Ophthalmology residency currently is 1 year of internship (with very loose requirements) + 3 years of ophthalmology rotations; residents typically make $50,000/y in salary (with significant geographic variation). What if major academic department residencies created slots for a research residency for interested candidates (perhaps 1 per year) by adding 2 research years to make a total duration of 6 years, and augmented the salary to $85,000/y? This would entail a marginal cost of $310,000 (+benefits, 2 years of $85,000/y + 4 years of an extra $35,000/y), but raising salaries to an upper-middle class level would make extra years of training more palatable, at a cost less than an average MSTP slot; transferring funds from the MSTP program to a new research resident program could be a more efficient use of societal training capital. Transferring 3 to 4 elective months from internship and 2 to 3 months from residency, combined with the 2 additional years, would permit 30 months for a substantive research experience in residency. Unlike programs that offer research experience before starting ophthalmology residency, the lion's share of research time should follow PGY-2 or -3 so that trainees grasp ophthalmology, major problems in clinical practice, and personal interests. Structuring ½ day a week for research on clinical rotations and ½ day a week of clinical training during research time would allow sustaining a research project in collaboration with a technician or postdoc, while maintaining clinical and surgical skills in the research years, and cultivating relationships on “the opposite side of the building.” Interspersing time in this manner would not compromise building of clinical skill sets and knowledge. It must be acknowledged that there would be logistical challenges (matching, rotation and clinical service staffing, accreditation), but these should be manageable with thoughtful scheduling and documentation.