NAEVR/AEVR Virtual Events
Due to COVID-19, Capitol Hill and educational events hosted by the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR) are currently unable to be held in person. ARVO is happy to provide technical and platform assistance so that these activities may continue, supporting eye and vision research funding in the U.S. and globally.
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Understanding glaucoma patients: Health disparities and unmet need
March 8 | Noon - 1pm ET – AEVR invites you to join this virtual Congressional Briefing recognizing World Glaucoma Week (March 6 - 12). The second leading cause of preventable vision loss in the United States, glaucoma affects more than 2.7 million Americans over age 40, with that number estimated to more than double by year 2050. Glaucoma is also a driving factor in the annual cost of vision impairment projected to reach $717 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars by year 2050.
Groups at highest risk of developing glaucoma include African Americans over age 40, individuals over age 60, and those with a family history of the disease. Progression can vary based on factors ranging from gender to ethnic and racial differences, and can be genetic or based on lifestyle choices (e.g., smoking). This Briefing will educate about glaucoma and examine these differences, while identifying unmet need as researchers and clinicians seek to optimize patient care. Register now or RSVP to Dina Beaumont.
Speakers
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Leon W. Herndon, Jr., MD |
Thomas Brunner |
Trinh Green, MD |
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Better understanding Thyroid Eye Disease: Physician, patient and caregiver perspectives/Discussion on women's vision health
Nov. 17, 2021 – AEVR continued its series of educational briefings on exciting new developments in eye and vision research during the second annual Thyroid Eye Disease Awareness Week (Nov. 14-20). Thyroid Eye Disease (TED) is a serious, debilitating, and vision-threatening rare autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks muscles and other tissue behind and around the eyes. Because TED is progressive, early management and treatment is critical. People living with TED frequently experience long-term functional, psychosocial, and economic burdens, including inability to work and perform activities of daily living that can result in depression and accelerated mortality. This Briefing features physician and patient/caregiver perspectives on living with TED, as well as a dynamic discussion about the Society for Women’s Health Research’s initiatives on women’s eye health. Watch here.
Speakers
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Kimberly Cockerham, MD, FACS |
Ron Barela & Vickie Barela |
Kathryn Godburn Schubert, MPP, CAE |
Kira Baldonado, MPH |
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Speaking with keratoconus patients about research and treatments
Nov. 10, 2021 – AEVR joined with the National Keratoconus Foundation (NKCF) to recognize World Keratoconus Day 2021. Keratoconus (KC) is an eye condition in which the normally round, dome-shaped cornea — the transparent front of the eye — becomes weak and irregular, resulting in vision distortion, double or blurry vision, and light sensitivity. Researchers believe that certain individuals have a genetic predisposition to develop it and a 2021 study from Australia suggests prevalence of 1.2 percent of the population, meaning it affects the lives of more than 3 million Americans. Featured speakers Christopher Rapuano, MD (Wills Eye Hospital) and Christine Sindt, OD, FAAO (University of Iowa) addressed how they speak with newly diagnosed KC patients about research and treatment options. Watch here.
Speakers
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Christopher Rapuano, MD |
Christine Sindt, OD, FAAO |
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Myopia: A Public Health Crisis
Oct. 20, 2021 – Myopia, or nearsightedness, is one of several refractive errors that occur when the eye cannot clearly focus images from the outside world. Myopia affects 30 percent of the United States population and 28 percent of the world’s population and is expected to reach 50 percent by the year 2050. Studies estimate that the global impact of uncorrected myopia results in a $244 billion annual loss of productivity. Speakers Jason Compton, OD (Compton Eye Associates, New York) and Katherine Lee, MD, PhD (St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital) addressed myopia clinical care and research. Watch here.
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Jason Compton, OD |
Katherine Lee, MD, PhD |
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Congressional Briefing: Latest on clinical practice and research for Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) patients
Sept. 21, 2021 – As part of its Seventh Annual Emerging Vision Scientists Day on Capitol Hill recognizing International AMD Awareness Week 2021 and Health Aging Month, AEVR hosted a Congressional Briefing featuring clinician-scientist Amir H. Kashani, MD, PhD, Wilmer Eye Institute/Johns Hopkins University and National Eye Institute (NEI) researcher Kapil Bharti, PhD. They addressed all aspects of AMD clinical practice and research. Matt Levine from the American Macular Degeneration Foundation and AEVR Executive Director James Jorkasky moderated a post-presentation discussion with the speakers. Watch here.
