{"id":9145,"date":"2024-03-08T11:23:58","date_gmt":"2024-03-08T16:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/ophth\/?page_id=9145"},"modified":"2026-03-23T22:40:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T02:40:54","slug":"integrated-clinical-research-fellowship","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/ophth\/education-programs\/fellowship-training-programs\/integrated-clinical-research-fellowship\/","title":{"rendered":"Integrated Clinical and Research Fellowship"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>2026-2027 Integrated Clinical and Research Fellowship<br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\n** We have filled both our <strong>Gap Year<\/strong> &amp; <strong>Reapplicant <\/strong><span style=\"color: inherit\">Positions<br \/>\nand are <\/span><strong style=\"color: inherit\">no longer accepting applications **<\/strong><\/h4>\n<hr \/>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>About the Fellowship<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>UNC Ophthalmology&#8217;s <strong>one-year Integrated Clinical and Research Fellowship <\/strong>is led by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/ophth\/directory\/alice-zhang-m-d\/\"><strong>Dr. Alice Zhang<\/strong><\/a> (surgical retina) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/ophth\/directory\/david-fleischman-md\/\"><strong>Dr. David Fleischman<\/strong> <\/a>(glaucoma). For the past seven years, this fellowship has provided advanced preparation for ophthalmology residency through combined clinical and research training.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Key Responsibilities<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Fellows assume an active role within UNC Department of Ophthalmology and are expected to engage fully in its clinical, research, and educational missions. Core responsibilities include:\n<ul>\n<li>Evaluating patients independently in clinic and staffing directly with attending physicians (2 days per week)<\/li>\n<li>Participating in resident didactics, departmental conferences and wet labs<\/li>\n<li>Leading clinical and translational projects from conception through publication<\/li>\n<li>Completing IRB submissions, data analysis, manuscript drafting, and peer-review responses<\/li>\n<li>Presenting research at regional and national meetings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Research Experience<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>Fellows are expected to maintain a high level of scholarly productivity throughout the research year, with an emphasis on leading projects that result in tangible academic output. With close faculty mentorship and robust departmental support, fellows consistently produce work that contributes meaningfully to the ophthalmic literature. Research opportunities are predominantly retina, glaucoma, and medical education, but fellows are encouraged to work with faculty in other subspecialties as well. Recent fellows have presented at national meetings such as AAO, ARVO, ASCRS, etc.<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Fellowship Outcomes<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The fellowship has a strong track record and reputation of preparing fellows for ophthalmology residency. As of the 2025 match cycle, 10 of 12 fellows have successfully matched into ophthalmology residency programs, reflecting the program\u2019s emphasis on meaningful clinical experience, high research productivity, and close faculty mentorship.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>6 of 6 of fellows completing a gap year between their M3 and M4 year have matched.<\/li>\n<li>4 of 6 fellows in the reapplicant position have succeeded in securing an ophthalmology residency position, while 2 of 6 secured a position in another specialty of their choice.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Qualifications<\/strong><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Current medical student at a school graduating MDs and DOs<\/li>\n<li>U.S. Permanent Resident or Citizen (we are unable to sponsor a visa application)<\/li>\n<li>Strong analytical and problem-solving skills<\/li>\n<li>Excellent written and verbal communication skills<\/li>\n<li>Ability to work independently and collaboratively within a team<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 class=\"x_elementToProof\" style=\"text-align: center\"><b data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Application Procedure<\/b><\/h4>\n<p>1)\u00a0 <strong><u>One<\/u><\/strong> 12-month gap year position: (May\/June \u2013 June of the following year).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis through February\/March of the start year of the fellowship.<\/li>\n<li>Interested candidates should email <strong><u>UNC_Ophtho@med.unc.edu<\/u><\/strong> with a brief personal statement outlining their goals for the research year and a copy of their CV. Please indicate if the application is for the gap year or reapplicant position.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2) <strong><u>One<\/u> <\/strong>reapplicant medical student position: (March\/April \u2013 April of the following year)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Interested candidates should email <strong><u>UNC_Ophtho@med.unc.edu<\/u> <\/strong>with a brief personal statement of their goals for the research year. Please specify reasons for not matching and how this research fellowship may be a good fit for goals in medicine. If the student applied to UNC through the SF match, please indicate the SF Match ID#; otherwise, please forward the CAS application. Please indicate if the application is for the gap year or reapplicant position. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until two weeks after Match Day.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\">** We have filled both our <strong>Gap Year<\/strong> &amp; <strong>Reapplicant <\/strong><span style=\"color: inherit\">Positions<br \/>\nand are <\/span><strong style=\"color: inherit\">no longer accepting applications **<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Equal Opportunity Employer<\/strong><\/h4>\n<p>The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to diversity in the workplace. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and experiences.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2026-2027 Integrated Clinical and Research Fellowship ** We have filled both our Gap Year &amp; Reapplicant Positions and are no longer accepting applications ** About the Fellowship UNC Ophthalmology&#8217;s one-year Integrated Clinical and Research Fellowship is led by Dr. Alice Zhang (surgical retina) and Dr. David Fleischman (glaucoma). For the past seven years, this fellowship &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/ophth\/education-programs\/fellowship-training-programs\/integrated-clinical-research-fellowship\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Integrated Clinical and Research Fellowship\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17488,"featured_media":0,"parent":2287,"menu_order":6,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"layout":"","cellInformation":"","apiCallInformation":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-9145","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","odd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Integrated Clinical and Research Fellowship | Department of Ophthalmology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/ophth\/education-programs\/fellowship-training-programs\/integrated-clinical-research-fellowship\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Integrated Clinical and Research Fellowship | Department of Ophthalmology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"2026-2027 Integrated Clinical and Research Fellowship ** We have filled both our Gap Year &amp; Reapplicant Positions and are no longer accepting applications ** About the Fellowship UNC Ophthalmology&#8217;s one-year Integrated Clinical and Research Fellowship is led by Dr. Alice Zhang (surgical retina) and Dr. David Fleischman (glaucoma). 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