AOPT 2021 PROGRAM March 4-7, 2021

Thursday March 4, 2021

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. Zhigang He

Professor of Neurology and Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School

“New insights into protection and regeneration of retinal ganglion cells.”

SESSIONS

Thursday March 4, 2021

Theme A, Session 1: Optic Nerve Regeneration in the Age of Omics and Big Data Analytics

Session Moderators:

Kevin Park, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Neurological Surgery, Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, FL, USA

Abigail Hackam, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, FL, USA

Session Speakers:

Feng-Quan Zhou, PhD, Professor, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, MD, USA

Title of Talk: “Targeting Neuronal Chromatin and Transcriptomics Landscape to Regulate Optic Nerve Regeneration”

Yi-Lan Weng, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Houston Methodist Research Institute, TX, USA

Title of Talk: “Epitranscriptomic Regulation of Regenerative Capacity”

Ava J. Udvadia, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, WI, USA

Title of Talk: “Evolutionarily Conserved Mechanisms Regulating Successful Optic Nerve Regeneration”

Romain Cartoni, PhD. Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke University School of Medicine, NC, USA

Title of Talk: “Mitochondrial Positioning in Health and Disease: Defining Local Mitochondrial Functions in CNS Neurons”

Jennifer Arcuri, BS, Graduate Student, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Graduate Program and Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, Miami, Florida

Title of Talk: “Ganglioside Metabolism in Glaucoma and Other Neurodegeneration models”

Simon Kaja, PhD. Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Loyola University, Chicago, IL

Title of Talk: “Impaired Functional Effects of Exosomes Derived From Loxl1-Deficient Primary Optic Nerve Head Astrocytes”

Theme A, Session 2: Regulatory Guidance in Regenerative Medicine in Ophthalmology: A Comparison Across Countries

Session Moderators:

Cheryl L. Rowe-Rendleman, PhD, SVP Regulatory Affairs and Clinical Operations, Aviceda Therapeutics 

Onkar B. Sawant, PhD, Director of Research & Innovations, Eversight

Session Speakers:

Jeffrey Goldberg, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

Tentative Title of Talk: “Moving Magnetic Cell Delivery from Bench to Clinic: Human Corneal Endothelial Cells for Corneal Edema”

Ula Jurkunas, MD, Associate Professor, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Title of Talk: “CALEC – Cell Therapy for Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency”

Dr. Naoki Okumura, MD, PhD, Professor, Graduate School of Life and Medical Science, Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan

Title of Talk: “RhoKinase Inhibitors Assisted Cell Therapy for Treatment of Corneal Endothelial Dystrophies”

Kapil Bharati, PhD, Senior Investigator and Head, Ocular and Stem Cell Translational Research Section, National Eye Institute (NEI)

Title of Talk: “RPE Replacement Therapy for Macular Degeneration”

Robert Nickells, PhD, Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual System, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

Title of Talk: “Gene therapy with BCLXL Attenuates Glaucomatous Degeneration in DBA/2J Mice”

Giovanni Giurdanella, University of Catania, Italy

Title of Talk: “Corneal Re-epithelialization in Glucose-Stimulated Corneal Epithelial Cells is Promoted by a Novel Derivate of Dimethyl fumarate”

Hot Topics Potpourri 1: TM/Glaucoma/RGC regeneration

Session Moderators:

Shahid Husain, PhD, Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Storm Eye Institute, Medical University of South Carolina, SC, USA

Cynthia L. Steel, PhD, Director of Translational Research, Qlaris Bio., Inc., Wellesley, MA, USA

Session Speakers:

Shahid Husain, PhD, Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Storm Eye Institute, Medical University of South Carolina, SC, USA

Title of Talk: “Inhibition of DNA Methylation Provides Retinal Ganglion Cell Neuroprotection in Chronic Rat Glaucoma Model”

Pratheepa Rasiah, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, TN, USA

Title of Talk: “Neurotrauma Induced Retinal Basement Membrane Col4a1 Defects are Restored by Adipose Tissue Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Concentrated Conditioned Medium”

Nan Zhang, BS, Department of Ophthalmology, Emory University, GA, USA

Title of Talk: “Systemic Treatment with Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid (TUDCA) Enhances Retinal Ganglion Cell Survival Following Optic Nerve Crush”