Speakers
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Amir H. Kashani, MD, PhD |
Kapil Bharti, PhD |
Matt Levine |
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A Conversation: Moving beyond COVID-19 in my career pathway
Sept. 21, 2021 – View AEVR's conversation with 28 early-stage vision scientists on how they have applied lessons learned from COVID-19 laboratory closures to their future research and career pathway. In addition, hear from each of the Emerging Vision Scientists (EVS) in personal videos 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?” Watch here.
Access this dossier book for detailed info. about each researcher (searchable by state)
Speakers
(please click on each researcher's name/photo below to view their video)
| Ji Won Bang, PhD NYU Grossman School of Medicine New Jersey |
Lea Bennett, PhD The University of Oklahoma Oklahoma |
Roomasa Channa, MD University of Wisconsin Wisconsin |
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| Xi Chen, MD, PhD Duke University North Carolina |
Lindsey De Lott, MD University of Michigan Michigan |
Kimberly Gokoffski, MD, PhD University of Southern California California |
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| Sylvia Groth, MD Vanderbilt University Tennessee |
Jarrod Harman, PhD LSU Health Science Center Louisiana |
Patrice Marie Hicks, PhD University of Michigan Michigan |
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| Rachel Huckfeldt, MD, PhD Massachussets Eye and Ear Massachussets |
Archana Jalligampala, PhD University of Louisville Kentucky |
Stefan Kurtenbach, PhD Bascom Palmer Eye Institute Florida |
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| Milica Margeta, MD, PhD Massachussets Eye and Ear Massachussets |
J. Patrick Mayo, PhD University of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania |
Mallory McLaughlin, OD Illinois College of Optometry Illinois |
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| Joseph Mertz, PhD Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Maryland |
Ann Morrison, OD, PhD The Ohio State University College of Optometry Ohio |
Alex Muntz, PhD, MScOptom University of Auckland New Zealand |
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| Leah Owen, MD, PhD University of Utah Utah |
Jennifer Patnaik, PhD University of Colorado Colorado |
Margaret Reynolds, MD Washington University Missouri |
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| Roksana Sadeghi, PhD Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Maryland |
Daisy Shu, BOptom, BSc, PhD Massachussets Eye and Ear Massachussets |
Katelyn Swindle-Reilly, PhD The Ohio State University Ohio |
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| Brian Thompson, PhD Yale University Connecticut |
Edmund Tsui, MD UCLA Stein Eye Institute California |
Kevin Willeford, OD, PhD NOVA Southeastern University College of Optometry Florida |
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| Thomas Wubben, MD, PhD University of Michigan Michigan |
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July 13, 2021 – In recognition of Dry Eye Awareness Month 2021, the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR), joined by the Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (TFOS), hosted their sixth annual Dry Eye Congressional Briefing. The briefing consisted of an interview-style discussion led by AEVR Executive Director James Jorkasky, who is a Dry Eye Disease (DED) patient. Key leaders from TFOS’ next Global Workshop entitled “A Lifestyle Epidemic: Ocular Surface Disease,” also addressed the latest in lifestyle and environmental factors that result in Dry Eye.
This latest initiative follows TFOS’ Dry Eye Workshop II (TFOS DEWS II™) Report, released in July 2017 and published in The Ocular Surface journal. That re-examination of TFOS’ initial 2007 Report updated the definition, classification, and diagnosis of DED; critically evaluated the epidemiology, pathophysiology, mechanism and impact of the disease; addressed its management and therapy, and developed recommendations for design of clinical trials to assess therapies. Watch here.
Speakers
| Jennifer P. Craig, PhD, FCOptom University of Auckland New Zealand |
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David A. Sullivan, MS, PhD |
Christopher E. Starr Weill Cornell Medicine, New York-Presbyterian Hospital |
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March 11, 2021 – As part of its new Research Saving Sight, Restoring Vision Initiative, the Alliance for Eye and Vision Research (AEVR) held its World Glaucoma Week 2021 Congressional Briefing entitled Glaucoma: Clinical Practice and Research to Optimize Patient Outcomes on March 11. Featured speakers included clinician scientist-educators Mona Kaleem, MD and Elyse Joelle McGlumphy, MD—both from the Wilmer Eye Institute at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine—who spoke about glaucoma and their respective clinical experiences in treating patients, as well as their research efforts to better understand and optimize the patient experience. Glaucoma Research Foundation’s patient representative Amanda Eddy, who was born with glaucoma, spoke about quality-of-life challenges presented by the disease. Watch here.