Eyeworld Daily News

16 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | JULY 23, 2021 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS director, gets credit for, called the ASCRS Tap Room. In the middle of the Exhibit Hall, we're going to have a tavern with beverag- es and snacks. In each corner of the ASCRS Tap Room will be industry programs highlighting new pharmaceuticals and surgi- cal instruments in an interactive, informal setting. Dr. Donnenfeld: The world has certainly changed, and ophthal- mology 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 infor- mation that's going to change the way we practice. second half of the Sunday General Session is a brand new program. This session will highlight the lat- est advances in cataract, cornea, refractive, and glaucoma surgery and will feature the inaugural Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, Lec- ture. I think Dr. Lindstrom has been the most influential ophthal- mologist of his era, and he has made tremendous contributions to the specialty. On Monday, we have the Innovators General Session, which starts out with five innovative talks, followed by the Charles D. Kelman, MD, Innovator's Lecture. This year, that will be presented by Stephen Slade, MD, a great champion of innovation. On Tuesday, we have an ex- citing program called "X-Rounds: Refractive Cataract Surgery to the Max." It's an interactive program where we discuss many topics in anterior segment surgery. It's followed by the Best of ASCRS, where we highlight some of the key papers that have been presented during the meeting accompanied by great faculty discussion. A new program this year, "Redefining Our Vision for Fu- ture Generations: Implicit Bias in Ophthalmology," will be moder- ated by Leon Herndon, MD, and Caroline Fisher, MD. Speakers and panelists will discuss how we understand and handle bias in ophthalmology. One other thing I want to mention is an idea that Steve Speares, ASCRS executive continued from page 14 can receive better treatments, Dr. Kliman said. "We're trying to put resources on innovations that can be both clinically and commercially suc- cessful," he said. Eric Donnenfeld, MD, pro- gram co-chair alongside Jim Mazzo, explained that major ad- vancements in ophthalmology are the result of a close relationship between industry and ophthal- mology. It's an intellectual synergy that should be embraced, with patients being the ultimate benefi- ciaries, he said, thanking AAO and ASCRS for this commitment to the profession through the Eyecelerator venture. E yecelerator was formed as a joint venture in 2019 between ASCRS and the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) with the goal of collaborating to bring innovation in ophthalmology fur- ther along to ultimately improve patient care. The meeting Thursday ahead of the ASCRS Annual Meeting was the first in-person Eyecelerator gathering after a year of virtu- al programming forced by the pandemic. While Gil Kliman, MD, Eyecelerator program director, called the virtual programming a success, he lauded the efforts to bring back a physical meeting, as did Steve Speares, ASCRS execu- tive director, and David Parke II, MD, AAO CEO. "I have to start with an abso- lute, sincere moment of gratitude to everyone in this room. I'm so excited about this meeting but even more excited that we're here in this room physically," Mr. Speares said. Dr. Parke echoed Mr. Speares' sentiments and described how the pandemic turned ophthalmology and vision science upside down for a period of time. He congrat- ulated ophthalmologists and industry for making it through a challenging period and said both are working toward a future, which might look different now, "for our profession, for science, and for our patients." Overall, the highest priori- ty of Eyecelerator is advancing innovation faster so that patients The first in-person Eyecelerator opens

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