Overview
The mission of the two-year, AUPO FCC compliant vitreoretinal surgery fellowship at Tennessee Retina is to foster your development into a skilled vitreoretinal surgeon. We also aim to tailor your experience to your future career goals by providing career mentorship, subspeciality exposure and research opportunities. Tennessee Retina will sponsor one fellow each year for a two-year, comprehensive, medical and surgical fellowship in the diagnosis and management of vitreoretinal diseases.
Akshay S. Thomas, M.D., MS
Program Director
- High volume surgical experience with graduating fellows expected to have completed >1000 surgical cases
- Exposure to subspecialties of pediatric retina, ocular oncology and uveitis under the guidance of fellowship-trained subspecialists. There is also the opportunity to tailor the last block of your second year into a mini-fellowship in one of these subspecialties
- Exposure to challenging surgical pathology such as retinal detachment with proliferative vitreoretinopathy, tractional retinal detachment, refractory macular holes, pediatric retinal detachments, surgical management of ocular tumors, uveitic detachments, intraocular foreign bodies, traumatic retinal detachment and secondary intraocular lenses
- Involvement as a sub-investigator in a variety of clinical trials allowing exposure to novel intravitreal therapeutics, suprachoroidal drug delivery, port delivery system, subretinal gene therapy
- Protected research time with support to present at a variety of national and international meetings
- Competitive salary, malpractice coverage, health insurance, 3 weeks of vacation per year, call one in four weeks
- Fellows will be funded to travel to the following meetings:
o First year – Mass eye and ear vitrectomy course, Duke AVS, ARVO
o Second year – ASRS, AAO, Retina Society, Vit-Buckle Society, and Fellows Forum![]()
Schedule
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Attending Clinic OR OR Attending Clinic/ROP OR OR Attending Clinic Research OR Fellows Clinic Candidates for our vitreoretinal surgery fellowship must have the following qualifications:
- Must possess MD, DO, or equivalent degree
- Must have completed an accredited US ophthalmology residency program
- Must be eligible for board certification and TN licensure
Please use SF Match’s Central Application Service (CAS) at the link below.
If you have any questions, please reach out by email to our Fellowship Coordinator, Lakin Sanders at tnrfellowship@tnretina.com
The deadline for submission of your online application is Thursday, August 20th, 2026.
Interviews will be held on Sunday, September 20th and Sunday, October 25th, 2026.
