Section Editors
Nadeem Ahmad, Milford Eye Clinic, New Zealand
Pouya Alaghband, MD(res), PGCert, FRCOphth, York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Hull-York Medical School, UK
Pouya is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at York Teaching Hospital, and an honorary senior lecturer at the Hull-York Medical School. He completed his training in Yorkshire, St Thomas Hospital and Moorfield Eye Hospital.
His higher research degree from King’s College London is on aqueous humor dynamics and uveitis and treatment modalities such as phacoemulsification and High intensity focused ultrasound.
Pouya's research interests focused on new surgical and medical treatments for glaucoma, aqueous humour dynamics, virtual glaucoma clinic, and new methods of drug delivery. Pouya is involved in several national and international glaucoma clinical trials, and is a regularly invited speaker on an international level and reviewer to several ophthalmic journals. He has received a number of awards including the RCOphth/NIHR best trainee researcher of the year in 2018. He has several peer reviewed publications and book chapters. Pouya is an examiner and skills faculty member for the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in addition to holding a lecturer position at City University, London and Rila Institute, Plymouth university.
In his spare time, he is a qualified classifier for the British Paralympic Association.
Richard Antclif, MD, FRCOphth, Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Richard Antcliff trained in Ophthalmology at Adenbrooke’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals. He carried out a research degree under Professor John Marshall. He has been a Consultant at the Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS foundation Trust since 2000.
Muna Bhende, MD, Medical Research Foundation, India
Dr Muna Bhende is a Senior Consultant and Deputy Director of Shri Bhagwan Mahavir Vitreoretinal Services, Medical Research Foundation, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai having joined the department in 1994. She is also adjunct faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal.
She completed her MBBS from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore and MS ophthalmology from Regional Institute of ophthalmology, Minto Ophthalmic Hospital, Bangalore followed by a two year vitreoretinal surgical from Medical Research Foundation, Chennai. She was awarded the V T Doshi Gold Medal for the best Vitreoretinal fellow in 1992-1993 and Kelkar prize for the best lady Vitreoretinal fellow for the same period.
She received the AIOS IJO platinum award in 2015, AIOS Rema Mohan Award for best paper in diabetic retinopathy and medical retina in 2019 and the IJO honor award for peer-review in 2020. She delivered the 21st Dr C Syamala Bhaskaran Endowment Lecture in November 2019 and Dr P R Mondal oration in November 2021.
Her work profile involves the medical and surgical management of Vitreoretinal disorders and her special interests are medical retina, inherited retinal disorders and retinal imaging. She is actively involved in teaching and training of ophthalmology residents, fellows in medical retina and vitreoretinal surgery and optometrists and is currently a supervisor for an early career fellow under the DBT Wellcome Trust. She has served as a visiting scholar in the Dept of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2000.She has been an investigator for 5 completed multicenter trials.
She has over 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and has major contributions in 5 retina atlases brought out by Sankara Nethralaya and 15 book chapters.
She is a member of the All India ophthalmological society, Vitreoretinal society of India, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu state ophthalmic societies, International Retinal imaging society and Asia-Pacific Ocular Imaging Society.
Irini Chatziralli - National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Dr Irini Chatziralli is currently Assistant Professor in Ophthalmology at National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
After obtaining her MD degree from National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2006, she did her residency in Ophthalmology at Barts and the London NHS Trust, UK and at Ophthalmiatrion Athinon, Athens, Greece, while she obtained PhD from National and Kapodistian University of Athens regarding the electrophysiological findings in patients with retrobulbar optic neuritis. Then she completed her fellowship in Medical Retina at King’s College Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK under Professor S. Sivaprasad, showing vast research interest.
Dr Chatziralli has been actively involved in training and education, as well as served as speaker and instructor in numerous national and international congresses. She has also participated in many clinical trials. Her main areas of expertise are retinal vascular disorders, such as diabetic retinopathy and retinal vein occlusion, age-related macular degeneration and vitreoretinal diseases, while she is involved in the investigation of new therapeutic alternatives in retinal disorders.
Dr Irini Chatziralli has published more than 140 peer review articles and 5 book chapters, having more than 1250 citations and h-index 17 (April 2019). She is reviewer in distinguished journals, including Ophthalmology, Retina, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Diabetes Therapy and Acta Diabetologica. She is also an active member of EURETINA, ARVO, EVER and AAO, while she represented Greece in the European Leadership Development Program (2017-2019).
Varun Chaudhary, MD, FRCSC, McMaster University, Canada
Dr. Chaudhary is Professor of Surgery and Chief of Ophthalmology at McMaster University. He is an Associate Member at McMaster School of Biomedical Engineering and McMaster Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence & Impact.
