Fellowships
Craniofacial Pediatric Plastic Surgery Fellowship
The Craniofacial Pediatric Plastic Surgery Fellowship is a one-year program providing comprehensive exposure to all areas of pediatric plastic surgery.
As the only quaternary care, level-one trauma hospitals in Orange County, California, UCI Medical Center and CHOC Children’s Hospital serve a diverse population of over 3.5 million (and an equally large additional catchment). Fellows will learn from eight core faculty to develop mastery in all facets of craniofacial and pediatric plastic surgery. They will be deeply integrated into multiple interdisciplinary clinics.
In addition to five plastic surgeons, core faculty include a full-time fellowship-trained craniofacial orthodontist, an OMFS, and a craniofacial neurosurgeon providing additional perspectives and hands-on training in NasoAlveolar Molding (NAM), virtual surgical planning, minimally invasive intracranial approaches, and more.
Additionally, fellows can explore areas of personal interest with faculty who have expertise in facial reanimation, preservation rhinoplasty, neuroplastic reconstruction, complex facial trauma, migraine surgery, gender affirming surgery, microsurgical oncologic reconstruction, and pediatric brachial plexus/congenital extremity reconstruction. Microsurgical techniques are well-integrated across several facets of the fellowship.
UCI/CHOC offers the Craniofacial Fellow strong institutional support for research. The Department of Plastic Surgery’s Center for Tissue Engineering is a productive hub of basic science and translational research with several ongoing craniofacial studies and significant extramural funding.
Two clinical research coordinators at CHOC assist the Fellow in all aspects of the scientific process, from IRB approval to manuscript preparation. The UCI/CHOC Craniofacial program is actively studying novel resorbable craniofacial implants, applications of AI/XR technologies, patient-reported psychosocial outcomes, sleep-disordered breathing, initiatives for sustainable surgery, child neglect/abuse, cartilage generation, tissue oxygenation, and much more.
In addition to salary and benefits at the PGY-7 level, the Fellowship provides additional funds to support conference travel, workshop training, research publications, and participation in overseas outreach. A particular focus of the fellowship is responsible, bidirectional global collaboration that fosters sustained knowledge/skill transfer. The fellow also has multiple opportunities to engage in global clinical and academic outreach and can work closely with 2-3 UCI/Global Smile Foundation International Research Fellows.
Contact Information:
Raj Vyas, M.D., FACS
Fellowship Director
Professor and Vice-Chair, UC Irvine Department of Plastic Surgery
Chief of Pediatric Plastic Surgery, CHOC Children’s Hospital
Elena Quiroz-Carraby
Fellowship Coordinator
ecarraby@hs.uci.edu
Hand Fellowship
The hand fellowship is through the Department of Orthopedic Surgery here at UCI but fellows work closely with faculty from both the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Department of Plastic Surgery. Please click here for more information.
Research Fellowship
We offer a 1 year research fellowship through the Center for Tissue Engineering. Click here to view our Research page.
The Department of Plastic Surgery has a formal affiliation agreement with the Chang Gung Hospital in Taiwan. Each year, residents from Taiwan spend time at our department and during the PGY V year, our residents spend two weeks in Taipei.
Opportunities for clinical observerships within the Department of Plastic Surgery are also available.
University of California Irvine Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Fellowship
Fellowship Overview:
The University of California Irvine, in collaboration with Marten Clinic of Plastic Surgery, El Paso Cosmetic Surgery, Hunt Neurohr Plastic Surgery, and Ramsey Choucair Plastic Surgery, offers a distinguished 12-month fellowship dedicated exclusively to aesthetic plastic surgery. The fellowship is structured into two six-month rotations between California and Texas, providing comprehensive exposure to a variety of aesthetic procedures.
Program Structure:
- Duration: 12 months
- Focus: 100% aesthetic surgery
- Annual Fellows: 1 fellow per year
The fellowship provides extensive experience in aesthetic surgery of the face, body, and breast, as well as non-surgical cosmetic medicine. Additionally, fellows gain valuable insights into practice management, administration, billing, marketing, and coding, while working with more than 15 private practice surgeons and UC Irvine faculty.
Key Rotations:
- Newport Beach/UC Irvine Rotation (6 months): The fellow will work at the UC Irvine hospitals and the Fashion Island Surgery Center, AAAASF-accredited facility dedicated exclusively to aesthetic surgery. Surgeons involved in this rotation include:
- Gregory Evans, MD (Program Director and Chairman of UC Irvine Plastic Surgery)
- Daniel Kim, MD (Site Co-director)
- Donald Mowlds, MD
- John Park, MD
- Mark Kobayashi, MD
- Michael Lee, MD
- Keyian Paydar, MD
- Garrett Wirth, MD
- Dr. Hisham Seify
- Raj Vyas, MD
- Miles Pfaff, MD
- Christopher Ellstrom, MD
- Brandon Richland, MD
- Additional opportunities include time with:
- Rami Batniji, MD
- Jonathan Zelken, MD
- Ali Sajjadian, MD
- Steven Ip, MD
- Jeffrey Joseph, MD
- Richard Lee, MD
- San Francisco Rotation (1.5 months): The fellow will rotate at the prestigious Marten Clinic of Plastic Surgery, working with world-renowned facial aesthetic surgeon Dr. Timothy Marten.
- Additional opportunities include time with:
- Dino Elyassnia, MD
- David Sieber, MD
- El Paso, Texas Rotation (1.5 months): The fellow will work at El Paso Cosmetic Surgery with Dr. Ozan Sozer.
- Dallas, Texas Rotation (3 months): The Dallas rotation includes time with:
- Dr. Hunt Neurohr (1.5 months)
- Dr. Ramsey Choucair (1.5 months)
- Additionally, the fellow may work with Dr. Spencer Cochran during Dallas rotation.
Clinical Opportunities:
- The fellow will conduct their own aesthetic surgery clinic at the UC Irvine Costa Mesa Clinic, seeing patients independently, handling consultations, performing neuromodulator and filler injections, and managing post-operative care.
- Fellow will have your business card and marketing brochure will be designed to given to patients
- The fellowship allows fellows to book and perform surgeries independently at Fashion Island Surgery Center.
- The fellow supervises resident clinics and staff chief residents’ aesthetic surgery cases at UC Irvine hospitals.
Professional Development:
- The program includes participation in monthly Orange County Plastic Surgery Society meetings, UC Irvine departmental conferences, and access to cadaver labs.
- The fellow will meet weekly with the Program Director for feedback and evaluations.
- Attendance at the annual Aesthetic Meeting is expected, with travel expenses covered by the program.
Research Requirements:
- Fellows are expected to engage in clinical research and submit abstracts for presentation at The Aesthetic Meeting.
Call Requirements:
- Fellows will not be on call for hand surgery, and plastic surgery call is limited to no more than 4 calls per month as per Aesthetic Society guidelines.
Compensation and Benefits:
- Salary: $104,000 (PGY-7 level) – May change with cost of living and yearly evaluation by the University of California
- Benefits: Includes medical malpractice, health, dental, and vision insurance provided through UC Irvine Health System (updated annually).
Eligibility Requirements:
- Applicants must have completed an ACGME-accredited residency in plastic surgery and be board-eligible or board-certified by the start of the fellowship.
- Full California and Texas medical licenses are required.