Eyeworld

DECEMBER 2022 | EYEWORLD | 29 Contact Micheletti: morgan.micheletti@gmail.com About the physician Morgan Micheletti, MD Berkeley Eye Center Houston, Texas Relevant disclosures Micheletti: None Exploring research in private practice T he December episode of the ASCRS YES Connect Webinar series covers research within a private practice setting. While it might seem that prac- ticing in an academic setting dovetails well with research, Morgan Micheletti, MD, said one shouldn't discount the amount of research that can be done in private practice. When Dr. Micheletti joined Berkeley Eye Center, the practice was already heavily in- volved in research. "Our senior partner, Michael Caplan, MD, had been and continued to be involved in numerous FDA studies," he said. From there, Dr. Micheletti got involved in FDA studies but also began a new arm of investigator-initiated studies. When he spoke with EyeWorld, he had more than 10 investiga- tor-initiated studies in various phases and was currently involved in four FDA clinical trials. "It always answers a clinical question that we have," he said of this type of research. "It has even changed the way that we've selected lenses for patients. It has real-world impact on our patients. What has driven me with these [investigator-initiated studies] is that it helps answer clinical questions about whatever tech- nology it is that we are studying." Dr. Micheletti said that research is not something that an ophthalmologist has to do, but it has tremendous value in the field, and he finds it fulfilling personally. "It's not for every- one, but many ophthalmologists at some point in the course of their education or training were involved with research," he said. Dr. Micheletti said that he's found doing re- search, despite the extra hours it adds to his day, "so revitalizing." "I had my head down working hard in my practice, seeing tons of patients, but [research] has added a whole other dimension of fulfillment and enjoyment," he said. In comparing research abilities in academics versus private practice, Dr. Micheletti said he thinks there are pros to both settings. Academic institutions, he said, have a lot of infrastructure already in place: access to medical students, residents, and/or fellows who can help do the research, internal institutional review boards, ability for translational research, etc. Private practice, once you build the infrastructure, has a lot less red tape, he said. "There is not as much bureaucracy, so being able to negotiate a contract with someone in or- der to do the research, to get the grant and fig- ure out how you're going to coordinate patients and how you're going to coordinate clinic flow, that's easy in a private practice setting because of the differences in how the practices are run," Dr. Micheletti said. He also said that often, private practices have a higher surgical volume than in academic institutions, making it easier to enroll patients. Dr. Micheletti said that it's a misconception that private practice doctors don't do research. For young eye surgeons who are interested in starting research early in their career, Dr. Micheletti said to make sure it is discussed with- in negotiations when joining a practice as it's important that everyone be on the same page regarding expectations. From there, his advice was to get to know the medical science liaison at the company for the product or technology that you hope to research and talk with your peers and mentors. "On the YES Clinical Committee, a lot of us do research and work together on research. … We're all here to help," he said. "If you can find a mentor, someone who is involved in research, and get connected with the medical science liaison, you are well on your way to getting involved in research." Even though he didn't change his patient volume to accommodate his growing research projects, Dr. Micheletti said the extra time spent outside of the clinic has been worthwhile. "The number of hours that I'm doing now compared to before on research on a weekly basis has significantly increased, but the reward in terms of intellectual fulfillment and curios- ity has been tremendous. It's not for everyone because it does require time and infrastructure, but it is necessary for our patients because that's what can answer clinical questions and drive innovation forward. In ophthalmology, we're fortunate that there are a large number of researchers in both private practice and aca- demics, and that's one reason that we have such incredible innovation in our field." by Liz Hillman Editorial Co-Director Find this episode of the ASCRS YES Connect Webinar series in December. This ASCRS YES Connect Webinar covers a topic near and dear to my heart—clinical research. One of the main reasons I chose the field of ophthal- mology was the ability to be on the cutting edge of technology and research. While we know research can be done in academic settings, the purpose of this webinar was to discuss how to effectively perform research in the private practice setting. We discuss the types of research done, how to set it up, and the benefits of performing it. —Zaina Al-Mohtaseb, MD, YES Clinical Committee Chair YES CONNECT

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