He is passionate about translational research and evidence generation & synthesis in retina. He serves on multiple clinical and medical advisory boards and global steering committees for retina endeavors spanning from basic science research to multi-national clinical trials in the field of retina. He is Chair for the Retina Evidence Trials internatioNal Alliance (R.E.T.I.N.A.). He is very interested in knowledge translation and serves as CPD Director for the Canadian Retina Society and CPD council member for the Canadian Ophthalmological Society. He was appointed Editor-in-Chief for the Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology in 2018. He has been awarded multiple Education, Achievement and Research Awards along with the Honor and Senior Honor Award by the American Society of Retinal Specialists and the Award for Excellence in Ophthalmic Research by the Canadian Ophthalmological Society.
Gemmy Cheung, FRCOphth, Singapore National Eye Centre; Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Dr Cheung is currently a Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Singapore National Eye Centre and a Clinician Investigator at the Singapore Eye Research Institute. Her research interests include the study of risk factors and clinical features of macular diseases which may be unique in Asian populations.
Dr Cheung has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles mostly in age-related macular degeneration, including polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy. Dr Cheung has conducted several clinical trials in anti-vascular endothelial growth factor therapies. Dr Cheung has been actively involved in training and education. She has served as Instructor on courses at the APAO, AAO congress. Dr. Cheung has participated in educational programmes in diabetic retinopathy in several Asian countries, including China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Myanmar. She is also a volunteer faculty for the ORBIS flying eye hospital programme since 2012.
Dr Cheung has received a number of prestigious awards, including the APAO Nakajima Award (2014), APAO Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award (2013), the Bayer Global Ophthlamology Research Award (2012), the Roper-Hall Medal (Birmingham & Midland Eye Centre 2005) and the Elizabeth Hunt Medal Medal (Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK).
Erika Damato, MBBS, MA(Cantab), MRCP(Lond), MRCOphth, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Dr Damato is a consultant Medical Ophthalmologist, working at Addenbrooke’s hospital, Cambridge since 2017 and Moorfields eye hospital, London since 2019. She completed her training at Bristol Eye hospital in 2012 and undertook fellowships at St Paul’s Eye Unit, Liverpool and Auckland, New Zealand prior to working as a consultant in medical retina and uveitis at the Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre in Birmingham, UK between 2014 and 2017.
Currently, she specialises in inflammatory eye disease, including uveitis, scleritis, ocular infection, systemic diseases and the eye, orbital inflammation and thyroid eye disease. Erika takes active participation in clinical research, participating in trials in thyroid eye disease and uveitis and contributing to the medical literature.
Alexander Day, PhD, FRCOphth, CertLRS, FWCRS, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; University College London, UK
Alexander Day is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, specialising in cataract and refractive surgery. He is an Honorary Associate Professor at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology. Alex completed his training at Moorfields Eye Hospital with fellowships in cornea and glaucoma; and refractive surgery at the London Vision Clinic. Alex was awarded his PhD at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology in 2013, his research interests are cataract and refractive surgery. View his personal website here.
Gabriella De Salvo, MD, FRCOphth, University Hospital Southampton, UK
Dr Gabriella De Salvo, is currently Ophthalmic Consultant and clinical effectiveness lead for ophthalmology at the University Hospital Southampton, UK. She is a graduate of the University of Messina school of Medicine and Surgery, Messina, Italy. She completed her Ophthalmology residency at the University of Palermo in Italy, and received a research and clinical grant from the Italian Ministry of University and Scientific Research in Diabetic Retinopathy. Awarded with a scholarship from the Sicilian Society of Ophthalmology during her training, she was able to spend part of her education and research at Wills Eye Hospital, Pennsylvania, USA and at Allgemeines Krankenhaus Wien, Vienna, Austria. Dr De Salvo completed a fellowship in Medical Retina at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, UK. Dr De Salvo specializes in macular diseases and her main research interest is in medical retina imaging. She regularly publishes and acts as section editor and reviewer in international peer-reviewed journals, attends as speaker in numerous national and international congresses, is principal investigator in various clinical trials, and is actively involved in the teaching of ophthalmologists and allied health professionals.
Justis Ehlers - Cole Eye Institute, Cleveland, USA
Justis P. Ehlers, MD serves as the Norman C. and Donna L. Harbert Endowed Chair for Ophthalmic Research at the Cole Eye Institute of the Cleveland Clinic. He is also the Director of the Tony and Leona Campane Center for Excellence in Image-Guided Surgery and Advanced Imaging Research. He earned his medical degree at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, and completed his ophthalmology residency at the Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he served as Chief Resident. Dr. Ehlers then pursued a vitreoretinal surgery fellowship at the Duke Eye Center in Durham, North Carolina as a Heed Fellow and Ronald G. Michels Fellow.
Since 2010, Dr. Ehlers has been at the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic where his laboratory focuses on translational intraoperative optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology, image-guided surgery, advanced image analysis, and imaging biomarker discovery. In particular, his focus is on advancing precision medicine in retinal disease through enhanced image feature assessment through machine learning and other advanced analysis techniques. Dr. Ehlers has authored over 200 peer-reviewed publications, 25 book chapters, and over 300 scientific abstracts. He has also been the senior editor for 3 books and given over 125 invited lectures. His work has also resulted in multiple issued patents.
