The environment in the clinics was exciting and challenging. Both the simple and no so simple cases were viewed and managed with the maximum level of science I have experienced in my career. This in return drove me to emulate that incredible work ethic. In more complex cases, we held multi-disciplinary meetings with neurology, neuro-surgery, rheumatology, and other specialties and sub-specialties and those were the most fun, academic meetings I have ever attended.

Doing research within the program was encouraged, and having the input of several Ph.D. instructors, gave me a better understanding of the scientific method, the clinical research approach, and the confidence to write my ideas and findings. Thanks to the Gillingham Fellowship I was able to present two posters at the North American Neuro-ophthalmology Society Annual Meeting in March 2020 and publish my research projects.

Another aspect of the fellowship was the cultural exchange. Los Angeles is a big, diverse city, in which people from all over the US and the world live. Many of the other fellows were from outside the US, including my co-fellow Nicolas, who was from Chile. Having that many different cultures in the clinics and living in a city with such abundant life, only improved the experience further.

I feel grateful to be able to come back to Colombia to teach everything that I’ve learned over the past year and to help patients in an underdeveloped sub-specialty in our Country. I would like to thank the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology, the Pan-American Foundation and the Retina Research Foundation for this incredible opportunity.

Alvaro Mejia-Vergara, MD

Dr Stacey Pineles, MD and Dr. Alvaro Mejia Vergara MD at her clinic.

Dr. Alvaro Mejia Vergara and Prem Subramanian MD PhD at the AAO meeting 2019