Established in 1992 and funded by Retina Research Foundation through a gift from Mr. W. J. Gillingham, this program is administered for RRF by the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO). Selection is by the PAAO Fellowship Committee, with the final selection by the PAAO Executive Board at the academy meeting of the year preceding the fellowship. Candidates are selected based on outstanding potential for research careers and commitment to teaching in an accredited medical school in their home country.

Two six-month fellowships are awarded each year to Latin American ophthalmologists for training at leading institutions in the U.S. and Canada. Since the first fellowships were awarded in 1993, 60 young ophthalmologists from 14 countries have benefited from these opportunities over the last 30 years.

Beginning in 2024, the fellowship stipends increased to $20,000 each and are offered to qualified Latin American candidates who have been accepted into an accredited training program in either the U.S. or Canada. Follow this link for more general information and to apply to this fellowship program.

Dr. Carolina Mercado

Carolina L. Mercado (Colombia)

Accepted for Medical Retina at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, Florida USA

 

Dr. Nancy Arias Gonzalez

Nancy Paola Arias Gonzalez (Dominican Republic)

Accepted for Pediatric Retina and ROP at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, Florida USA

Dr. Marcela Huertas Bello

Marcela Huertas Bello (Colombia)

Accepted for Cornea, Anterior Segment, and Refractive Surgery at Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Canada

2022 Gillingham Fellows:

Natasha Ferreira Santos da Cruz (Brazil) Accepted for a Pediatric Retina Fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA, with Dr. Audina Berrocal.

Miguel N. Cruz Pimentel (Dominican Republic) Accepted for a Vitreoretinal Surgery Fellowship at the University of Toronto, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

2021 Gillingham Fellows:

Estephania Feria Anzaldo (Mexico) Accepted for an ROP and Pediatric Retina Fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, FL USA, with Dr. Audina Berrocal.

Mariana Matioli da Palma (Brazil) Accepted for an Ophthalmic Genetics Fellowship at the Casey Eye Institute in Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), Portland, Oregon USA, with Dr. Mark Pennesi.

2020 Gillingham Fellows:

Julia de Lima Farah (Brazil) Accepted for a Retina Fellowship at the Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Canada, with Dr. Amin Kherani and Dr. R. Geoff Williams

Matias Ariel Soifer (Argentina) Accepted for an Ocular Immunology International Clinical Research Fellowship at Foster Center for Ocular Immunology, Duke Eye Institute, Durham NC, USA, with Dr. Victor Perez.

2019 Gillingham Fellows

Paulina Liberman Salazar MD (from Santiago, Chile) – to Johns Hopkins University, Wilmer Eye Institute in Baltimore, Maryland – Training in ocular immunology and uveitis with:  Jennifery E. Thorne MD PhD;  Fellowship dates: July 2019 to July 2020

Alvaro Jose Mejía Vergara MD (from Bogotá, Colombia) – to UCLA in Doheny Eye Institute, Los Angeles, Calif. – Training in Neuro-Ophthalmology with: Peter A. Quiros, MD; Fellowship dates: July 2019 to June 2020

2018 Gillingham Fellows

Claudio Ignacio Perez Valenzuela, MD (from Santiago, Chile) – to University of California San Francisco (UCSF), San Francisco CA – Training in Glaucoma with: Shan Lin, MD. Fellowship dates: October 2017 – October 2018

Jaime David Martinez Martinez, MD (from Aguascalientes, Mexico) – to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, FL – Training in Cornea with: Guillermo Amescua, MD. Fellowship dates: March 2017 to August 2018

2017 Gillingham Fellows

Marcela A. Lonngi, MD (from Bogotá, Colombia) – to Jules Stein Eye Institute, Los Angeles, CA – Training in Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus with: Joseph Demer, MD, PhD.  Fellowship dates: July 2016 to July 2017

Dr. Lonngi

Andrea Elizabeth Arriola-López, MD (from Guatemala City, Guatemala) – to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, FL – Training in Uveitis with: Thomas Albini, MD and Eduardo Alfonso, MD. Fellowship dates: March 2017 to September 2017

Dr. Arriola

2016 Gillingham Fellows

João Rafael de Oliveira Dias, MD (from Brazil) to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (J-1 Research Scholar), Miami, FL

Training in Retina with: Philip Rosenfeld, MD, March 14, 2016 – March 13, 2017

Dr. João Rafael Dias presenting one of the hot topic posters at 2017 ARVO Annual Meeting 2017, Baltimore, with William Feuer, MS, Dr. Phil J. Rosenfeld, MD, PhD, and Dr. Mariana Thorell, MD

At the OCT room with the Bascom Palmer Research team and Zeiss engineers (Dr. Philip J. Rosenfeld, MD, PhD, Jennifer Luu, Fang Zheng, Dr. Sophie Kubach, PhD, Dr. Andrew Miller, MD, Dr. Giovanni Gregori, PhD, and Linda O’Koren)

Excerpt from Gillingham Fellowship Report

My fellowship included clinical and imaging research in retinal diseases related to exudation, degeneration, and angiogenesis, especially exudative and non-exudative age-related macular degeneration, idiopathic macular telangiectasia, central serous retinopathy, and diabetic retinopathy. My chief research project focused on the analysis of advanced retinal imaging, including optical coherence tomography (OCT) angiography, in retinal diseases.