Dr. Ehlers has been recognized through numerous awards, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Senior Achievement Award, the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Presidential Award, the Macula Society Young Investigator Award, the ASRS Young Investigator Award, the AAO Secretariat Award, and The Power List Top 40 Under 40. Dr. Ehlers has served on the ASRS Board of Directors and on the AAO Council since 2019.
Nima Ghadiri, MA, MB, BChir, MClinEd, FRCP, FHEA, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Dr Nima J Ghadiri is a consultant Medical Ophthalmologist and honorary senior clinical lecturer in Ophthalmic Medicine. He completed his training in Cambridge and the East of England, and completed clinical fellowships at St Thomas' and Moorfields Eye Hospital.
He is trained in Ophthalmology and Internal Medicine, and is concerned with the diagnosis and management of eye disorders relating to systemic disease, as well as the medical management of eye disorders. He is the honorary secretary of Medical Ophthalmology Society UK, and is a board member of the Uveitis Clinical Study Group and WHO technical working group for Uveitis.
Faruque Ghanchi - Bradford Teaching Hospitals, Bradford, UK
Kaan Gunduz - University of Ankara, Ankara, Turkey
Ahmet Kaan Gündüz is currently Professor of Ophthalmology at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey. Dr Gündüz is Director of the Ocular Oncology Service at this institution. After obtaining his MD degree from Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey in 1988, Dr Gündüz completed his residency at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey between 1998-1993. He did a two-year ocular oncology fellowship at Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, PA, USA during 1996-1998 under the mentorship of Drs. Jerry and Carol Shields. Dr Gündüz attended an a two-week phacoemulsification training program in Nagpur, India in 1994 supervised by Dr Vikas Mahatme and peers. He completed a one-year clinical vitreous retina surgery fellowship at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA during 1996-1997. His mentors at this institution were Dr Jose Pulido, Dr Colin McCannel, and Dr Sophie Bakri. Dr Gündüz published 140 papers in indexed journals and wrote or co-authored several book chapters and monographs. His main interests include eyelid, conjunctival, intraocular tumors, orbital diseases and surgery, vitreoretinal diseases and surgery, uveitis, and cataract surgery. Dr Gündüz serves as a section editor in the journal Eye, Middle-East African Journal of Ophthalmology and is an editorial board member in 2 other journals including Expert Review of Ophthalmology and International Journal of Biomedical Sciences. He is a member of the Turkish Ophthalmological Society, International Society of Ocular Oncology, and American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr Gündüz is married and has one daughter. Personal website: www.kaangunduz.com.tr.
Nigel Hall - Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, UK
Pedram Hamrah, MD, FRCS, FAAO, FARVO, Tufts University School of Medicine; Tufts Medical Center, USA
Dr Hamrah is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology with Harvard Medical School, the Director of the Ocular Surface Imaging Center, and the former inaugural Henry Allen Cornea Scholar at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. In addition to his position as full-time staff of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Service at MEEI, he is an Assistant Scientist at the Schepens Eye Research Institute. He is a clinician-scientist with a particular interest in live imaging and its use to elucidate molecular and cellular mechanisms in corneal immunology, neuro-immunology, and inflammation. His research is focused on neuro-immune interactions and immune cell trafficking in immune and infections diseases of the cornea, including viral and microbial keratitis, corneal neuralgia, corneal transplant tolerance and rejection, as well as neurotrophic keratopathy.
Dr Hamrah performed his residency in Ophthalmology at the University of Louisville, where he was elected chief resident during his last year. He has completed a fellowship in Ocular and Transplantation Immunology at the Schepens Eye Research Institute, as well as a two-year advanced clinical fellowship in Cornea, External Diseases and Refractive Surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
Dr Hamrah's recent research was supported by the NIH K12 Harvard-Vision Clinical Scientist Development Program through June 2010, followed by a K08 individual award and a subsequent R01 award. He has authored over 50 peer-reviewed articles, and over 25 reviews and book chapters. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Claes Dohlman Society Award for the outstanding Cornea Fellow in the country, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Excellence in Research Scholarship Award, and the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology/Research to Prevent Blindness Resident and Fellow Research Award, the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award and is a Silver Fellow at the Association of Research and Vision in Ophthalmology.
Dr Hamrah currently serves as the Cornea Section Editor of the journals Eye, The Ocular Surface, Associate Editor of the journals BMC Ophthalmology and BMC Research Notes, Assistant Editor of the journal Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, serves on the editorial boards of 12 additional Ophthalmology journals, and is a peer reviewer for over 60 Ophthalmology, Immunology and Transplantation journals. He is an Instructor at the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and recently served as the Chair of the ARVO Members-in-Training Committee.
Heinrich Heimann, MD, FRCOphth, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, UK
Heinrich Heimann is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. He completed his Ophthalmology training at the University Hospital Benjamin Franklin of the Free University in Berlin, Germany, in 1998. Since 2005, he holds a Consultant post at St Paul´s Eye Unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital with the subspecialties Surgical and Medical Retina and Ocular Oncology. In 2013, Mr Heimann took over as the Clinical Lead of the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Unit, one of the four Highly Specialised NHS Services for Adult Ocular Oncology in the UK.