Jose Javier Lopez-Cano, Graduate Student, Complutense University of Madrid, Spain

Title of Talk: “New Potential Combined Retinal Neuroprotective Therapy in a Smart Injectable Thermoresponsive Hydrogel”

Ting Wang, MD, Graduate Student, Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute, Indiana University, IN, USA

Title of Talk: “Modulation of Intraocular Pressure by Tuning Transcriptional Control of Lipid Synthesis”

Jeremy Reitinger, Medical Student, Creighton University School of Medicine, NE, USA

Title of Talk: “Comparison of IOP Response to Timolol Versus Latanoprost”

BrightFocus Foundation Plenary Session

Introduction:

Dr. Cheryl Rowe-Rendleman

Speaker: Dr. Diane Bovenkamp, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, BrightFocus Foundation

Additional Talk:

Liyun Zhang, PhD JHMI

Title of Talk: “Large-scale Phenotypic Drug Screen Identifies Neuroprotectants in Zebrafish and Mouse Models of Retinitis Pigmentosa”

Theme A, Session 3: Novel Therapeutic Drugs and Devices for Glaucoma Treatment

Session Moderators:

Najam Sharif, PhD, DSc., Santen Inc USA, Emeryville, CA.

Sunny Ohia, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX.

Session Speakers:

Mitch DeLong, PhD, Vice President, Dept. Chemistry, Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc, Raleigh-Durham, NC. 

Title of Talk: ”Netarsudil: Recent developments”

Najam Sharif, PhD, DSc, Vice President, GAER, Santen Inc USA, Emeryville, CA. 

Title of Talk: “Omidenepag Isopropyl : a Novel Non-prostaglandin EP2-receptor Agonist Anti-glaucoma Drug”

Sunny Ohia, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX.

Title of Talk: “Role of Hydrogen Sulfide and Prostaglandins in Aqueous Humor Dynamics”

Len Pinchuk, PhD, Senior Vice President, Santen Inc USA, Miami.

Title of Talk: “The Effect of 0.2 Versus 0.4 mg/ml of Mitomycin C on Intraocular Pressure, Medication Use and Surgical Failure Rate of the PRESERFLO® MicroShunt at One Year in a Multinational Clinical Study”

Ramesh Kassetti, PhD, UNTHSC, North Texas, TX

Title of Talk: “Correction of Impaired Autophagy Reduces Ocular Hypertension in a Mouse Model of Glaucoma by Promoting Autophagic Degradation of Mutant Myocilin”

Cynthia Steel, PhD, Qlaris Bio, Inc., Wellsley, MA

Title of Talk: “Preclinical Efficacy and Safety Profile of QLS-101, a Novel ATP-sensitive Potassium Channel Opener for the Reduction of IOP”

Friday March 5, 2021

Regeneron Plenary Session

Introduction:

Drs. Sanjoy Bhattacharya and Cheryl Rowe-Rendleman

Plenary Speaker: Dr. Larry Benowitz, Professor Neurosurgery and Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School

Title of Plenary talk: “Cell- Extrinsic and – Intrinsic Regulators of Optic Nerve Regeneration”

Additional Talk:

Dr. Michael F. Chiang, Director National Eye Institute

Theme B, Session 4: Retinal Neuroprotection, Plasticity and Regeneration: Where We Are

Session Moderators:

Filippo Drago, MD/PhD, Professor, Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Catania, Italy

Vittorio Porciatti, DSc, Professor, School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, USA

Session Speakers:

Francesca Cordeiro, MD, PhD, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, UK

Title of talk: “DARC as a Biomarker”

Dong Fen Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Schepens Eye Research Institute

Harvard Medical School

Title of talk: “The Immune Response in Acute and Chronic Neural Injury: A Target for Neuroprotection”

Valery Shestopalov, PhD, Professor, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

Title of talk: “Inflammasome Facilitates Ganglion Cell Dysfunction and Loss in Ocular Hypertension Glaucoma”

Gianluca Romano, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

Title of talk: “P2X7 Receptor Antagonism Preserves Retinal Ganglion Cells in Glaucomatous Mice”

Sean Meehan, BS, Graduate Student, Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Graduate Program and Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.

