Ocular Oncology Fellowship, UCSF

This one-year clinical and research fellowship provides training in adult and pediatric ocular oncology. The training program is centered at UCSF (Dr. Armin Afshar), with additional experiences at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in San Francisco (Dr. Michael Seider).

It offers experience in a wide range of medical and surgical therapies, various forms of phototherapy, imaging techniques, and other investigations. Examples of surgical procedures include intraocular tumor biopsy, tantalum marker insertion for proton beam radiotherapy, plaque brachytherapy, endoresection, and conjunctival tumor excision. The Fellow will join an extensive multi-disciplinary team, which includes nurses, psychologists, geneticists, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists and basic scientists, delivering holistic care to patients and their families. Genetic tumor analysis is performed using the latest techniques, such as next generation sequencing. Uveal melanomas are biopsied routinely so as to estimate prognosis according to histological and genetic data, as well as clinical features. Special measures have been introduced to enhance communication with patients and to provide psychological support. The oncology service functions in a highly-organized infrastructure, with well-defined protocols for enhancing risk management as well as maximizing opportunities for clinical and basic science research.  This fellowship has been awarded the Certificate of Fellowship Program Compliance by the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology.

Fellows are encouraged to visit other ocular oncology centers, to broaden their experience, and to participate at national and international conferences. The Department of Ophthalmology at UCSF has an excellent teaching program. By the end of their training, Fellows should have the expertise to provide an up-to-date ocular oncology service and to conduct clinical research.