Research Symposium
Dr. Dimitri Azar is an internationally recognized ophthalmic surgeon who served as Dean of the College of Medicine at University of Illinois from 2011 to 2017. He joined the faculty in 2006 as Head of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences. Previously he was a tenured Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Cornea Service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Senior Scientist at Schepens Eye Institute and a faculty member at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He earned an executive MBA from University of Chicago. Dr. Azar is board certified in ophthalmology.
He is a leader in basic science and clinically related vision research, making significant contributions to the treatment of corneal diseases and to advances in refractive surgery through mathematical analyses and applications of advanced optics. His basic science research on matrix metalloproteinases in corneal wound healing and angiogenesis has been continually funded by the National Eye Institute R01 award since 1993.
Dr. Azar is the author of more than 400 scientific articles and book chapters. He is the editor of 14 books in ophthalmology and holds 15 patents. He has been named one of The Best Doctors in America or recognized among Castle Connolly’s Regional Top Doctors in America annually since 1994. He serves as a trustee for the Chicago Ophthalmological Society and for the Association of Research and Vision in Ophthalmology. Dr. Azar has received multiple leadership awards, including the 2009 Lans Distinguished Award and the University of Illinois at Chicago Scholar Award.
Gettes Lecture
John Berdahl, MD is a board-certified ophthalmologist who is internationally regarded as a leader in LASIK, cataract, cornea, and glaucoma surgery. He is among a very small group of U.S. surgeons fellowship-trained in cornea, glaucoma, and refractive surgery.Dr. Berdahl is most motivated by the trust his patients place in him during their moments of vulnerability.
As he meets patient needs and learns more about the problems they face, he’s had several opportunities to stretch his skills as an inventor and problem-solver. He co-invented the MKO melt , an innovation used in his Sioux Falls clinic that provides sedation during cataract surgery without the use of an IV or opioids, and developed Interfeen, a rare disease drug that helps with ocular conditions. He created astigmatismfix.com, a resource that has helped tens of thousands of surgeons eliminate residual astigmatism after cataract surgery, and he co-founded ExpertOpinion.MD , a site where patients can request medical opinions from authentic world experts. He also is the founder of Balance Ophthalmics , the first non-surgical, non-pharmacologic way to lower eye pressure for glaucoma treatment, which was FDA approved in 2024.
Bedell Lecture
Jesse L. Berry, MD is Professor Ophthalmology, Director of Ocular Oncology and Chief of Ophthalmology at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) and the University of Southern California (USC) Roski Eye Institute. She received her undergraduate and medical degree from Harvard University followed by ophthalmology and fellowship training at CHLA+USC under the mentorship of A. Linn Murphree, MD. Dr. Berry is the founder of Women in Ocular Oncology, President of the International Society of Ocular Oncology (ISOO, 2024-26) and treasurer of the American Association for Ophthalmic Oncology and Pathology (AAOOP, 2023-2025). Her clinical expertise focuses on retinoblastoma and uveal melanoma. She holds the A. Linn Murphree, MD Chair in Retinoblastoma and the Berle and Lucy Adams Chair in Cancer Research. She has pioneered development of the aqueous humor as a liquid biopsy for retinoblastoma and other ocular tumors; this research is supported by the National Cancer Institute.
Research Symposium & Leopold Lecture
Peter Campochiaro, MD is a clinician-scientist who utilized mouse models to help define the molecular pathogenesis of ocular neovascularization including the roles of VEGF, HIF-1, and Tie2. His clinical trial group showed the benefits of inhibiting VEGF in diabetic macular edema and retinal vein occlusions. Strategies to provide sustained suppression of VEGF were developed and are being evaluated in clinical trials. The observation that that oxidative damage contributes to cone cell death in retinitis pigmentosa has also advanced to testing in clinical trials.
Research Symposium
Artur Cideciyan, PhD is a Research Professor of Ophthalmology and co-director of the Center for
Hereditary Retinal Degenerations at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Cideciyan’s career
focus has been on understanding disease mechanisms and evaluating treatments in hereditary
retinal degenerations. Among his key scientific contributions are development of
electrophysiology methods to directly evaluate function of the rod and cone photoreceptors,
first demonstration of photoreceptor-driven reflections on optical coherence tomography, first
description of structure-function dissociation and its reversal in patients, recognition of the
vulnerability of diseased retinas to light damage and development of reduced-illuminance
imaging methods to use in the clinic. Dr. Cideciyan was one of the developers of the FST
method which is now being considered as a key outcome measure for some clinical trials. He
has been Principal Investigator or co-Investigator to a dozen early stage clinical trials, and
published extensively on the consequences of gene-based interventions in patients with
RPE65-, CEP290-, GUCY2D-, and LCA5-related inherited retinal disease.