Title of talk: “Phospholipid Profile Comparison Between Three Optic Nerve Regeneration Methods“

Prabhavathi Maddineni, PhD, UNTHSC, Fort Worth, Texas

Title of talk: “Glucocorticoid-induced Ocular Hypertension Alters Synaptic Plasticity and Neurotransmission During the Progression of Glaucomatous Neurodegeneration“

Theme C, Session 5: Diabetic Retinopathy: New Pharmacological Targets

Session Moderators:

Claudio Bucolo, PhD, FARVO, Associate Professor of Pharmacology, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

Maria B Grant, MD, FARVO, Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL 

Session Speakers:

Julia Busik, PhD, Professor of Physiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI

Title of talk: “Use of Cyclodextrin for Removal of Retinal Cholesterol Crystals in Diabetic Retinopathy”

Mei Chen, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Queen’s University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Title of talk: “Targeting IL1 Pathway for the Management of Diabetic Retinopathy”

Chiara B.M. Platania, PhD, Senior Post-Doc, University of Catania, Catania, Italy

 Title of talk: “Innovative Approaches to Identify New Pharmacological Targets for Diabetic Retinopathy”

Maria B Grant MD, FARVO, Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL

Title of talk: “Pharmacological Activation of LXR to Prevent Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetes Induced Bone Marrow Dysfunction” 

Azza El-Remessy, PhD, PharmD, Augusta Biomedical Research Corporation, Augusta, GA

Title of talk: “Modulation of p75NTR on Mesenchymal Stem Cells Increases Their Vascular Protection in Retinal Ischemia-reperfusion Mouse Model” 

Minjae Kim, BA, VUMC, Vanderbilt, Nashville, TN

Title of talk: “HU-308, a CB2 Agonist, Potently Inhibits TNF-α-induced Retinal Leukostasis and Vascular Leakage” 

Theme B, Session 6:  Visual Perception and Ocular Disorders

Session Moderators:

Dora Fix Ventura, PhD, FARVO, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Malinda E. C. Fitzgerald, PhD, FARVO, Research consultant, University of TN Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA

Session Speakers:

Patricia M. Cisarik, O.D., Ph.D., Southern College of Optometry, Memphis, TN USA

Title of Talk: “Advances in Clinical Measurement of Visual Perceptions”

Michael Carlson, Nanoscope Instruments, Bedford, TX

Title of talk: “Low Vision Multi-Parameter Test to Quantitatively Measure Visual Level of Low Vision Patients”

Kallene Summer Vidal, M.D., PhD, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil and Prevent Senior Institute, São Paulo, Brazil

Title of Talk: “Early Biological Marker Changes in the Visual System of patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease”

Mirella T. S. Barboni, PhD, Department of Ophthalmology, Semmelweiss University, Budapest, Hungary

Title of Talk: “Visual Functions and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”

Givago S. Souza, PhD, Neuroscience Program, Federal University of Para, Belém, PA, Brazil

Title of Talk: “Organic Mercury as Biomarker of Visual Loss of Children and Adult Riverine Communities in Brazilian Amazon”

Marcelo Fernandes da Costa, PhD Head of Department of Experimental Psychology, University of São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Title of Talk: “Visual Functions and ZIKA Virus Infection”

Theme B, Session 7: Innovation Imperative—Changing Industry: Science Relationships

This session will be a panel discussion promoting an open dialogue around industry working with academia, translating science from bench to bedside and navigating legal/ IP issues along the way.

Session Moderators:

Kimberly Southern, Chief Executive Officer Glauconix Biosciences, New York

Barbara Wirostko MD, FARVO, Cofounder and Chief Medical Officer at Qlaris Bio, Weston, MA. Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering at Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT.

Panel Discussants:

Michael Fautsch PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Research Chair for Ophthalmology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.

Susan Orr OD, MBA, CEO and CMO of Claris Biotherapeutics, New Jersey.

Anthony Khawaja MA(Cantab) PhD FRCOphth, Associate Professor at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Honorary Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, UK.

Karen Torrejon PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Glauconix Biosciences, Albany NY.

