Excellence in Eye Care, Education & Research
By providing high-quality clinical care, offering residency and fellowship programs, and advancing ophthalmic research, the Department of Ophthalmology seeks to further establish Austin as a hub for specialized eye care and expand services for patients with low incomes.
Focus Areas
The department’s mission is to provide outstanding, patient-centered clinical and surgical ophthalmic care to the people of Austin and beyond. Its initial focus is to attract faculty who will be as innovative as Dell Medical School itself. It seeks to build the department with academic ophthalmologists who will provide unique, high-level skills in the domains of clinical care, research and education.
Faculty members will partner with the Austin ophthalmology community in the education of all levels of learners, adding value to our educational programs. Medical students will learn from private practice ophthalmologists in their offices and operating rooms, and residents will care for patients during rotations with community ophthalmologists.
The department aims to produce research dedicated to the improvement and preservation of vision. Dell Med offers exciting opportunities for collaboration with the local tech industry and with University of Texas at Austin scientists in areas including nanoparticle technology, cell and tissue engineering, regenerative medicine/stem cell research and artificial intelligence/machine learning.
Closely affiliated with the Department of Ophthalmology is the Mitchel and Shannon Wong Eye Institute, which seeks to become a renowned center for eye care, education and research. The Wong family’s commitment to outstanding eye care drives the institute’s approach. The institute plans to open its UT Health Austin clinic in fall 2020.