Following a MD in corneal surgery in 1995, Mr Heimann completed the German Habilitation degree coordinating a prospective multicentre study on retinal detachment surgery in 2006; he was awarded the title of a Clinical Professor at the Free University Berlin in 2010, and then became Honorary Professor at the Liverpool University in 2015. Heinrich Heimann worked as an elected Executive Board Member of the German Retina society between 2008-16. He currently is an Associate Editor of “Ophthalmologica” and the “Journal of Vitreoretinal Diseases”.
Mr Heimann has published more than 160 publications in peer-reviewed journals, mostly in the subspecialties of Vitreoretinal Surgery and Ocular Oncology. He has written more than 40 book chapters and co-edited five books on retinal imaging and vitreoretinal surgery.
Noel Horgan, MD, FRCSI, MRCOphth, Royal Victoria Eye & Ear Hospital; St Vincent's University Hospital, Ireland
Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at The Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and St Vincent’s Hospitals Dublin. Special interests in ocular oncology and medical disorders of the retina. A graduate of Trinity College Dublin, completed ophthalmic surgical training in Ireland, UK and USA including clinical fellowships at Wills Eye Hospital Philadelphia (ocular oncology) and Moorfields Eye Hospital London (medical retina). Associate clinical professor at University College Dublin.
George Kalantzis, MD, FRCOphth, FEBO, St James’s University Hospital, UK
George Kalantzis is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at St James’s University Hospital Leeds, UK and an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Medical School of the Leeds University. He specialises in oculoplastics, lacrimal and orbital surgery. He completed two fellowships in adnexal surgery in Leeds and Moorfields Eye Hospital before taking up his consultant post in 2012. Research interests include eyelid tumours, paediatric oculoplastics and orbital diseases management. He is a member of the British Oculoplastic surgical society and the European Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He takes an active part in research within his department and has published more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals and presented his research work at various national and international meetings.
Tiarnan Keenan, BM BCh, MA, MSc, PhD, FRCOphth, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, USA
Tiarnan Keenan is a Staff Clinician at the National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland, USA). He is a clinician-scientist; as a Medical Retina specialist, his clinical practice includes a wide variety of common and complex retinal diseases. His research is focused primarily on age-related macular degeneration from a wide variety of disciplines: epidemiology, genetics, biochemistry, clinical research and deep learning.
Following medical training as a scholar at the University of Oxford, he undertook NIHR integrated clinical and academic training in the UK, predominantly at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and the Oxford Eye Hospital. He was awarded a PhD at the University of Manchester for laboratory research using human macular tissue to investigate the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration. This was followed by post-doctorate research on age-related macular degeneration as a Fulbright Scholar with Professor Gregory Hageman (Moran Eye Center, USA) and fellowship training at the National Eye Institute with Professor Emily Chew. In 2018, he was appointed Staff Clinician in the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications at the National Eye Institute, where his research is funded by the Intramural Research Program.
Yamini Krishna, MBChB(Hons), MSc, PhD, FRCOphth, FRCPath, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Connie Hong Yee Lai, BSc, MBBS, MRCSEd, FCOphthHK, Queen Mary Hospital; University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Hemal Mehta, MBBS, MD(Cantab.), FRCOphth, FRANZCO, University of Sydney, Australia
Dr Hemal Mehta (MBBS MD(Cantab.) FRCOphth FRANZCO) is a medical retina specialist with expertise in retinal clinical trials, tracking real-world outcomes and retinal imaging. He is a Senior Lecturer with University of Sydney’s Save Sight Registries and on the Steering Committee of the Fight Retinal Blindness! project. His Doctorate of Medicine from Cambridge University was on ‘Novel endpoints in diabetic retinopathy clinical trials’. He is Co-director of clinical trials research at Strathfield Retina Clinic. He is a retinal specialist on the Therapeutics Committee of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists. He is an advisor for the Royal College of Ophthalmologists national age-related macular degeneration audit and an Honorary Ophthalmology Consultant at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.
Susan Mollan, FRCOphth, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust; University of Birmingham, UK
Susan Mollan is an Honorary Professor at the University of Birmingham and a Consultant Neuro-ophthalmologist at University Hospitals Birmingham in the United Kingdom. She is an International Senior Examiner for the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. She is an active board member at the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, on the research committee of the European Neuro-Ophthalmology Society and the secretary to the British Isles Neuro-Ophthalmology Club and the United Kingdom Neuro-Ophthalmology Society.
She enjoys clinical research, and is situated well within the large team in Birmingham to investigate rare conditions that affect the eye and brain. Her professional research specialties include Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH), Giant Cell Arteritis (GCA) and the development of quantification of disease through ocular imaging. She is the director of ophthalmology research and the data officer for INSIGHT (a Health Data Research UK hub for eye health) at University Hospitals Birmingham.