Saturday March 6, 2021

Theme C, Session 8: Student/Young Investigator Round Table

Objectives of the Round table: “The Round table will engage in a conversation from the student/fellow/young faculty perspective about how to make science more inclusive, to develop an awareness of issues surrounding gender and racial bias in science and identify short and long-term solutions to increase diversity in science”.

Session Moderators:

Dorette Z. Ellis, PhD, Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy, UNTHSC, North Texas

Mildred M.G. Olivier, MD, BS, Professor of Ophthalmology and Assistant Dean at Chicago Medical School (CMS) of Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (RFUMS); Assistant Dean for Office of Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion

Panel Discussants:

Theme C, Session 9: Degeneration and Regeneration of the Trabecular and Downstream Outflow Pathways

Session Moderators:

Carol Toris, PhD, Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska.

Padmanabhan Pattabiraman, PhD, Assistant Professor, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.

Session Speakers:

Vasantha Rao, PhD, Professor, Duke Eye Center, Durham, North Carolina. 

Title of Talk: “What We Know and Don’t Know About the Trabecular Pathway: Molecular and Functional Parallels Between the TM and Podocytes”

Avinash Soundararajan, PhD, Postdoc, Glick Eye Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.

Title of Talk: “Decoding the Mechanistic Role of Clusterin in Regulating Intraocular Homeostasis”

Gillian McLellan, PhD, BVMS, DACVO, DECVO, PHD, Associate Professor, Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Madison.

Title of Talk: “Imaging the Post-trabecular Outflow Pathways in Glaucoma: Lessons from Animal Models”

Kate Keller, PhD, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health Sciences University, Oregon.

Title of Talk: “Degeneration and Regeneration of the Trabecular and Downstream Outflow Pathways”

Nils Lowen, MD PhD, Professor and Chair, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Wuerzburg, Germany.

Title of Talk: “Impact of Distal Outflow Tract Modulation on IOP”

Shruti Patil, MS, Student, UNTHSC, Fort Worth, Texas

Title of Talk: “TGFbeta2 induces Chronic Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Trabecular Meshwork cells”

Hot Topics Potpourri 2: Retina, RPE Biology, Pathogenesis and Therapies for AMD

Session Moderators:

Manas Biswal, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

Daisy Shu, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

Session Speakers:

Dawin Khiev, B.S., University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

Title of Talk: “Evaluating Daily Systemic Betaine Delivery in Alleviating Dry-AMD Pathophysiology”

Christina Ortiz, B.S., Department of Pharmacology, CHU Sainte-Justine Research Center, Quebec, Canada

Title of Talk: “miRNA Let-7f Induces Cellular Senescence and Exacerbates Oxidative Stress in Retinal Pigment Epithelium Cells”

Mayur Choudhary, Ph.D., Department of Ophthalmology, Albert Eye Research Institute, Durham, NC, USA

Title of Talk: “NURR1 Regulates Epithelial-Mesenchymal-Transition (EMT) and Inflammation in RPE Cells”

Zhongjie Fu, Ph.D., Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

Title of Talk: “Müller Glial Remodeling Preserves Retinal Function During Photoreceptor Loss Revealed by Single-Cell Transcriptomics”

Abirami Santhanam, Ph.D., ‎The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA

Title of Talk: “Identifying the Regulators of Photoreceptor Neuron Regeneration in a Zebrafish Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa”

AOPT Special Session

Session Moderator:

Thomas Yorio, Shusheng Wang, Filippo Drago

Talk/video: by Nanoscope Therapeutics

Introduced by Dr. Thomas Yorio

Talk/video: by Shenyang group, China

Introduced by Dr. Shusheng Wang

Speaker: Wiley A. Chambers M.D.

