UConn Med Student Matches Early to Wills Eye Residency Program
Annie Yao, a dual degree MD/PhD student at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, has successfully matched into the competitive medical residency training program in ophthalmology at the Wills Eye Hospital Residency Program at Thomas Jefferson University. Yao, who will graduate in 2026 from the UConn School of Medicine, completed her PhD at UConn School of Medicine in the lab of Dr. Riqiang Yan, a world-renowned Alzheimer’s disease (AD) researcher. The Yan Lab studies of Yao focused on researching how amyloid-producing proteins regulate synaptic function, neuronal excitability, and long-term potentiation – the physical substrate of memory formation – in rodent models of AD. As Yao explained, "“I fell in love with ophthalmology when I was still exploring medical specialties during my PhD years. I have always been interested in the nervous system, and the eye is unique in that it is a direct extension of the brain. In ophthalmology, we can directly observe all the layers of the eye using different types of lenses and microscopes, and we can improve or restore someone’s vision with intricate microsurgery.”