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4 Cornea Fellows Summit, Dr. Rapuano added. This weekend-long educational meeting provides train- ing for 55 cornea fellows, well over half the number of cornea fellows in the United States, he said. The summit includes lectures and wet labs, including those for making femtosecond laser LASIK flaps and a variety of endothelial keratoplasty insertion techniques. While proud of the growth of the society and its programs over the past 5–10 years, the society plans to continue expanding its reach, Dr. Rapuano said, by developing educa- tional programs and participating in international academic meetings. The society is also active- ly trying to get younger cornea specialists to become members and society leaders, Dr. Rapuano said. The society has recently become the sponsor of the annual Vista Dinner during the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) annual meeting, a forum for younger cornea specialists to present their research and lead discussion on interesting topics. "In speaking to residents and fellows, we have identified the need for basic education in how to manage the first few years after residency and fellowship training," Dr. Rapuano said. "As a first step, we are incorporating a session on of cornea in particular," Dr. Rapuano said. "Over the years, the Cornea Society has become the go-to society for meeting organizers who want an excellent cornea session during their meeting." The Cornea Society was estab- lished in 1975 with just 60 mem- bers, Dr. Rapuano said, but grew to 375 members in 1990 and has almost 1,000 members today. The society has always had international members, and over the past 10 years has made a concerted effort to have a presence at international meetings and encourage membership from doctors all around the world, Dr. Rapuano said. Today, the Cornea Society has members from 44 coun- tries, and World Cornea Congress VII attendees represent more than 60 different nations. Cornea Society meetings have grown and evolved along with the society, Dr. Rapuano added. The first World Cornea Congress took place in 1964 in Washington, D.C. Orig- inally held every 10 years, in the 2000s the Cornea Society decided to hold the meeting every 5 years instead to keep up with the rapidly changing field of cornea, and the society strives to make each meeting better than the last, Dr. Rapuano said. The society's most important new venture has been taking on the highlighted the history of the Cornea Society and World Cornea Congress meetings and the direction the society hopes to go in the future. "The Cornea Society has evolved significantly over the years, in response to the changes in medi- cine in general and the subspecialty EW SHOW DAILY Friday, April 17, 2015 W orld Cornea Congress VII officially kicked off with its opening ceremony on Thurs- day morning, featur- ing an address by Cornea Society president Christopher J. Rapuano, MD, Philadelphia. Dr. Rapuano by Lauren Lipuma EyeWorld Staff Writer Opening ceremony highlights the past, present, and future of the Cornea Society Dr. Rapuano discusses the future of the society and its meetings at the WCCVII opening ceremony. Street Talk What are you most looking forward to at World Cornea Congress? Left: George Corrent, MD, PhD, Fort Myers, Fla. "All of the sessions look good, but especially endothelial regeneration and keratoprostheses." Right: Steven Rosenfeld, MD, Delray Beach, Fla. "Spending time with my fellow cornea specialists and finding out what everybody's doing in the trenches." Left: Patrícia Gus, MD, Porto Alegre, Brazil "Exchanging experiences with other doctors from the United States and abroad." Center: Helena Patker, MD, PhD, Santa Monica, Calif. "I am a glaucoma specialist, and I came to World Cornea Congress to catch up on new things and learn what's happening in cornea and infectious disease." Right: Diane Marinho, MD, Porto Alegre, Brazil "We are doing research on autologous serum for severe dry eye, and we are very anxious to see if attendees here will be interested in our research."

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