Students selected in Ophthalmology Residency Matching Program

Each spring, medical schools across the country celebrate “Match Day” as medical students discover where they will train as resident physicians. A year ago, an incredible 99% of the 2025 class from the University of Missouri School of Medicine received a residency program match.

This year’s graduating class will gather on March 20 inside the Mizzou School of Medicine atrium to open their envelopes together and learn where their next chapter will take place. However, for two Mizzou medical students, that excitement and memorable moment arrived early.

Because certain specialties conduct their matches ahead of the national Match Day, Anya Rahman and Justin Shanklin learned on January 29 that they had secured highly coveted ophthalmology residency positions through the San Francisco Match.

Both will remain in the University of the Missouri system after learning their residency program destination as Rahman will join the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, while Shanklin will remain in Columbia at the Mizzou School of Medicine.

“Staying in Missouri means a great deal to me, as this is where I grew up and trained as a medical student,” said Rahman. “The state healthcare system possesses many patients who face barriers to accessing specialty care like ophthalmology. Continuing my medical training in Missouri allows me to serve populations that need eyecare the most, while remaining rooted in the community that helped shape me.”

Shanklin is looking forward to staying in Columbia and utilizing the local relationships he has already built.

“Staying at the Mizzou School of Medicine is exciting because this is where I’ve already grown so much personally and professionally,” said Shanklin. “I possess many strong connections with faculty and staff, and I look forward to continuing to build on those. While this new residency program will be a major challenge, my familiarity with the medical school certainly adds a level of comfort.”

Even after celebrating their early match results with family and friends, both Rahman and Shanklin look forward to attending Mizzou’s official Match Day celebration with their classmates.

“Match Day will be both very exciting and bittersweet,” said Rahman. “As I stand there alongside my peers, it will bring me back to our very first day of patient-based learning (PBL) labs. I can’t wait to celebrate with the entire 2026 class of Mizzou medical students and find out where we all matched.”

For Shanklin, attending Match Day will deliver a flourish of memories and emotions from his four years of medical school.

“I’m grateful for all the relationships I formed with classmates, residents and faculty,” said Shanklin. “Mizzou provided me every opportunity to be successful as an ophthalmology applicant. I was fortunate to have amazing mentors who provided meaningful guidance and consistent support. I’ll also be thinking of my wife, who pursued her law degree simultaneously while I completed my medical degree. It was such a fun experience and a time of our lives we’ll never forget.”