An Important Part of Our Mission
We are committed to a tripartite mission consisting of interrelated goals: training, research and clinical practice. In this regard, PVI offers one-year and two-year Cornea/Vision Correction clinical and research Fellowships for doctors who have completed an accredited U.S. residency program in ophthalmology. The Fellowship program is rigorous and competitive, attracting the best and the brightest graduates of the top ophthalmology programs. The Ophthalmology Fellowship Match that we participate in is sponsored by the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology. Our Fellows are involved in all aspects of the Practice. They participate in the only cooperative program nationwide with the School of Optometry at UMSL, which provides pre- and post-operative co-management training to optometry students. Fellows perform vision correction surgery for patients in this specific program, under the direct supervision of PVI surgeons.
Fellows actively participate in clinical trials and research, leading to presentations at major scientific meetings and publication of findings. Having surgeons who are also PhD scientists makes our practice an ideal setting for training in clinical research.
In addition to our clinical fellows, we also offer an International Eye Bank Fellowship Program, in collaboration with other U.S. eye banking groups. The second most prevalent cause of blindness in the world is corneal disease. The goal of this Fellowship program is to promote indigenous eye banks and corneal transplantation in poorer nations.
As Dr. Pepose notes, “It is far more satisfying, efficient and effective to teach medical personnel in foreign countries to provide corneal tissue transplantation services themselves within their own communities.”
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