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Resident Retreat

The Heed Ophthalmic Foundation traditionally holds its annual Residents Retreat in the Spring at locations throughout the U.S. For the 2026 retreat, the retreat will instead be held in the Fall. 

Nominations for the 2026 Resident Retreat are currently open from March 31 to April 28, 2026. 

Submit Your Nominations!

The 2026 Resident Retreat will be held in Chicago, Illinois, from September 26 - 27, 2026. 

Description

Thirty to 35 residents, nominated by their department chairs and residency program directors, and faculty, including recent K-awardees, mid-career, and senior faculty, gather to discuss careers in academic ophthalmology. During the informal sessions, residents mingle with academic ophthalmologists just a few years their senior, to learn how young faculty members made the transition from trainee to academician. Among the topics discussed are how faculty combine patient care with positions/involvement in clinical research, lab research, residency and fellowship program leadership, medical student education, NEI/NIH, Veteran Affairs, and/or public health/international ophthalmology, to achieve highly rewarding academic careers. This program has been enormously popular and successful in preparing residents to pursue a career in academic ophthalmology.

Nomination and Selection Process

Department chairs and residency program directors are encouraged to nominate one or two residents from their programs who have the talent and desire to pursue a career in academic ophthalmology. Nominations are reviewed, and nominees are selected, by the Society of Heed Fellows (SOHF) Trustees.

Submit Your Nominations!

20th Annual Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Residents Retreat
September 26 – 27, 2026 | Chicago, Illinois
Deadline for Nominations: April 28, 2026

Submit Your Nominations!


The Society of Heed Fellows (SOHF) and the Heed Foundation are pleased to announce that resident nominations are open for an in-person 20th Annual Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Residents Retreat. Department chairs and residency program directors are requested to nominate one or two residents from their programs who have the talent and desire to pursue a career in academic ophthalmology. This retreat has been enormously popular and successful in preparing residents to pursue a career in academic ophthalmology. Please give thoughtful consideration to the selection of residents with this intended career path. 

Important Notes

  • All documents must be uploaded as PDF files.
  • Be sure to click Complete Task after each upload to save your work.
  • Review the NIH Biosketch tips in the previous announcement and use the Fellowship Biosketch version provided in the application.
  • Additional retreat details are available in the previous announcement and on the Heed website.

Nomination Steps

  1. The nominator, who is the Department Chair and or Residency Program Director, creates a profile and logs in using the new credentials.
  2. Start a nomination by entering the residency program name and the resident’s name and email address.
  3. Upload the resident’s NIH Biosketch in NIH format only, not to exceed five pages. Use the Fellowship version provided in the application. 
  4. Upload the resident’s personal statement describing their career goals. 
  5. Upload one letter of recommendation from the Department Chair and or Residency Program Director. A combined letter is acceptable.
    1. The letter of recommendation is particularly important when nominating a resident who may not, for a variety of reasons, have had the opportunity or resources to develop a strong CV but, who in the opinion of the department chair and program director is strongly committed and capable of an academic career.
    2. If nominating two residents, you confirm willingness to fund a second resident if selected. Do not nominate more than two residents.
    3. To submit a second nomination, use the left navigation sidebar to return to Your Applications and complete a new submission.
  6. Select Back to Application, then click Review and Submit, and finally Submit.

Tips for Completing the NIH Biosketch for the Heed Resident Retreat

  1. Use the Fellowship version of the NIH Biosketch. Do not use the Pre- or Post-doctoral Fellowship Biosketch form. A link will be provided within the retreat application portal.
  2. Personal Statements - use the Personal Statement portion of the NIH Biosketch form to concisely summarize/highlight scientific work and accomplishments. The Personal Statement section within the Resident Retreat application should be used to outline fellowship and career plans as well as any other elements of the candidate's background they would like the Board to take into consideration. 
  3. Ignore the eRA commons username section of the NIH Biosketch form. 
  4. Add "Heed Fellowship" in the Position Title field of the NIH Biosketch form.
  5. The NIH Biosketch form instructions allow a maximum of 5 pages so the Heed Resident Retreat organizers will also allow up to 5 pages this year. Please note this change is not intended as encouragement to have 5 pages; 2 pages is preferred, but up to 5 pages will be accepted.

Troubleshooting Tip
If you experience issues saving your application or uploading documents, switch browsers, log in again, then visit https://retreat.heed.org/clean. Click Clear Selected Storage twice until the list shows “0,” then log in and continue your application.

Sponsors

The Resident Retreat is supported by the Society of Heed Fellows in conjunction with the Heed Ophthalmic Foundation, the American Ophthalmological Society (AOS), and Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB).  

Questions

The Heed Foundation, www.Heed.org, is grateful to the AUPO chairs and residency program directors for their continuing support of the Heed Foundation Residents Retreat. Questions should be submitted to the Heed Office - [email protected].