Program Director: Mohamed Adenwalla, MD

Founded in 2016 by Dr. Adenwalla due to the vast unmet need for retina care at Cook County Health, the fellowship is a two-year medical and surgical hybrid-model vitreoretinal fellowship for applicants having completed an accredited ophthalmology residency program. The program is administrated in conjunction with the Retina Service at Cook County Health. This is a busy, comprehensive vitreoretinal experience with a balance between academics and private practice.

In the private practice setting, the fellow participates in 6-10 surgical cases per week and in many office-based procedures. At the county hospital, the fellow operates as primary surgeon for 5-7 primary cases per week. The clinic is fully staffed with both medical and surgical retina attendings, and fellow autonomy is encouraged. Office based procedures such as cryotherapy, laser photocoagulation, photodynamic therapy, pneumatic retinopexy, intravitreal injections are taught and performed. There is also direct interaction and teaching with ophthalmology residents in the retina clinic and the operating room. Clinical research opportunities are available and encouraged.

This program is very surgically oriented. The fellow can expect to perform 250-350 primary cases each year (total of 550-700 primary cases over the course of the fellowship), learning a variety of surgical methods from different attendings. The fellowship also places added emphasis on scleral buckle training as this is a “lost art” in many programs today. All surgical cases are fully supervised by attending staff. The fellow will also be exposed to several different hospitals and surgical centers, gaining proficiency in a wide variety of equipment and instrumentation.

Research Project:
Each year the fellow will be expected to complete a project and encouraged to present at a local or national meeting.

Academics:
The fellow will be expected to organize lectures and imaging conferences for the residents at Cook County as well as organize an OKAP review. There are also frequent Chicago retina meetings and/or dinners that the fellow will be encouraged to attend, including strong local retinal conferences like RABB, AVTT, Retinal Fellows Forum.

The program hosts quarterly Retina Fellow Rounds, where complex or unique surgical cases are reviewed and discussed. Additionally, a retina journal club meeting is also held quarterly at a local restaurant, where fellows, residents, and attendings present and discuss recent and important journal articles.

Current Fellows:
Obadah Moushmoush, MD (2024-2026)
Ismini Koulouri, MD (2025-2027)

Former Fellows:
Benjamin Reiss, MD (2018)
Hari Mylvaganam, MD (2020)
Bilal Shaukat, MD (2022)
Hudson Stern, MD (2023)
Dagmara Danek, DO (2024)
Armando Garcia, MD (2025)

Pre-requisites:
Fellow must have completed an ACGME-accredited ophthalmology residency and be eligible to obtain an Illinois medical license.

Applications will be accepted through SFMatch.

For specific queries please reach out to Dr. Adenwalla at adenwalla@retinaassociates.com.