Mayank Nanavaty, MBBS, DO, FRCOphth, PhD, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, UK
Mr. Nanavaty is a cataract, cornea and refractive surgery Consultant at the Sussex Eye Hospital, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, Brighton and honorary senior clinical lecturer at the Brighton & Sussex Medical School.
His areas of clinical interests are medical and surgical cornea, external eye disease, cataract, and refractive surgery. He is the lead for cataract, corneal crosslinking, contact lens & research departments at the Sussex Eye Hospital. He has received several research grants from the prestigious institutions (such as ESCRS, NIHR, etc.) and industry to conduct clinical studies in the National Health Services (NHS). His areas of research interest include, astigmatism, wavefront aberrations, ectatic corneal disorders, endothelial disease, lamellar corneal transplant surgeries, quality of vision in pseudophakes, cataract surgical techniques, intraocular lenses and posterior capsule opacification. He consistently contributes to the academia with his publications and has several publications including prospective randomized controlled trials, Cochrane review, case-control studies, cohort studies and retrospective studies in high impact peer-reviewed literature and over 300 national and international presentations. He is very active as a contributor as organizer, committee member, panelist or faculty at several national and international ophthalmology meetings and organizations including the ESCRS, ASCRS, RCOphth, BSRS, etc. He is currently a member of Scientific Committee, the Senior Examiner for Certificate of Laser refractive Surgery Examination committee and Cataract surgery workforce committee at The Royal College of Ophthalmologists. He is on the UKISCRS council as a programme lead for UKISCRS and Hon. Secretary. He also contributes as a council member at the BSRS.
Bharti Nihalani-Gangwani, MD, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA
Dr Bharti R. Nihalani-Gangwani is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Director of Clinical Research at the Department of Ophthalmology at Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA. She is dual fellowship trained pediatric ophthalmologist and started her clinical practice in 2013. Her research and clinical interests are focused on pediatric cataract and pediatric uveitis. She serves on American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (AAPOS) Pediatric Uveitis committee. She has presented in various national and international meetings and has published more than 50 articles and book chapters. She has co-authored a book on Learning strabismus surgery: A case-based approach. She received AAPOS Honor award in 2023.
Winnie Nolan - Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK
Winifred Nolan is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, and Honorary Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. She completed her ophthalmology training in London, and glaucoma fellowships at Moorfields and in Singapore. She spent three years as a consultant in Birmingham from 2007-2010.
Clinical interests include diagnosis and treatment of Primary angle closure glaucoma and management of secondary and complex glaucoma cases. Past leadership roles include Clinical Director for Moorfields South, and Chair of the Scientific Programme Planning Committee for the World Glaucoma Congress in 2019.
Winifred completed an MD thesis at the Institute of Ophthalmology composed of research into angle closure in Asia. Her research interests now focus on prevention of glaucoma blindness in low income populations.
Sameer Parpia, PhD, McMaster University, Canada
Dr. Sameer Parpia is an Associate Professor and Biostatistician in the Departments of Oncology and Health Research Methods, Evidence, & Impact at McMaster University, Canada. His interests and expertise are in clinical trials. As a senior biostatistician, he provides statistical and methodological leadership for several clinical trials and other health research project.
Manoj V Parulekar - Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Birmingham, UK & Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust, Oxford, UK
Niall Patton - Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, Manchester, UK
Marta Pazos, MD, PhD, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona; Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, Spain
Doctor Marta Pazos earned her Medicine degree at the Universitat de Barcelona in 2003, subsequently specializing in ophthalmology at Hospital de l'Esperança-Parc de Salut Mar in Barcelona in 2008. After passing her medical license exams to practice in the United States, she was granted a clinical fellowship in Glaucoma in 2010 at the Devers Eye Institute in Portland, Oregon, where she also carried out a research project that formed the basis of her doctoral thesis. She obtained her Ph.D. at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in 2016 with her work about optic nerve 3D histomorphometry in an experimental model of glaucoma in rats that was supervised by Dr. Claude F. Burgoyne and Dr.Alfonso Antón.
She currently works as a senior glaucoma specialist in Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and is an associate investigator of the Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) and clinical assistant professor of the University of Barcelona. She is a specialist in the diagnosis and monitoring of glaucoma as well as its medical, laser, and surgical treatment. She trains ophthalmology residents and has been director of the glaucoma fellowship for the last two years.
She is member of the Executive Committee of the European Glaucoma Society for the 2021-2024 period as well as of the Programme and Planning Committee. She is also secretary of the Catalan Society of Ophthalmology and a member of the Spanish Glaucoma Society. Her research interests are optic nerve imaging techniques (particularly OCT) and artificial intelligence. In recent years, she has published various publications in international journals and has participated in national and international conferences. She serves as a reviewer for various scientific publications.
