FOstering Careers for Upcoming Stars (FOCUS)

The Vit-Buckle Society is committed to supporting access to care in the field of surgical retina. As such, VBS is excited to bring back the highly popular FOstering Careers for Upcoming Stars (FOCUS) Program to increase the pipeline of people focused on patients who are underserved in medicine.

Winners will receive waived registration, a shared hotel room for four nights (3/31-4/4) at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach in Miami Beach, and reimbursement for up to $500 in travel expenses to attend the 2027 VBS Annual Meeting April 1-3, 2027, in Miami Beach, FL. A full day of program content targeted to FOCUS participants will occur on April 1st, and participants are expected to stay for the duration of the meeting.

To be eligible, applicants must be actively enrolled medical students or ophthalmology residents with verification of status and approval to attend the meeting by their medical school dean or ophthalmology residency program director. Previous FOCUS travel grant recipients who have finished their two-year travel grants are ineligible from reapplying. Interested applicants must submit a brief CV summarizing their educational background and a no longer than 90 second audio statement addressing the following questions:

What do you hope to gain from the FOCUS program? What is your vision for improving access to quality care in the field of retina?

All audio content must be submitted in English no later than November 2, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET.

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Gender(Required)

Training Year(Required)

Medical School/Residency Program(Required)

Name of Dean/Residency Program Director(Required)

Email of Dean/Residency Program Director(Required)

CV Summarizing Educational Background(Required)

Accepted file types: doc, docx, pdf, Max. file size: 8 MB.

Audio Statement(Required)

Max. file size: 8 MB.

No longer than 90 seconds

Acknowledgements(Required)

I have been approved by my training program to attend the 2027 VBS Annual Meeting

If selected, I plan to attend the entirety of the program

If selected, I understand that VBS membership is required

I confirm that I have not attended as a FOCUS Travel Grant recipient in the past.

To be considered for application, you must agree to the above