Cornea Fellowship Program

Albany Medical College
Department of Ophthalmology
Cornea & Refractive Surgery Fellowship

Thank you very much for inquiring about the Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery Fellowship at Cornea Consultants of Albany and the Albany Medical College Department of Ophthalmology. We currently offer a one-year clinical and research fellowship which has been filled continuously since 1991.

Drs. Robert L. Schultze and Robert Eden maintain a very active referral-based practice and perform approximately 120 transplants a year as well as other varied anterior segment and reconstructive procedures (DSAEK, DALK, PK, etc.). Additionally, we have a busy refractive practice performing over 600 procedures annually. While we serve as the academic division of Cornea and Refractive Surgery for the Medical Center we also maintain a private office setting (Cornea Consultants of Albany) allowing the fellow exposure to all possible future practice settings.

We accept one fellow yearly and feel that this insures the greatest exposure to the varied patient population and allows for a maximal surgical experience. As a fellow, you would be working closely with both physicians in addition to maintaining a series of patients as your own “practice”. We tend to give the fellow a great deal of both clinical and surgical responsibility.

The practice is typically involved in many national studies including the NEI-sponsored CDS (Corneal Donor Study) and Fuchs Genetics Study as well as industry-sponsored studies including dry eye (Inspire, diquafasol) and high risk corneal transplantation (LUX, cyclosporine). The fellow is expected to participate in ongoing research projects and also develop a project on their own. Upon acceptance of an abstract, travel is supported to AAO and/or ASCRS.

Our Fellowship participates with and supports the AUPO – Fellowship Compliance Council (AUPO-FCC). Fellowship guidelines can be found at either www.aupofcc.org or on the Cornea Society web site, www.corneasociety.org. We participate with the SF-Matching CAS application process and you will need to register at www.sfmatch.org. Please make sure you include a copy of each year’s OKAP scores and your SF-Matching number in all your correspondence.

You must obtain a NYS license and DEA license at least 3 months prior to beginning your fellowship. Your ability to obtain licensure is a prerequisite for fellowship funding. Pending prompt completion of all credentialing material, licensure expenses are reimbursed. Salary as of July 2010 is $43,000 annually and includes personal health insurance.

We also require a personal interview. We find it most beneficial for the applicant to hold interviews in our office as this gives the potential fellow more insight into our clinical practice. We typically hold fellowship interviews in September and October.

From past experience, the fellowship tends to be a very enjoyable year for the fellow. The fellow is given substantial responsibility and is afforded mutual respect. Our offices are all modern, friendly and very enjoyable to work in. Albany is an easy place to live with a reasonable cost of living, state capital charm and an abundance of activities. We look forward to receiving your application and would be glad to discuss the program with you personally if you so desire.

Warmest regards,

Robert L Schultze, M.D., FACS
Fellowship Director
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
Director Cornea & Refractive Surgery
Residency Program Director Albany Medical College

Robert A. Eden, MD
Assistant Professor
Fellowship Co-Director