CONNECTING YOUNG OPHTHALMOLOGISTS AROUND THE WORLD
Win a 2022 PAAO Membership
Instagram Giveaway
Join the PAAO-YO
We are an international network of young ophthalmologists that come together to share our knowledge and experiences.
PAAO-YO Experiences
PAAO-YO
going abroad
leadership course
PAAO-YO Picks
2022 Gillingham Pan-American Fellowship Experience: Miguel Cruz Pimentel MD
We can’t stop learning. We need to continually pursue better education. And thank you to the Pan-American Ophthalmological Foundation for this award.
2022 Gillingham Pan-American Fellowship Experience: Natasha Cruz MD
We can’t stop learning. We need to continually pursue better education. And thank you to the Pan-American Ophthalmological Foundation for this award.
2021 Gillingham Pan-American Fellowship Experience: Mariana Matioli MD
We can’t stop learning. We need to continually pursue better education. And thank you to the Pan-American Ophthalmological Foundation for this award.
2019 Gillingham Pan-American Fellowship Experience: Paulina Liberman MD
I encourage young ophthalmologists to apply to the Gillingham fellowship. It is an amazing opportunity, and training in the US is a life-changing experience.
2019 Gillingham Pan-American Fellowship Experience: Dr. Alvaro Mejia Vergara
Fellowship training has been one of the best experiences in my academic career. I spent one year in training with six of the most prestigious neuro-ophthalmologists in America.
PAAO Pediatric Ophthalmology Fellowship Experience: Dr. Lucas B. Farias
When I was selected for the 2019 Pediatric Ophthalmology Fellowship at UT Southwestern/Children’s in Dallas it was like a dream come true.
YO Research
A Message From Our Editor
Covid-19 has taken many things away from us, but has given us the blessing of time. Time to be able to change for the better. I am pleased to announce that we are launching our PAAO-YO website. In this first editor´s Note I will like to share some thoughts that have been hovering over my mind since the pandemic started.
As human beings we have the ability to evolve over time. This allowed us to survive as species, but the capability we have to do this during adversities and especially during crisis, in just the blink of an eye, has everything to do with our generation and its open mind for acquiring new ideas and technologies.

Valentina Franco Cardenas, MD
Editor in Chief

It is said that the pandemic advanced the adoption of digital technologies 6 to 10 years
It is said that the pandemic advanced the adoption of digital technologies 6 to 10 years, ranging from the ways in which we work, communicate, shop, and even amuse ourselves. I believe that one of the aspects of our daily life that has been dramatically changed is education. This time we have had no option. We needed to attend online education such as meetings or webinars if we wanted to gain knowledge, share ideas and keep in touch.
It is in this context, that PAAO-YO webinars were launched. I sincerely encourage you to attend our PAAO-YO webinars, focused on the topics that we believe YOs are most concerned about. Also please check out our scholarships and awards sections. We are sure that you can find inspiring ideas if you want to go abroad, need orientation or even financial aid. We also included a list of our PAAO-delegates in each country so you can reach out for advice or mentorship during your early ophthalmology years.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any ideas, experiences, or articles that you would like to share at the PAAO-YO website or you might be interested in seeing.
Connecting YO´s is PAAO-YO´s mission. We are here for you.