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Consortium of Ophthalmology Researchers in Education (CORE)

The AUPO Consortium of Ophthalmology Researchers in Education (CORE) is a collaborative network designed to support multi-institutional research in ophthalmology education. CORE brings together educators and researchers from AUPO member institutions to study and improve how ophthalmology is taught and how trainees develop across the continuum of medical education. 

Through coordinated projects across multiple academic departments, CORE helps investigators conduct studies that benefit from broader participation, shared expertise, and larger data sets. This collaborative approach strengthens research design, improves statistical power, and helps produce findings that are meaningful across institutions.

Areas of Focus

CORE initiatives focus on research related to ophthalmology training at several stages, including:

  • Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) – improving ophthalmology education for medical students, including curriculum development, teaching methods, and understanding the residency match process.
  • Graduate Medical Education (GME) – advancing residency and fellowship training through research on surgical education, competency-based training, assessment methods, and trainee development.
  • Clinician-Scientist Development (future initiative) – exploring strategies to strengthen training and mentorship pathways for ophthalmology clinician-scientists.

CORE periodically invites AUPO members to submit proposals for multi-institutional education research projects. Selected projects receive support through the CORE network, which may include coordination across institutions, access to shared data resources, and statistical support.

Participating institutions collaborate on study design, data collection, and dissemination of results, helping advance evidence-based approaches to ophthalmology education.

Any AUPO member and their academic department of ophthalmology may participate in CORE projects. Institutions collaborate as study sites, contributing expertise and data to help advance education research that benefits the broader ophthalmology community. 

Director
Saras Ramanathan, MD

Associate Directors
Jennifer Lindsey, MD – Graduate Medical Education (GME) Section
Zachary Elkin, MD – Undergraduate Medical Education (UME) Section