Ramachandran Rajalakshmi, MBBS, DO, FRCS, PhD, Madras Diabetes Research Foundation; Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre, India
Dr. Ramachandran Rajalakshmi is a Senior Consultant Ophthalmologist and the Head, Medical Retina at Dr. Mohan’s Diabetes Specialities Centre and Madras Diabetes Research Foundation, Chennai, India with over 20 years experience in the management of Diabetic retinopathy. Her main interests are retinal imaging and cost-effective screening for Diabetic retinopathy. She is passionate about Ophthalmic research and has done her PhD in Diabetic retinopathy progression in youth onset diabetes. She has been the Principal Investigator and co-investigator in multiple national and international collaborative diabetic retinopathy projects. Her main interest is Automated detection- artificial intelligence based screening of diabetic retinopathy and Tele-ophthalmology. She has published over 50 original research articles in national and international peer reviewed journals and written chapters in ophthalmology and diabetology text books.
Rajiv Raman, MS, DNB, FRCS'Ed, DSc, Sankara Nethralaya; Indian Institute of Technology, India
Dr Rajiv Raman, MS, DNB is a Senior Consultant at Department of Vitreoretinal services, Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai, India. He is a Visiting Professor at Vision and Eye Research Unit, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. Dr Raman received his medical degree from MGM Medical College, Indore. Following which, he completed his ophthalmology residency at Government Medical College, Surat, Gujrat and fellowship in Vitreoretinal diseases at the Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai.
Dr. Raman’s clinical interests include macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular occlusions, inherited retinal degenerations, and other maculopathies. His surgical interests are in Diabetic Vitrectomies and Vitreoretinal surgery in Trauma. His research interests include Epidemiology of retinal diseases, advanced retinal imaging technologies, image processing algorithms, image analysis and grading, retinal electrophysiology, Low visual aid devices, and qualitative research in health care.
He has made extensive scientific contributions in ophthalmology with 235 peer reviewed publications, about 12 book chapters. He has contributed a Chapter in the renowned book, Retina, 5th and 6th Edition, Stephen Ryan. He has been a guide for DNB, MPhil and Phd for over a decade and has guided >30 thesis.He has received research grants from World Diabetes Foundation (WDF), RD tata trust, LCIF, Google, Government of Thailand and Anglia Ruskin University for his research work on Diabetic retinopathy
Naz Raoof, BA, BMBCh, FRCOphth, PG DIP, Moorfields Eye Hospital; Barts Health NHS Trust, UK
Naz Raoof is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Moorfields Eye Hospital and Honorary Consultant at Barts Health NHS Trust, with subspecialty interests in neuro-ophthalmology, paediatrics and strabismus. She is also the Deputy Lead for the Ophthalmology MSc run jointly by Moorfields and UCL. Naz undertook ophthalmology training in Sheffield, followed by post-CCT fellowships at Moorfields and Auckland (New Zealand). While a trainee, she was awarded the Ivor Levy Prize at the RCOphth Annual Congress in 2013 and the Ian Fraser Cup by the Oxford Ophthalmological Congress in 2014. She is currently a member of the RCOphth Paediatric Subcommittee and the paediatric representative for the Certificate of Visual Impairment Committee.
Anthony G. Robson, PhD, Moorfields Eye Hospital; UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, UK
Dalia G Said - Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, Nottingham, UK
Mrs Said is a consultant ophthalmologist and undergraduate medical education lead at the Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham University Hospitals, NHS Trust, with special interest in cornea, ocular surface diseases and emergency eye care.
She is an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor in the University of Nottingham and involved in student teaching and medical school examinations.
She completed her residency and specialist training at the Research Institute of Ophthalmology, Cairo, Egypt and served as a clinical and research fellow in cornea and ocular surface/ oculoplastics for two and a half years before joining as a consultant in Nottingham University Hospital.
She has over 100 publications and has supervised several PhD and MD students. She was a member of the team that was awarded The Times Higher Education Award 2014 for ‘Research project of the year involving the discovery of Dua’s layer’
She has been an invited speaker in many national and international conferences and was involved in multicenter studies on keratoconus, infectious keratitis, collagen crosslinking and limbal stem cell transplantation
She is the regional representative for the ocular tissue advisory board.
Jay Self, BM, FRCOphth, PhD, University of Southampton, UK
Jay is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Consultant Ophthalmologist at the University of Southampton. He trained in Southampton and Manchester and has a clinical and research interest in Paediatric Ophthalmology. He established the Paediatric Eye Research Group in Southampton which has a particular focus on translation of research findings into clinical practice. He runs a regional paediatric cataract service, inherited eye movement disorder service and an oculo-genetic service and is PI for various clinical trials. He has a particular interest in disorders associated with nystagmus and genetic eye disease. He has advisory/board member roles with 5 charities and is a member of the UK Eye Genetics Group. Jay has written 4 book chapters in addition to numerous research papers and was appointed as a section editor for EYE in 2014.
