IOFF Subspecialty Fellowship Program

The IOFF scholarship program invites young ophthalmologists from resource-poor or underserved countries to apply for an IOFF specialty scholarship. Scholarship holders are expected to bring the knowledge and skills they have acquired with them to their home countries and to participate in programs aimed at maintaining eyesight and preventing blindness.

IOFF three-month sub-specialist fellowships are awarded in the areas of Cataract Surgery, Community Eye Health, Cornea and External Diseases, Glaucoma, Low Vision and Rehabilitation, Medical Retina, Microbiology / Ocular Pathology / Ocular Oncology, Neuro-Ophthalmology, Ocular Oncology , Oculoplastic, Ophthalmo-Genetic, Pediatric Ophthalmology, Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, Retinoblastoma, ROP and Pediatric Retina, Strabismus, Trauma, Uveitis and Vitreoretina ".

For more information on the IOFF Subspecialty Fellowship Program, visit www.ioff.org. Please read through the current criteria and information on the application process as they will help you complete the application process.

Prof. Berthold Seitz, Prof. Peter Gabel and Ms. Cordula Gabel-Obermaier are a well-coordinated team with many years of experience and are responsible for the program.

• Prof. Dr. Peter Gabel, chairman of the organization
• Prof. Dr. Berthold Seitz, Deputy chairman of IOFF e. V. and director for IOFF specialist grants
• Cordula Gabel-Obermaier, managing director for IOFF subspecialty fellowships
  cgo@ioff.org

This fellowship program on Cornea & External diseases has been a cornerstone in my career. I am grateful to Prof. Seitz and his team, and Mrs. Cordula Gabel-Obermaier for making my experience beyond my expectations. I was assigned two different research projects on corneal biomechanics and one case report, and during these three months I was able to finish the projects. I also came up with the idea of an AI-based project on corneal neovascularization and Prof Seitz helped me with finding a relevant collaboration. I had the chance to finish this project as well.
I joined the eye bank that has the compliance with GMP conditions and attended all parts of the cornea banking process. I worked in the wet-lab and practiced cornea transplantation with the double running suture technique on pig eyes. Prof. Seitz also assisted me and taught the technique more precisely.
In the operating room, I observed excimer penetrating keratoplasties, double running suture technique, semilunar keratoplasty, lamellar keratoplasties (DMEK, DALK), amniotic membrane transplantation with sandwich technique, etc. Observing all these surgeries has been very helpful for me to learn how I can implement these techniques back in my country to improve the patient care.
All weekdays started with a morning meeting where all physicians and other healthcare employees discuss the current status of the patient care and interesting cases followed by a seminar. I had the chance to make two different presentations in the morning meetings during my visit. I attended morning ward rounds almost every morning.
Overall, this fellowship was very rewarding regarding my future career as a clinician-scientist on corneal diseases. Once again, I would like to thank Prof. Seitz and his team, and Mrs. Cordula Gabel-Obermaier for making my experience beyond my expectations and I would also like to thank my sponsor (Bayer AG) for their generous support to make this fellowship possible.
Dr. Burak Mergen
Başakşehir Çam und Sakura City Hospital, Instanbul, Turkey

Being here in Homburg is a new experience for me that exceeds my expectations. I can learn from Prof. Dr. Seitz and his team how they can manage different and challenging corneal cases and I can practice in the wet lab. I think I am learning now at one of the best corneal centers in the world. I want to thank Prof. Dr. Seitz and Alimera Sciences Ophthalmologie for such a great opportunity they gave me.
Saghir Ahmed Hosny Mahmoud
Assistant lecturer, South Valley University Egypt