Director Division of Ophthalmology, U.S.  Food and Drug Administration

Introduction to Speaker by: Dr. Filippo Drago

Santen Plenary session

Session Moderator:

Naj Sharif

Session Speakers:

Plenary Speaker: Dr. Christine Curcio, Professor Ophthalmology, University of Alabama-Birmingham

Title of Plenary talk: “Clinically Visible Progression Indicators in Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) are Transdifferentiated Retinal Pigment Epithelium (RPE)”

Additional Talks:

Manas Biswal, PhD, University of South Florida, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tampa, Florida, USA

Title of talk: “Buspirone Enhances Cell Survival and Preserves Structural Integrity in Oxidative Injury to Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) Cells”

Chloe Thomas, PhD, University of Birmingham, School of Biomedical Sciences, UK

Title of talk: “Delivering Topical IL-33 with a Cell Penetrating Peptide to Treat Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration”

Theme C, Session 10: Novel Therapeutic Targeting for Age-Related Macular Degeneration – Overcoming the Challenging Path to Success

Session Moderators:

Goldis Malek, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Department of Pathology, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA

Aparna Lakkaraju, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA

Session Speakers:

Wai Wong, MD, PhD, Vice President Retinal Discovery at Janssen R&D, and Senior Investigator at NEI, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

Title of Talk: “Targeting Retinal Glia to Regulate Neuroinflammation in AMD Therapeutics”

Louise Porter, PhD, FRCOphth, Scientist, University of Strasbourg, Alsace, France

Title of Talk:  “ Epigenetic Changes of Ageing and Age-Related Macular Degeneration”

Jennifer Chao, MD, PhD, Associate Professor and Vice Chair of Research, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

Title of Talk: “Early Onset Macular Drusen: Loss-of-Function variant in CFH”

Mike (Przemyslaw) Sapieha, PhD, Professor in Translational Research and Professor of Ophthalmology, Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada, Chief Scientific Advisor, UNITY Biotechnology, San Francisco, CA.

Title of Talk: “Targeting Cellular Senescence for Retinal Vasculopathies”

Bomina Park, BS, Graduate Student, IUPUI, Indiana, IN

Title of Talk: “AAV8 Mediated Expression of shRNA Targeting Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase Suppresses Choroidal Neovascularization”

Daisy Shu, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow , Department of Ophthalmology

Schepens Eye Research Institute, Mass Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA

Title of Talk: “Suppression of PGC-1α Drives Metabolic Dysfunction in TGFβ2-Induced EMT of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells”

Theme C, Session 11: Mechanism and Therapeutics for Ocular Fibrosis

Session Moderators:

Shusheng Wang, PhD/MBA, Associate Professor, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology & Department of Ophthalmology, Tulane University

Heping Xu, MD/PhD, Professor, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK

Session Speakers:

Mark Gillies, PhD, Professor, Director of Research, The University of Sydney, Save Sight Institute, Sidney, Australia

Title of Talk: ”Notch Signaling and Retinal Fibrosis”

Audrey Bernstein, PhD, Associate Professor, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and Cell & Developmental Biology, SUNY Upstate Medical University

Title of Talk: “Self-Delivery siRNA to Prevent Ocular Scaring”

Szabolcs Felszeghy, PhD, University of Eastern Finland

Title of Talk: “The Role of NRF2/PGC-1a in Oxidative Stress – Mediated Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition of Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells – Implications in Retinal Degeneration and Fibrosis”

Heping Xu, MD/PhD, Professor, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences Centre for Experimental Medicine, Queen’s University, Belfast, UK

Title of Talk: “The Role of the Complement System in Retinal Fibrosis”

Yinga Wu, MS, Ophthalmology, Tulane University, LA

Title of Talk: “MiRNA-24 Represses TGF-β2 Induced Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) and Fibrosis in RPE Cells”

Caijiao Yi, MS, Ophthalmology, Changsa, China

Title of Talk: “Augmented Subretinal Fibrosis Secondary To Choroidal Neovascularization In Old Age is Related To Increased Profibrotic Potent of Circulating Immune Cells”

Sunday March 7, 2021

Theme D, Session 12: Update on Ocular Pharmacology Research in China

Session Moderators:

Jay Ji-Ye Wei, MD/PhD, Professor, He University, China

Sylvie He, PhD, Partner, Hyfinity Investment Fund, Beijing, China

Session Speakers:

Colin J. Barnstable, PhD, Professor, Behavioral and neural science, Penn State University, USA; Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, China 

Title of Talk: ”How an Academic Researcher to Develop a Drug Candidate in China”

Joyce Tombran-Tink, PhD, Professor, Behavioral and neural science, Penn State University, USA; Ophthalmology, Tianjin Medical University, China

