Eyeworld Daily News

14 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | JULY 23, 2021 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS Lewis, MD, one of the outstanding glaucoma specialists of his era. We have a new award, the Educator Award, to highlight an individual who has spent their career edu- cating future ophthalmologists, and that award goes to Thomas Oetting, MD. I can't think of a better winner of the inaugural Educator Award. We will have the Hall of Fame presentation, with Jerry Shields, MD, a world-fa- mous ophthalmic oncologist from Wills Eye Hospital. The late Tadeusz Krwawicz, MD, who was an outstanding corneal surgeon, will also be honored. To close out the Opening General Session, we have the CEO of the Ameri- can Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), David Parke II, MD, giving a lecture with a panel discus- sion following about the state of ophthalmology, how COVID-19 affected ophthalmology, and what to expect in the future. The Sunday General Session is starting out with Scott Gottlieb, MD, the former FDA commis- sioner and COVID-19 expert. The Dr. Donnenfeld: I think the take- home message is that it's time to get back to normal. I think that this meeting will be successful, safe, and I can't think of a better place to go than Las Vegas. Dr. Holland: It's one of those cities where everyone can find something that they like. We've got a beautiful convention center at Mandalay Bay with great hotels that are part of the convention complex. Las Vegas has something for everyone. There are fantastic restaurants, the shows are back, and for those who like to gamble, they have that as well. Dr. Donnenfeld: Let's get back to the nitty gritty of the meeting. At the end of the day, it's all about education. What programs are you excited about? Dr. Holland: The start of the main ASCRS program each morning are the general sessions. On Saturday, we have the Opening General Ses- sion. The Binkhorst Lecture will be presented this year by Richard The 2021 ASCRS Annual Meeting: A Q&A with Eric Donnenfeld, MD, and Edward Holland, MD continued on page 16 E ric Donnenfeld, MD, EyeWorld chief medical editor, spoke with Edward Holland, MD, ASCRS Program Committee chair, about some of the highlights of the meeting. Dr. Donnenfeld: Ed, you've been the ASCRS Program Committee Chair now for 9 years. The first question I want to ask you is: A great deal has changed since the last in-person ASCRS An- nual Meeting, so what are your thoughts about holding the first major ophthalmology meeting in person in almost 2 years? Dr. Holland: I think the pandemic has impacted us in so many ways, personally and professionally. It has also affected the way we've been able to obtain our education. I think that virtual meetings were better than most people thought they would be, and we did receive some outstanding education. But there's a bit of virtual education fatigue now, and in talking to ophthalmologists across the country, they are very excited about a live, in-person meeting. Doctors like to talk to colleagues, meet friends, and interact with industry. The attendees of the ASCRS Annual Meeting learn from the general sessions, the instruction courses, the paper sessions, and they learn about new products when they go to the Exhibit Hall. Ophthalmolo- gists have missed the big meeting experience, and there is a lot of excitement about this meeting. "The world has certainly changed, and ophthalmology has changed. This is the first real chance to attend a live, in-person meeting where we can see all the innovation that's taken place and take home new information that's going to change the way we practice." —Eric Donnenfeld, MD

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