VITREORETINAL SURGERY FOUNDATION

SINCE THE FOUNDING OF THE VITREORETINAL SURGERY FOUNDATION (VRSF) 2005, WE HAVE MAINTAINED A ROBUST RESEARCH PROGRAM. THE GOAL OF THE RESEARCH PROGRAM HAS BEEN TO SUPPORT YOUNG INVESTIGATORS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO PURSUE A CAREER FOCUSING ON DISEASES OF THE RETINA. OUR RESEARCH PROGRAM IS OPEN TO MEDICAL STUDENTS, RESIDENTS AND FELLOWS AT OPHTHALMOLOGY TRAINING PROGRAMS, AND FULLTIME RESEARCH TRAINEES AT ACADEMIC CENTERS. WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH 36 PRACTICE BASED AND UNIVERSITY AFFILIATED PROGRAMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY.WE OFFER TWO TYPES OF RESEARCH GRANTS. OUR RESEARCH AWARD IS DESIGNED FOR OPHTHALMOLOGY RESIDENTS AND FELLOWS WHO WANT TO PURSUE A RESEARCH PROJECT DURING THEIR CLINICAL TRAINING. THE AWARD CONSISTS OF A RESEARCH STIPEND OF $2000 TOGETHER WITH AN ADDITIONAL $1000 FOR RESEARCH RELATED EXPENSES AND $1000 FOR TRAVEL EXPENSES TO PRESENT RESEARCH RESULTS AT A NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM. OUR RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP IS DESIGNED FOR SOMEONE INVOLVED IN FULLTIME RESEARCH AT AN ACADEMIC INSTITUTION PURSUING AN ADVANCED DEGREE, SUCH AS A PHD OR MD/PHD. THE FELLOWSHIP HAS A STIPEND OF $10,000 AND AN ADDITIONAL $1000 FOR TRAVEL EXPENSES TO PRESENT RESEARCH RESULTS AT A NATIONAL SYMPOSIUM.EACH YEAR BEGINNING IN JULY WE SOLICIT APPLICATIONS FROM OUR 35 AFFILIATED TRAINING PROGRAMS. APPLICATIONS ARE REVIEWED BY OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS CONSISTING OF MEMBERS OF OUR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE, RETINA CONSULTANTS OF MINNESOTA PLLC, AS WELL AS REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AND THE MAYO CLINIC. THE APPLICATION PROCESS IS COMPETITIVE, WITH APPROXIMATELY HALF OF THE APPLICATIONS SELECTED FOR AN AWARD OR FELLOWSHIP. IN 2025, THERE WERE 74 APPLICATIONS, WITH 34 RESEARCH AWARDS GIVEN, AND 5 FELLOWSHIPS AWARDED.THE SUCCESS OF OUR RESEARCH PROGRAM CAN BE MEASURED BY THE NUMBER OF PRESENTATIONS OF RESEARCH RESULTS AT NATIONAL MEETINGS AND PUBLICATION OF RESEARCH MANUSCRIPTS BY PEER REVIEWED JOURNALS. RESEARCH RESULTS ARE FREQUENTLY CITED IN ACADEMIC AND PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS. RESULTS OF PRESENTATIONS ARE SOMETIMES PICKED UP BY LOCAL OR NATIONAL MEDIA. PUBLISHED MANUSCRIPTS ARE AVAILABLE TO THE ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH COMMUNITY THROUGH THE PUBMED SEARCH ENGINE, AND MOST JOURNAL ARTICLES ARE AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS OF THE OPHTHALMOLOGY PROFESSION THROUGH OPEN SOURCE JOURNAL ACCESS. OVER THE LAST 5 YEARS THERE HAS BEEN 158 PRESENTATIONS AND 86 PUBLICATIONS.