AEVR Hosts Virtual AMD Congressional Briefing and Seventh Annual Emerging Vision Scientists Day on September 21

(Washington, DC) Today, the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR) announced virtual events associated with International Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) Awareness Week 2021 and AEVR’s Seventh Annual Emerging Vision Scientists Day on Capitol Hill. These events are supported by a grant from Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB) and Novartis, with  streaming support by the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO).      

RSVP for events to Dina Beaumont at
202-407-8325 or [email protected]
Link to events at: https://www.arvo.org/advocacy/NAEVR-virtual-events/

Premiering 12:00 Noon – 1:00 pm Eastern
Congressional Briefing: Latest on Clinical Practice and Research for AMD Patients
Held during International AMD Awareness Week 2021 and Healthy Aging Month, this briefing begins AEVR’s Seventh Annual Emerging Vision Scientists Day on Capitol Hill. It features clinician-scientist Amir H. Kashani, MD, PhD (Wilmer Eye Institute/Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine) and National Eye Institute (NEI) researcher Kapil Bharti, PhD who will address all aspects of AMD clinical practice and research. After formal presentations, Matt Levine from the American Macular Degeneration Foundation (AMDF) will join AEVR Executive Director James Jorkasky in a discussion with the speakers.  

Premiering 1:30 – 2:00 pm Eastern
A Conversation: Moving Beyond COVID-19 in My Career Pathway 

AEVR is engaging 28 early-stage vision scientists (next page, identified by state and eye research) in a 30-minute video conversation about how they have applied lessons learned from COVID-19 laboratory closures to their future research and career pathway. This is a follow-up to AEVR’s September 2020 30-minute video discussion with EVSs about the impact of COVID-19 on their research, a written version of which was published July 1, 2021, in JAMA Ophthalmology at: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaophthalmology/fullarticle/2540516

In addition to that conversation, each of the Emerging Vision Scientists has prepared a personal video about their breakthrough eye and vision research that addresses the question “How will this research delay, reduce, and prevent the $717 billion annual cost of eye disease and vision impairment projected by year 2050?”

The Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR), a 501(c)3 non-profit foundation, is proud to announce these educational programs associated with its Research Saving Sight, Restoring Vision Initiative, a sustained effort that recognizes the benefits of federally funded vision research. Visit AEVR’s Web site at www.eyeresearch.org

Scientist 

State

Area of Expertise

Ji Won Bang, PhD (NYU Grossman School of Medicine)

NJ

Glaucoma

Lea Bennett, PhD (University of Oklahoma)

OK

Inherited Retinal Diseases

Roomasa Channa, MD (U. Wisconsin)

WI

Big Data/Diabetic Retinal Diseases

Xi Chen, MD, PhD (Duke University)

NC

Retinopathy of Prematurity

Lindsey De Lott, MD (University of Michigan)

MI

Optic Neuritis

Kimberly Gokoffski, MD, PhD (University of Southern California)

CA

Optic nerve regeneration

Sylvia Groth, MD (Vanderbilt University)

TN

Access to Eye Care for the Homebound

Jarrod Harman, PhD (LSU Health Science Center)

LA

Ischemic Retinopathies and Big Data

Patrice Marie Hicks, PhD (University of Michigan)

MI

Eye Disease in Underserved Populations

Rachel Huckfeldt, MD, PhD (Mass Eye & Ear/Harvard Medical School)

MA

Inherited Retinal Diseases

Archana Jalligampala, PhD (University of Louisville)

KY

Gene therapy for Inherited retinal dystrophies

Stefan Kurtenbach, PhD (Bascom Palmer)

FL

Uveal Melanoma

Milica Margeta, MD, PhD (Mass Eye & Ear/Harvard Medical School)

MA

Neuroinflammation, Neuroprotection & Glaucoma

J. Patrick Mayo, PhD (University of Pittsburgh)

PA

Cortical Visual Processing

Mallory McLaughlin, OD (Illinois College of Optometry)

IL

Visual Field Testing

Joseph Mertz, PhD (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine)

MD

Neuroprotection for Glaucoma

Ann Morrison, OD, PhD (Ohio State College of Optometry)

OH

Emmetropization in infants

Alex Muntz, PhD, MScOptom (University of Auckland)

NZ

Dry Eye Disease and Screen Use

Leah Owen, MD, PhD (University of Utah)

UT

Retinopathy of Prematurity

Jennifer Patnaik, PhD (University of Colorado)

CO

Vision Screening &  Productivity

Margaret Reynolds, MD (Washington University)

MO

Low Vision/Refractive Surgery

Roksana Sadeghi, PhD (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine)

MD

Visual Prosthesis

Daisy Shu, BOptom, BSc, PhD (Schepens Eye Research Institute)

MA

AMD

Katelyn Swindle-Reilly, PhD (Ohio State University)

OH

Drug Delivery using new biomaterials

Brian Thompson, PhD (Yale University)

CT

Developmental Eye Diseases/Childhood Blindness

Edmund Tsui, MD (UCLA Stein Eye Institute)

CA

Uveitis in Children

Kevin Willeford, OD, PhD (NOVA Southeastern University College of Optometry)

FL

Motor Fusion Systems

Thomas Wubben, MD, PhD (University of Michigan)

MI

Retinal cell metabolism