Divya Srikumaran, MD, Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, USA
Divya Srikumaran, M.D, is an associate professor of ophthalmology in the Division of Cornea and External Disease at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute. She received her M.D. degree from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, after which she completed her ophthalmology residency and cornea fellowship training at the Wilmer Eye Institute. Dr. Srikumaran’s research interest includes the assessment of corneal transplant outcomes and risk factors for receiving keratoplasty through big data sources including administrative claims data. She received the Hoskins Center IRIS Registry Research Fund Award through the American Academy of Ophthalmology as well as the EBAA Pilot Research grant to study real-world endothelial keratoplasty outcomes. She is busy clinician who is actively involved in multi-central clinical trials. In addition, she serves on the scientific program committee of the EBAA and is participating in their Physician Leadership Program. She is also a member of the editorial board for Cornea and will serve an associate editor for the society’s new journal Cornea Open. She is also a renowned educator and currently serves as Vice Chair of Education and was previously residency program director. As vice chair of education, she has an interest in medical education and studying best practices to support doctors in training. Blending her passion for both education and expertise in corneal surgery, Dr. Srikumaran has also studies barriers to adoption of advanced keratoplasty procedures in the US and abroad. Dr. Srikumaran also an examiner and member of the cornea and cataract exam content development committees for the American Board of Ophthalmology and mostly she was selected to participate in their Visiting Scholar Program.
Andrew Tatham, MD, MBA, MSc(Stats), FRCOphth, FEBO, FEBOS-CR, CertLRS, University of Edinburgh; Princess Alexandra Eye Pavillion, UK
Andrew is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, Edinburgh, and an NHS Scotland Research Clinician at the University of Edinburgh. He completed two fellowships in glaucoma at Moorfields Eye Hospital and Shiley Eye Institute, University of California San Diego. Andrew is Deputy Chair of the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Ophthalmology Clinical Research Network Glaucoma Study Group and is a member of European Glaucoma Society Communication, Guidelines and Programme Planning Committees. He is also a founder and current chair of the Scottish Ophthalmic Imaging Society.
Andrew's research interests focus on imaging, perimetry, remote disease monitoring, and new methods of drug delivery. He is currently a lead for the Scottish Collaborative Optometry-Ophthalmology Network e-research (SCONe) project, which aims to develop a database of retinal images from primary care optometrists across Scotland for big data analysis. Andrew is a past recipient of the ARVO Innovative Research Award, Tenovus Scotland Lady Illingworth Award and Pfizer Ophthalmic Fellowship. In his spare time he is a qualified classifier for the British Paralympic Association.
Lejla Vajzovic, MD, FASRS, Duke Eye Center, USA
Dr. Vajzovic is a vitreoretinal surgeon and tenured Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Duke University School of Medicine with expertise in adult and pediatric retinal diseases and surgery.
Dr. Vajzovic is passionate about translational research and collaborates closely with Duke biomedical engineers to develop imaging devices to improve ophthalmic care. She serves as a principal investigator for numerous national clinical trials in early to late stages of development. Her research interests span from pediatric retinal diseases such as retinopathy of prematurity to adult diseases such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and venous occlusive diseases, as well as vitreoretinal surgical topics such as retinal tears, retinal detachments, macular holes and macular puckers.
In addition, Dr. Vajzovic is interested in cutting edge technologies and recovery of vision in hereditary and common retinal diseases with gene-therapy, stem cell technology and retinal implants. She is a co-director of the Duke Pediatric Retina and Optic Nerve Center, and directs the Duke Center for Artificial and Regenerative Vision, where she performs gene-therapy delivery, and implantation of the Argus II “bionic eye” to restore vision to individuals with total blindness.
An influential educator, she organizes and directs several highly successful national and international courses, including the first-of-its-kind Advances in Pediatric Retina Course at Duke and the international Duke Fellows Advances in Vitreous Surgery Course. She is director of prestigious Duke Vitreoretinal Surgical Fellowship and director of Duke Eye Center’s Continuing Medical Education program.
Dr. Vajzovic completed her vitreoretinal fellowship training at Duke and residency training at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, FL. While in training, she received Heed Fellowship Award, Society of Heed Fellows Award and Retina Society Research Award. She is active on the Women in Ophthalmology Board of Directors where she serves as a Treasurer and a Chair of Clinical Trial Training Program. In addition, she serves as a Retina Society AAO Council Representative. She is elected member of the Retina Society, Macula Society and Club Jules Gonin Society. Dr. Vajzovic has been awarded the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award, American Society of Retina Specialists Senior Honor Award, Women in Ophthalmology Emerging Leader Award and Emerging Leader Award by Duke University School of Medicine and Duke Medical Alumni Association.
Neeru A Vallabh, MBBS, PhD, FRCOphth, University of Liverpool; Liverpool University Hospital Foundation Trust, UK
Neeru Vallabh MBBS, PhD, FRCOphth is a glaucoma specialist at the Liverpool University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and a clinical senior lecturer at the University of Liverpool. She completed a glaucoma research fellowship at the University of Liverpool and a glaucoma clinical fellowship at Manchester Royal Eye Hospital. She works as a committee member for the UK Eye Genetics group and is a next generation partner in the European Glaucoma Society. Her research focuses on mitochondrial dysfunction and neuroprotection in glaucoma and she is working closely with other research groups interested in disc assessment in glaucoma, surgical outcomes in glaucoma and genetics in glaucoma.