Throughout the past year, I had the opportunity to learn and exchange several skills. With resilience and extreme commitment to my assignments, I overcame the obstacles and accomplished all tasks in due time. By working with Dr. Rosenfeld and the research team that included engineers, medical students, fellows, PhD students, and statistician, I learned techniques and methods to facilitate research in Ophthalmology and developed a critical sense regarding research, manuscript writing, and clinical knowledge. I also had the opportunity to participate in many academic activities, including grand rounds, lectures, congresses, as well as Ophthalmology clinics and the operating room.

Felipe A. Valenzuela, MD (from Chile) to Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, FL

Training in Cornea with: Victor L. Perez, MD, December 2015 – December 2016

2015 Gillingham Fellows

Sergio Groman Lupa, MD (from Mexico) to University of Colorado, Dept. of Ophthalmology, Aurora, CO

Retina: Naresh Mandava, MD, August 1, 2014 – July 31, 2015

Sergio Groman Lupa at ARVO

at the clinic

at the OR

Sergio Groman Lupa with Dr. Hugo Quiroz

Excerpt from Gillingham Fellowship Report

During my fellowship I was involved in direct evaluation and management of patients with vitreoretinal diseases under the supervision of Dr. Hugo Quiroz-Mercado at Denver Health Medical Center, which was a very enrichment experience. I was able to participate in retinal surgeries assisting Dr. Quiroz and other Retina fellows allowing me to learn different surgical techniques. I performed clinical research using widefield OCT and as a research coordinator for the Diabetic Retinopathy Clinical Research Network. There were several academic activities that I attended at the Rocky Mountain Lions Eye Institute including grand rounds, lectures for ophthalmology residents, retina journal clubs and retina surgery meetings. In the basic research lab I participated in several projects under the excellent guidance of Jeffrey Olson, MD, Joseph Brzazinski, PhD, and Marc Petrash, PhD, that included basic science, retinal surgery lab and epidemiologic research. I learned different techniques and methods for research in ophthalmology. During this time I also had the opportunity to meet and interact with brilliant people, all from whom I learned a lot: Naresh Mandava, MD, Scott Oliver, MD, Marc Mathias, MD, Frank Siringo, MD, OD, and Richard Hwant, MD, PhD. This fellowship has been an extraordinary experience that will allow me to continue my academic endeavors and contribute to medicine and ophthalmology in Mexico.

Claudia Inés Osorio Moreno, MD (from Venezuela) to Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD

Ocular Immunology: Jennifer Thorne, MD, PhD, January 2015 – December 2015

2014 Gillingham Fellows

Cristhian Urzua Salinas (from Chile) to National Institutes of Health, National Eye Institute, Bethesda, MD

Clinical Immunology: Robert B. Nussenblatt, MD

Natalia Camacho Espinosa (from Colombia) to University of California San Diego, Shiley Eye Center, La Jolla, CA

Retina: William R. Freeman, MD

2013 Gillingham Fellows

Carlos Quesada Ruiz, MD from Mexico to McGill University Henry C. Witelson Ocular Pathology Lab, Montreal, Quebec

Pathology: Bruno F. Fernandez, MD

Johanna Matilde Gonzalez Rodriguez, MD from Mexico to Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Canada

Glaucoma: Graham Trope, MD

2012 Gillingham Fellows

Tammy Osaki, MD from São Paulo, Brazil to Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston, MA

Oculoplastic and Orbit: Aaron M. Fay, MD, FACS

Daniel Lavinsky, MD from São Paulo, Brazil to Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

Retina: Daniel Palanker, PhD and Mark Blumenkranz, MD

2011 Gillingham Fellows

Caio Vinícius Saito Regatieri, MD from São Paulo, Brazil to Harvard Medical School, Schepens Eye Research Institute, Boston, MA

Retina (Retina Stem Cell): Michael Young, PhD

(Accepted: May 2010 – November 2011)

Arturo Ramírez-Miranda, MD from Mexico City, Mexico to Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California at Los Angeles, CA

Cornea, External Disease & Refractive Surgery: Anthony Aldave, MD

(Accepted: July 1, 2010 – June 20, 2011)

Excerpt from report (Jules Stein Eye Institute UCLA):