Murillo

Karla Murillo


Visual Field Progression Rate and Laminar Depth in the African Descent and Glaucoma Evaluation Study (ADAGES)

Leo Meller

Leo Meller


Association Between Alcohol Use and Glaucoma Using Data from the National Institutes of Health All of Us (AoU) Research Program

Luke Valmadrid

Luke Valmadrid


Autoregulation as a Biomarker for Diabetic Retinopathy: An Ongoing Study

2022 Program Alumni:

Rhiannon Buchholz

Rhiannon Buchholz


Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCT-A) of Conjunctiva in Health and Disease

Mohammedreza Farshchi

Mohammedreza Farshchi


Effect of Oxidative Stress from Hydroquinone on Cataract Development

Justin Huynh

Justin Huynh


Deep Learning Image Quality Assessment and Enhancement of Fundus Photographs Increases Accuracy in Automated Glaucomatous Optic Neuropathy Detection

Bryanna Lee

Bryanna Lee


Investigating the Associations between Smoking and Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy through RNA Sequencing


For more information or questions about STRIVE please email UC San Diego program coordinator Victoria Patronilo at vpatronilo@health.ucsd.edu



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