Title of Talk: “PEDF Peptide for Treatment of Ocular Diseases”

Sylvie He, PhD, Partner, Hyfinity Investment Fund, Beijing, China

Title of Talk: “Innovation and Drug Discovery of Ophthalmic Research in China”

Jay Ji-Ye Wei, MD/PhD, Professor, School of Medicine, He University, Shenyang, China

Title of Talk: “Gene Therapy to Treat Ocular Disorders in China”

Donglei Zhang, PhD, Young Scientist, Sheyang Pharmaceutical University, China

Title of talk: “Esculetin Protects Human Corneal Epithelial Cells from Oxidative Stress Through Nrf-2 Signaling Pathway”

Zhuang Hou, PhD, Young Scientist, Sheyang Pharmaceutical University, China

Title of talk: “Structure-Based Design and Discovery of Novel Dual-tail Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors with Efficacy in an in Vivo Glaucoma Model”

Theme D, Session 13: Ophthalmic Imaging Technologies and Biomarkers

Session Moderators:

Ashwath Jayagopal, Ph.D., Executive Director, Kodiak Sciences Inc., Palo Alto, CA USA

Imam Uddin, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN USA

Session Speakers:

Imam Uddin, PhD, Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt Eye Institute, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN USA

Title of Talk: “A Novel Method to Visualize mRNA to Predict Ocular Angiogenesis”

Jennifer Hunter, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Rochester Medical Center

Title of Talk: “Adaptive Optics Fluorescence Lifetime Ophthalmoscopy”

Nicolas Chateau, PhD, CEO, Imagine Eyes

Title of Talk: “Adaptive Optics Imaging Usable by Clinicians”

Yali Jia, PhD, Jennie P. Weeks Professor of Ophthalmology, Oregon Health & Science University

Title of Talk: “Visible-Light OCT Oximetry in Retinal Capillaries”

Doreen Schmidl, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Title of Talk: “The Effect of Orally Administered Dronabinol on Ocular Blood Flow Parameters in Healthy Subjects”

 Wyndham Betchelor, BS, Graduate student, Biomedical Engineering, University of Miami, Miami, FL

Title of Talk: “Feasibility of Creating Retinal Ganglion Cell Axon Guidance Cues of Various Length Scales Using a Custom Atomic Force Microscopy Lithography Device”

Hot Topics Potpourri 3: Stem cells/neuronal regeneration

Session Moderator:

David M Hinkle MD, Professor, Oliver and Carroll Dabezies Endowed Chair, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

Session Speakers:

Omer Ozer, MD, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

Title of talk: “Effects of Mesenchymal Stem Cells on microRNA Expressions in Acute Alkaline Corneal Burn”

David Eveleth, PhD, Trefoil Therapeutics, San Diego, USA.

Title of talk: “Healing of Primary and Recurrent Mouse Ocular Herpetic Disease Following Topical Ocular Treatment with an Engineered Fibroblast Growth Factor-1 (FGF-1) is Associated with Increased Frequency and Function of Corneal Anti-Inflammatory M2 Macrophages”

Baano Golawala, American Heritage High School, Broward, Florida, USA.

Title of talk: “Bioinformatics Pertinent to Neuronal Regeneration”

Stephanie Joachim, PhD, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.

Title of talk: “Evaluation of a Novel Potent Autotaxin-inhibitor in a Retinal Ischemia Model”

Sarah Pizzuto, BS, Trefoil Therapeutics, San Diego, USA.

Title of talk: “Accelerated Regeneration of Corneal Endothelium After Descemet’s Stripping Mediated by the Engineered Fibroblast Growth Factor TTHX1114”.

Poster sessions

The designated posters sessions are part of the program accommodating Themes A-D. Details are provided in Sessions

Poster Session Moderators:

Daniel Pelaez, PhD, Assistant Professor, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, Miami, USA

Juana Gallar, MD, PhD, Professor, Instituto de Neurociencias, Universidad Miguel Hernandez-CSIC, San Juan de Alicante, Spain

Ava Udvadia, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA

Kate Keller, PhD, Associate Professor, Casey Eye Institute, OHSU, Portland, Oregon, USA

Robert Nickells, PhD, Professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA