Eyeworld Daily News

22 | EYEWORLD DAILY NEWS | MAY 5, 2023 ASCRS ANNUAL MEETING DAILY NEWS have in our organization. Ed has led the evolution of our meeting, and his profound leadership and input will be missed. Thank you, Ed, for your dedication to making the Annual Meeting what it is today. Finally, I would like to congrat- ulate Doug Rhee, MD, on a great job as president of ASCRS for this last year. Doug has led our organization with professionalism, strategic vision, and integrity—all with a healthy sense of humor. Thank you, Doug! Also, I would like to welcome our in- coming president, Elizabeth Yeu, MD. Liz is an amazing ophthalmologist and an even more amazing person. I am looking forward to serving under her leadership and am excited to see what she will continue to bring to our organization. I hope you enjoy your time in beautiful San Diego. Make sure to check out the ASCRS Tap Room in the Exhibit Hall, network with friends and industry, and most of all, learn from each other and our excep- tional faculty. potential investors. What a great way to kick-start the Annual Meeting! Another highlight of the ASCRS Annual Meeting is Subspecialty Day, happening today. Whether you attend Cornea Day, Refractive Day, Glaucoma Day, or the new Digital Day, you will be immersed in these respective areas with interactive pro- grams including case studies, videos, and panel discussions. Now in its second year, Party for a Purpose will be held tonight at NOVA SD. ASCRS, ASOA, and indus- try attendees, as well as their guests, are welcome to attend for a night of fun, live music, dancing, and philan- thropy with donations benefiting the ASCRS Foundation. This event is a must-attend! This year marks a huge transi- tion for the ASCRS Annual Meeting, as Edward Holland, MD, who has held the post of Program Chair for the meeting since 2012, has stepped down. Having some insight into what it takes to put the Annual Meeting together, I can say that Program Chair is one of the toughest roles we by Sumit "Sam" Garg, MD EyeWorld Chief Medical Editor T his year's ASCRS Annu- al Meeting is upon us. In my humble opinion, the ASCRS Annual Meeting is the best meeting for anterior segment surgeons. Our meeting brings together un- surpassed education, innovation, advocacy, partnership with industry, mentorship, friendship, and more— all in 4 days. A relatively new addition to the meeting is Eyecelerator, which occurred yesterday. This year's Eyecelerator program was chaired by John Berdahl, MD, Julie Schallhorn, MD, and Gil Kliman, MD. Eyecelera- tor is a joint venture between ASCRS and the American Academy of Oph- thalmology and provides a platform for entrepreneurs and startups to showcase their ideas and innovations in front of a panel of experts and Bringing together unsurpassed education, innovation, and more that included her doing "the worm" on the dance floor when her team hit $10,000 in donations. Janna Mullaney, COE, OCS, also participated on the ASOA team last year and said the event is the perfect way to kick off the meeting. "There is nothing like a good competition to benefit an amazing cause," she said. "I was excited to be part of the administrator's team. We are just as passionate about Operation Sight as the surgeons, and it gave us a chance to spotlight our support. We may not have won as a team, but we brought the energy to kick off the event, and the overall mission of raising funds for Operation Sight was a resounding success," she said. Sumit "Sam" Garg, MD, also participated at last year's Party for a Purpose. "There was a huge turnout, and we raised a ton of money for the ASCRS Foundation," he said. This year, Dr. Garg said there will be another team challenge to benefit the Foundation, as well as a raffle to win prizes. "Make sure to come out and support. Bring your friends!" he said. "I will be there and look for- ward to an amazing night to benefit an important charity." "The Party for a Purpose was an exceptionally fun event where I got to spend time with fellow ophthal- mologists and industry professionals, all while lifting up the field of oph- thalmology at the same time," said Nathan Radcliffe, MD. "The fundrais- ing was fun and competitive, and we were all biting our nails at the end to see which team would win the fundraising competition. Of course, we all won because the event was successful in raising money for the ASCRS Foundation. I will be back this year to catch up with friends and to engage in some fundraising." continued from page 20

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