Trustee of Dartmouth Medical School and a clinical professor of ophthalmology at New York University. He is past president of American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, president-elect of the International Intraocular Implant Society and is the editor-in-chief of EyeWorld. He has written over 200 peer review papers and 60 book chapters and books. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and has received its Lifetime Achievement Award.
Arshad M. Khanani, M.D., M.A., FASRS founded the clinical research section at Sierra Eye Associates, and currently serves as its Managing Partner, Director of Clinical Research, and Director of Fellowship. He has been a principal investigator for more than 120 clinical trials and a top enroller in the United States for multiple Phase 1-3 trials. He is also a Clinical Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. Dr. Khanani is an elected member of the Retina Society, Macula Society and has received numerous awards of distinction. He has received the Senior Honor Award from the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) and was also awarded the prestigious ASRS Presidents’ Young Investigator Award in 2021.Dr. Khanani completed his Fellowship in Vitreo-Retinal Diseases and Surgery at the UT Southwestern Medical Center, his Chief Resident in Ophthalmology and his Ophthalmology Residency Program at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, where he also received his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree. Dr. Khanani completed an Internship in Internal Medicine at Baylor College and received a Master and Bachelor of Arts (M.A. and B.A.) in Chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis.
Frank G. Holz, F.E.B.O., F.A.R.V.O. is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Bonn, Germany. His main research interests include the pathogenesis, biomarkers and new therapies for macular and retinal diseases including age-related macular degeneration, retinal vascular diseases and macular telangiectasia. His major clinical interest is medical and surgical retina. He has a keen interest in innovative retinal imaging technologies and image analysis strategies. He was a scholar of the German National Academic Foundation (Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes), trained at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and the University of Chicago/Pritzker School of Medicine, and passed a fellowhip at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, with Prof. Alan C. Bird. Professor Holz has been a cofounder of the Priority Program AMD of the German Research Council (DFG) and founded the GRADE Reading Center Bonn to perform digital image analysis in multicentre clinical natural history and interventional trials, and is project lead of the Macustar study funded by the IMI2 EU program. He is a Board Member of the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG), and EURETINA, Member of the Club Jules Gonin, the European Academy of Ophthalmology (EAO), the Macula Society, the Gass Club, Editor-in-Chief of Der Ophthalmologe, and serves a reviewer for many peer reviewed journals. He has received numerous awards including the Pro Retina Macular Degeneration Research Award, the Leonhard-Klein Award for Ocular Surgery, the Alcon Research Institute (ARI) Award, the Senior Achievement Award of the AAO and the Jules Gonin Award. He published more than 500 articles in peer reviewed journals and is editor of several books on retinal diseases. Professor Holz completed his Residency Program in Ophthalmology at the University of Heidelberg, Germany where he also received his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree. Later, he completed a Research and Clinical Fellowship in Medical Retina at the Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital, in London, England.
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Baruch D. Kuppermann, M.D., Ph.D., is the Steinert Endowed Professor, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology, and Director of the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at the University of California, Irvine, and serves as the co-director of the Center for Translational Vision Research at UC Irvine, which is focused on developing new treatments for blinding retinal conditions. He also holds a joint appointment with the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UC Irvine. He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles in the medical literature, and over 100 book chapters. His laboratory focuses on assessing the toxicity of drugs on retinal cells in culture, including various vital stains, steroids, and anti-VEGF compounds, as well as studying the role of mitochondrial genetics in the development of retinal diseases such as age related macular degeneration. He is also strongly involved in clinical research, having served as Principal Investigator in many trials evaluating new drugs and technologies for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, retinitis pigmentosa, and other diseases of the posterior segment. He is a peer reviewer for the American Journal of Ophthalmology, Archives of Ophthalmology, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Journal of Infectious Diseases, Lancet, Ophthalmology, Retina, and Survey of Ophthalmology. He serves on the Editorial Board of the journal Retina, as well as the Brazilian Archives of Ophthalmology, Brazilian Journal of Ophthalmology, and Retina Today. Dr. Kuppermann also serves on the Board of Directors of the Armenian EyeCare Project. He received his Ph.D. in neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology, and his medical degree at the University of Miami. He completed his residency at University of Southern California Doheny Eye Institute and his fellowships in Retina at both St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Baltimore under Drs Ronald Michels and Bert Glaser, and at the University of California, San Diego.
Thorsteinn Loftsson, Ph.D. is a leading scientist in the field of nanoparticle drug delivery, in particular cyclodextrin-based formulations, and is one of Oculis’ co-founder. He has served as an advisor to many of the global pharmaceutical companies on drug formulations and IP rights. Dr. Loftsson co-founded and served as CEO of the biotechnology company Cyclops ehf. From 1994 until it was acquired by DeCode Genetics, in 2000. At that time, he also took on the role of scientific advisor at Decode Genetics until 2004. Dr. Loftsson received an MS degree in Pharmacy from the University of Copenhagen, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and MS and Ph.D. degrees in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Kansas, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry. He has served as assistant, associated and full Professor on the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iceland for over 40 years. Dr. Loftsson has authored and co-authored over 350 peer-reviewed papers in addition to a couple of books and a number of book chapters. He is a fellow of the AAPS and is on the editorial boards of the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Journal of Drug Delivery Science and Technology, Die Pharmazie, and Pharmaceutics. In 2014, Dr. Loftsson was recognized as one of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds by Thomson Reuters.
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Quan Dong Nguyen, M.D., MSc, FARVO, FASRS is Professor of Ophthalmology at the Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine. Pr. Nguyen is known for his innovative work in early proof-of-concept, first-in-human clinical studies, and as principal investigator on multiple trials to evaluate potential pharmacotherapeutic agents for ocular inflammation, as well as for retinal vascular and uveitis. He is on the Editorial Board of key journals, including the Journal of Ophthalmic Infection and Inflammation and Ophthalmic Surgery, Lasers and Imaging Retina. He has been elected to many prestigious national and international professional organizations, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Macula Society, the Retina Society, the American Society of Retina Specialists, the Club Jules Gonin, the American Ophthalmological Society, the International Uveitis Study Group, the American Uveitis Society, and the International Ocular Inflammation Society. He completed fellowships in Immunology and Uveitis at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, in Ocular Immunology at the Wilmer Eye Institute of the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, and in Medical and Surgical Retina at the Schepens Eye Research Institute and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.
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Einar Stefánsson, M.D. is a leading physician in the field of diabetic eye disease and diabetic eye screening. Dr. Stefánsson has co-founded four biotechnology firms in addition to Oculis, including Cyclops ehf. which was acquired by DeCode Genetics in 2000. He contributes to a number of ophthalmological publications either as chief editor or on the editorial board. Dr. Stefánsson was knighted by the President of Iceland in 2007 and received a number of awards in science and ophthalmology, such as Iceland’s highest award in science in 2008 and the gold medal of the European Academy of Ophthalmology in 2014 among many other honors. Dr. Stefánsson has published more than 300 peer-reviewed international publications, more than 400 abstracts, numerous book chapters and patents. Dr. Stefánsson received a degree in medicine from the University of Iceland Medical School and a Ph.D. in physiology from Duke University followed by a residency and faculty position at Duke. He has served as Vice Dean and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Iceland and served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the National University Hospital in Iceland since 1993.
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