Research Symposium
Dr. Corson is a Professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto, and Co-Director of the Graduate Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. He has secondary appointments in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences and the Donald K. Johnson Eye Institute. He holds HonBSc, MSc, and PhD degrees from the University of Toronto, and completed a CIHR-funded postdoctoral fellowship in chemical biology at Yale University. He established his lab in 2010 at Indiana University School of Medicine in the Department of Ophthalmology, where he became Vice-Chair for Basic and Translational Research, before serving as Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, where he continues to hold an adjunct appointment.
His research focuses on the discovery and targeting of novel angiogenesis mediators toward therapy for neovascular eye disease indications and ocular tumors. He is an author on over 100 publications; recent studies have appeared in top journals such as Cell Chemical Biology, EMBO Molecular Medicine, Redox Biology, and Angiogenesis. He is an inventor on 12 patents and has had intellectual property optioned and/or licensed to multiple companies. His lab is currently supported by grants from the NIH, NSERC, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation, plus foundation grants. Selected awards include the Merrill Grayson Senior Chair and a Showalter Scholar at the Indiana University School of Medicine, and a Watanabe Translational Scholar of the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. He is on the editorial board of several journals and currently serves as alternate chair of the NIH Pathobiology of Eye Disease 1 study section as well as reviewing for public and private funders globally.
Ellis Lecture
Will Flanary, MD, is an ophthalmologist and part-time comedian. He moonlights in his free time as “Dr. Glaucomflecken,” a social media personality who creates medical-themed comedy shorts for an audience of over 5 million across social media. He co-hosts the medically themed podcast Knock Knock, Hi! alongside his wife, Kristin Flanary, also known as "Lady Glaucomflecken." Dr. Flanary's humor has been shaped by the tribulations of med school and residency and his experiences as a patient. He is a two-time testicular cancer survivor and cardiac arrest survivor, saved by his intrepid wife and her timely CPR. Initially used as a creative outlet to cope with these health challenges, Dr. Flanary's comedy has evolved over time to incorporate biting satire of the US healthcare system, academic publishing, and interpersonal conflicts pervasive in the medical system.
Bedrossian Lecture
Dr. Nancy J. Newman holds the LeoDelle Jolley Chair of Ophthalmology, and is Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurology and Instructor in Neurological Surgery at the Emory University School of Medicine, where she serves as the Director of Neuro-Ophthalmology. She attended Princeton University, the University of London on a Marshall Scholarship at the Courtauld Institute where she received a MA in Art History, and Harvard Medical School. She trained in Internal Medicine and Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital where she was Chief Resident in Neurology, and in Neuro-Ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Neurological Association, and the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. She was President of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society from 2014 to 2016, Chair of the Board of Directors from 2016 to 2018, and has since been Senior Vice President for Education. She has served on the Editorial Boards of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, Seminars in Neurology, Journal of the Neurological Sciences and the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology. She has over 600 publications, including scientific articles, book chapters and books, including the primary textbook in Neuro-Ophthalmology, Walsh & Hoyt’s Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology, 5th and 6th Editions, and the popular manual Neuro-Ophthalmology Illustrated, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Editions. She has received many teaching and service awards nationally. She has lectured widely throughout the world and is known for her innovative teaching style. Her main research interests include disorders of the optic nerve, especially mitochondrial optic neuropathies and their therapy, including stewarding the use of gene therapy, and the implementation of nonmydriatic ocular fundus cameras in non-ophthalmic settings. She is a Trustee Emerita of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University and also served as President of the Princeton University Alumni Association.
Research Symposium
Dr. Eric Pierce is a full-time clinician scientist. He is Director of the Harvard Ophthalmology Ocular Genomics Institute and the William F. Chatlos Professor of Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School.
As a group, retinal degenerations are a common cause of blindness. The overall goal of Dr. Pierce's clinical and research program has been to improve the understanding of the molecular bases of inherited retinal degenerations and related cilia disorders so that rational therapies can be developed for these diseases.
Dr. Pierce pursues his objectives through a combination of laboratory-based investigation of retinal biology and disease, clinical care of children and adults with retinal degenerative disorders, and clinical research. Dr. Pierce is currently working to develop gene therapy for several forms of retinal degeneration.