Erica is a former Prince of Wales Hospital Ophthalmology Senior Registrar who is now stationed in Toronto, Canada completing a two year cornea, anterior segment and refractive fellowship at the University of Toronto During these two years she will learn sub-specialised skills specifically in corneal transplants, refractive laser surety, complex anterior segment surgery and highly specialised dry eye treatment, which will be in an adjunct to her prior comprehensive training at the Prince of Wales Hospital.
As part of her fellowship she has the opportunity to access wonderful training facilities such as the Toronto Western Hospital’s we lab where the Eye Bank of Canada provides corneal graft tissue unsuitable for surgical use, for practice.
“Wet labs are essential part of learning new techniques as they provide hands on, didactic training with the ability for supervision.
“We are fortunate to have access to such facilities and tissue at our demand. This coupled with incredible supervisors and teachers makes for a holistic learning experience”.
Erica will also have the opportunity to engage in research during this time and attend a number of international conferences. Dr. Darian-Smith was also a successful recipient of the 2022 prestigious ASCRS Resident award, attending the in-person conference in Washington DC—only ten of these international awards are awarded annually. Dr. Darian-Smith also enjoys teaching medical students, residents and registrars and contributes to community optometry education—all of which she is able to continue during her fellowship training.
Dr. Darian-Smith has completed a number of higher degrees throughout her training including a Master of Medicine (Phthalmic Sciences) and more recently a Graduate Diploma in Cataract and Refractive Surgery—both through The University of Sydney. Erica is currently a PhD candidate, at The University of New South Wales, under the primary supervision of Professor Minas Coroneo in the field of “Refractive eye surgery challenges, techniques and innovations””, which she is completing alongside her current fellowship.