Abhay Vasavada, MS, FRCS, Raghudeep Eye Hospital, India
After completing his FRCS in 1980 from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Dr Abhay Vasavada specialized in cataract surgery. 8 years into his practice at Raghudeep Eye Clinic, he set up Iladevi Cataract & IOL Centre in 1991 devoted exclusively to cataract research and in particular to congenital cataract in children. As a director of Raghudeep Eye Clinic and Iladevi Cataract & IOL Research Centre, he has awarded more than 100 fellowship to the ophthalmologists from all over the world. To his credit, more than 135 publications are listed in various national and international journals.
He has been invited to perform live surgery demonstration across the globe in countries like USA, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Soudi Arabia, Gulfcountries, entire Asia Pacific region including China And Australia. He is a distinguished member of different ophthalmic societies from all over the globe.
He has been a recipient of best researcher award and Dr B.C. Roy National Award by Honourable President Dr K.R. Narayanan in 1997. In 2002 he was the recipient of 1st Asia Pacific Association of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (APACRS) Award for Best Educator in Asia Pacific Region. He has been a recipient of American Academy of Ophthalmology's Achievement Award, 2005. He has also been awarded the Arthur Lim Oration by the Asia-Pacific Association of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (APACRS) for the year 2010. He is the first Indian to be awarded Binkhorst Medal Lecture by the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS) in 2011. He was selected as one of the “Top Fifty Opinion Leaders” in 2005 for his Outstanding Contribution and Leadership in the field of cataract surgery, a survey taken by a “Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today”.
For last few years he is also heading and supervising research related to cataract development and management in children as well as adults. His ultimate goal is to keep providing highest quality of cataract management and solve some of the problems facing children and young adults.
Yaxing Wang - Beijing Tongren Hospital, Beijing, China
Dr. Yaxing Wang is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Glaucoma Specialist at Beijing Tongren Hospital. She received her medical degree from Capital Medical University and Heidelberg University. Following ophthalmic training in Beijing Tongren Hospital, she undertook academic training in Moorfields Eye Hospital UK and Legacy Devers Eye Institute US. Her research interests include glaucoma, ophthalmic epidemiology, and optic disc biomechanics. She has been co-authored in 200+ papers in peer-reviewed journals and has been involved in several international collaborative studies, including the NCD Risk Factor study, the CREAM Study, and the Global Burden of Diseases Study. She is an alumnus of the APAO Leadership Development Program (2014 to 2015), International Glaucoma Panel training program (2015-2017), AAPPO Academic Development Mentorship Scheme (2019 – 2020). She was elected as a Fellow of Asia-Pacific Professors of Ophthalmology (AAPPO).
Susan Williams, MBBCh, MMed(Ophth), FCOphth(SA), PGD-HSE, PhD, University of the Witwatersrand; Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, South Africa
Dr Sue Williams is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University), Johannesburg, South Africa. Her specialist training was at this institution and the St John Eye Hospital in Soweto, South Africa. She has a master of medicine in ophthalmology, a postgraduate diploma in health sciences education and a doctorate in ophthalmology and genetics (all from Wits University) . She currently has a clinician post-doctoral fellowship from the Carnegie Corporation and a National Research Foundation (South Africa) grant for her research into gene expression in exfoliation syndrome. She runs the glaucoma unit at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, and lectures at Wits University. She is president-elect of the South African Glaucoma Society. Her research interests include glaucoma surgery, exfoliation syndrome, glaucoma genetics and ophthalmic genetics.
Alvin Young, MB BCh BAO, MMedSci (Hons), FCSHK, FCOphthHK, FRCOphth, FHKAM, Prince of Wales Hospital; The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
Prof. Alvin L. Young was trained & worked as Lecturer under Prof. Peter Eustace at the University College Dublin, before his return to Hong Kong in the late nineties.
He is currently the Cluster Coordinator of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences & Deputy Hospital Chief Executive of the Prince of Wales Hospital. He was past Chairman of the HK Hospital Authority Co-ordinating Committee in Ophthalmology.
He serves as Honorary Clinical Professor of DOVS at The Chinese University of Hong Kong & Visiting Professor of STU-CUHK Joint Shantou International Eye Center. He has been leading the Corneal Service since the early noughties & is the Director for both the International & Local Corneal Fellowship Programmes.
Apart from serving as the section editor for The Asia-Pacific Journal of Ophthalmology, he is a council member for the Asia Cornea Society, Asia-Pacific KPro Study Group, HK Society of Transplantation & College of Ophthalmologists of HK (2013-17). He was the Chair of Examinations for Hong Kong and previously an Examiner for RCSEd. He is a thesis member of the Cornea Society & a Fellow of the Academy of Asia-Pacific Professors of Ophthalmology.
Prof. Young has a broad exposure & his clinical & research interests encompass all aspects of the anterior segment, ranging from cornea to the lens, anterior & posterior lamellar keratoplasty, myopia, ocular surface reconstruction and various different modalities of lens replacement.
