Published online 22 October 2026 · JAMA Ophthalmology
John A. Gonzales, MD
UCSF, Proctor Foundation
Edmund Tsui, MD, MS
UCLA Stein Eye Institute
Nisha R. Acharya, MD, MS
Three AUS members have replied to a recent Research Letter that ranked uveitis among the lowest-return subspecialties in ophthalmology, arguing that the analysis rests on too thin a sample to support its conclusion.
In a Comment & Response published online in JAMA Ophthalmology, John A. Gonzales, MD, Edmund Tsui, MD, MS, and Nisha R. Acharya, MD, MS, reply to a Research Letter by Azzam and colleagues.
They caution that the uveitis findings rest on just three specialists drawn from a single academic system, with no stated criteria for how those specialists were identified. That is a sample too small, and too opaque, to support broad conclusions about the financial value of uveitis fellowship training.
The shift in reported net present value that would follow from a change of only $50,000 in the estimated salary.
Salary-based projections also overlook the institutional support, funding opportunities, and intellectual and scholarly rewards that draw physicians to the field in the first place.
doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2026.4567
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