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STRIVE Internship Program

Short Term Research In Vision & Eye Health Program

Research Internships at Shiley eye institute

Short Term Research In Vision & Eye Health (STRIVE)

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.

 Internship Programs
Short-term Research in Vision & Eye Health

STRIVE Internship Program

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 8-12 consecutive weeks at UC San Diego during the summer for 4-6 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
  • Communication Workshops for Effective Writing, Presentation Skills, and Publication Strategies
Short-term Research in Vision & Eye Health

2026 Summer Application

  • Applications for the 2026 cycle are now closed
  • Please check back later this Fall for the 2027 application cycle
Short-term Research in Vision & Eye Health

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 Guidlines
  • Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
  • Applicants must be able to commit to at least 8 weeks of in-person research in the summer. The expected commitment ranges from 8 to 12 weeks.
  • This program requires full-time effort during the research period. Applicants are not allowed to participate in medical school rotations, other employment, or competing commitments concurrently.
  • Applicants must have completed at least an undergraduate degree. Eligible applicants may include post-baccalaureate students, predoctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, medical trainees, or other allied health professionals.
2027 Summer Application Requirements

Eligible applicants will be asked to submit the following materials as part of the 2027 application:

  • A personal statement describing the applicant’s career goals and interest in the training program, with a maximum length of 750 words.
  • Two letters of recommendation from faculty members at the applicant’s undergraduate institution and/or medical school. Both letters must be submitted by the application deadline.
  • Academic transcripts (unofficial transcripts are acceptable).
  • Contact information, educational history, previous honors and awards, activities, and relevant experience in ophthalmology and research. Research experience in any field is welcome and is not limited to ophthalmology or vision science.
Short-term Research in Vision & Eye Health

Faculty Team

Viterbi Family Department of Ophthalmology and Shiley Eye Institute
Jolene Rudell, MD, PhD
Jolene Rudell, MD, PhD

(Principal Investigator / Program Director) Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology

Linda M. Zangwill, PhD
Linda Zangwill, PhD

(Co-Principal Investigator / Program Director) Professor of Ophthalmology Research Director, Hamilton Glaucoma Center, Data Coordinating Center Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego

UCSD Faculty from other Departments
Department of Biomedical Informatics
Shamim Nemati, PhD
Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics, Gerontology and Palliative Care
Ellen E. Lee, MDBenjamin Han, MD, MPH
Department of Pharmacology and Neurosciences
Richard Daneman, PhD
Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Jeffrey D. Esko, PhD
Short-term Research in Vision & Eye Health

Alumni Testimonials: STRIVE Interns

Marissa Sinnett, 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!

Short-term Research in Vision & Eye Health

2026 STRIVE Alumni

Katie Huynh
Katie Huynh

Indocyanine Green Binding Properties in Plasma and Bruch's Membrane

Arleth Lozada
Arleth Lozada

Association of Pediatric Globe Rupture Follow Up Rates with Area Deprivation Index

Duncan Sinclair
Duncan Sinclair

Utilizing Flavoprotein Fluorescence as a Biomarker for Silicone Oil Induced Oxidative Stress after Rhegmatogenous Retinal Detachment Repair

Emily Kang
Emily Kang

Normative MRI Reference for Orbital Structures: Application to Thyroid Eye Disease

2025 STRIVE Alumni

Christina_Tran
Christina Tran

Comparative Evaluation of Exosome Isolation Methods from Human Tear Fluid

Smiling man with dark hair wearing a white coat and black tie against a gray backdrop.
Naren Ramesh

Associations Between Satellite-Based Ambient Ultraviolet Radiation and Uveal Melanoma Incidence in the MarketScan® Commercial Claims Database

Riya Mittal
Riya Mittal

Associations Between Smoking Intensity and Glaucoma

Tori Sayers
Tori Sayers

Spatial Proteomic Analysis of Early Dry AMD

2024 STRIVE 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 Akarepimand
Patrick Akarepimand

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 Blepharokerato-conjunctivitis

2023 STRIVE 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 STRIVE Alumni

Rhiannon Buchholz
Rhiannon Buchholz

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

Mohammedreza Farchchi
Mohammedreza Farchchi

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

Additional Information & Resources
Mission Statement
Engagement with UCSD Health and Campus
Additional Links and Resources

Information about diversity and inclusion is available through multiple venues. First, there are several websites available that provide information about diversity initiatives across the entire campus (diversity.ucsd.edu) and the (School of Medicine). Many departments have their own websites as well. Virtually all departments at UCSD have identified an Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) ambassador, typically a faculty member who spearheads diversity-related initiatives in their areas/specialties and also collaborates with various entities across the medical school.

There are several active affinity organizations for UCSD medical students. These include:

‍The Association of Native American Medical Students (ANAMS)
‍The Asian Pacific American Medical Students Association (APAMSA)LGBTQ
Pharmacy and Medical Students (LGBTQ-PhaM)
‍The Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA)
‍Medical Students for Justice (MS4J)
‍The Student National Medical Association (SNMA)

‍UCSD also offers a curricular pathway called Program in Medical Education – Health Equity (PRIME - HEq), which part of a system-wide effort at the University of California to train physicians better able to meet the needs of the diverse Californian population who are traditionally underserved by the medical system. PRIME-HEq faculty work with students to identify populations or communities at risk for health disparities. Students will then receive exposure, training, and the opportunity to work with the identified group to further their passion in the area and provide knowledge and skills to better equip the students to improve health equity for the group.