50 of the influencers, at least.
The East Coast was a hotbed of eye care activity this past fall, with the Academy 2025 meeting—presented by the American Academy of Optometry—and the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s annual meeting happening in Boston and Orlando, respectively.
The conferences have vastly different agendas, but in the end, they’re both dedicated to the improvement of eye care.
And so, roaming the halls of Academy in Boston first, it was fascinating to see so many young people—and to be honest Asian young people—flocking the halls. At one point, I had forgotten I left Vietnam. I never did quite find out why that was the case, but if anyone has any theories, feel free to DM me.
Meanwhile, the AAO in Orlando was full of the usual suspects—AKA ophthalmology’s finest influencers. We’ve got it all here, so keep reading!
At AAO Orlando
- Monika Ranta
Monika is no pushover. In fact, our friendship was forged by fire. Years ago, she wasn’t exactly pleased I covered one of her friends in a seemingly unflattering light. While it was unintentional, I understood her point. Then, we did some not-so-great work for her. Meh. And yet, we kept seeing each other.
Finally, we found some common ground. And since that point, she has been one of our greatest supporters in the field. I really love how this evolved. I have very few stories where something began so badly and ended up so wonderfully.
Today, I consider Monika a great friend. And I respect her greatly for having the character to dislike something I did and still change her mind about me. She’s unforgettable.
- Sean Nichols
Sean is part of Team Iantrek, which is doing some incredible work in the micro-interventional ophthalmic surgery space.
Specifically AlloFlo Uveo is a “bio-interventional outflow enhancement through the uveoscleral pathway” for glaucoma treatment.
The company also secured a $42 Series C financing round, to support the product rollout commercially.
Congrats Sean, and the Iantrek team!
- Team AAO
This list would be remiss without mentioning Team AAO, the group behind the success of the Orlando show venture.
Gavin Tachibana, the AAO director of communications, has been a supporter for years. My family even ran into his in Japan, randomly, a couple years back, and it was a Christmastime delight.
Sometimes there’s just the right energy in life to unify in productive ways, and Gavin and I enjoy some of this, I deeply believe. Thanks for who you are, Gavin.
- Rahim K. Hirji
Rahim is spearheading the marketing for independent company DefEYE, as of last October. It previously operated as Versea Ophthalmics.
DefEYE has exclusive commercial rights to a portfolio of decellularized biologics, including Biovance 3L Ocular and Biovance Amniotic 2 decellularized basement membrane products. DefEYE also has commercial right access to more decellularized human placenta-derived biologics.
Congratulations to DefEYE for making it out on its own and with some excellent prospects!
- Team Bausch + Lomb
Back when Wayne Caulder announced he was joining Bausch + Lomb on LinkedIn, a massive amount of social media engagement hit his feed.
It was clear the move shook the industry in a very positive way.
I sat down with Wayne and his team at AAO and heard some of his strategy moving forward, and it was indeed inspiring. Without getting into the weeds, suffice it to say that if Bausch + Lomb is making moves in years to come, it will be thanks in no small part to Wayne’s leadership and the team he surrounds himself with Frank and Trevor also help head up this great team.
- Dr. Cathy McCabe
See what antics Cathy and I were up to at AAO. All in good jest! Also, Cathy is now Strategic Medical Advisor at Bausch + Lomb. Congrats Cathy!
- Renae Cazet
At AAO, ZEISS launched the Retina Workflow Experience.
“With a comprehensive and integrated portfolio in retinal care, the ZEISS Retina Workflow empowers you to obtain deep insights for informed decision-making and personalized patient care,” the company noted. ZEISS provided “live demonstrations, from diagnostics to surgery, featuring technologies like ZEISS CLARUS 700, ZEISS CIRRUS with AngioPlex OCT Angiography, the DORC EVA NEXUS vitreoretinal system, the ZEISS ARTEVO 850 3D digital microscope, and single-use lenses for ZEISS RESIGHT.”
Workflow experiences were also provided for the cataract and glaucoma spaces.
Congrats Renae and the ZEISS team on these experiences.
- Erin Powers
Read all about what went down with Erin Powers at AAO here. Some premier video-making, not to be missed!
- Lauren Fiscale
Lauren Fiscale has been a LinkedIn friend for ages, but she’s also a great supporter of RxSight and the Light Adjustable Lens (LAL).
RxSight notes it is the first and only lens that can be customized after cataract surgery.
“Through precise UV light treatments, the lens power of the Light Adjustable Lens is fine-tuned, offering patients a truly customized visual experience,” the company notes.
Truly novel tech.
- Dr. Sheraz Daya
Sheraz has been stopping by our American booths for years, and I always appreciate the gesture. Given the strength of our European media outreach—as the official ESCRS Digital Media Partner—it makes sense that the European docs would engage us more strongly even before the American docs. That has all changed now, as we seem to be embraced the world over. But, I’ll never forget Sheraz’s early gestures. Little known fact: He has also been Funky Jacketed at ESCRS some years back.
- Team Oculus
I’m pleased to see that the Americas marketing is in good hands at Oculus. After Dayna Izzo, who was great, left for Alcon, I wasn’t sure how things would fare. But they are right on track with Jennifer Conway, and of course our friend Phillip Stahler. Jennifer is highly confident in forging ahead on behalf of Oculus Inc. Glad to see it!
- Team Cure Blindness Project
Founded in 1995 as the Himalayan Cataract Project, Cure Blindness Project is a rebrand of that organization.
According to the group website: “What began in the mountains of Nepal has grown today to millions of surgeries, screenings and treatments performed in 30 countries—and we won’t stop until everyone in the world with avoidable blindness can see.”
And the staff, shown here including Josie Noah and Danielle Mckay, is clearly passionate. So glad to meet them!
- Rod Ross
Quietly, steadily, Rod Ross has been a Media MICE champion from the earliest stages. Every time I see him, he says something like, “You guys are really shaking things up!” While that wasn’t embraced across industry until later, Rod was an “early adopter”—so to speak—of the Media MICE funky way. He never wavered. And as one of the i I never took that ndustry’s most successful entrepreneurs—just research about Med-Logics to know more—Rod should never taken for granted.
Perhaps Rod’s most important tip to me over the years was his concept of “parallel vision”—I think I said that right. Essentially, Rod said people can be all kinds of different at a company, and plenty of disagreements can arise. But ultimately, everyone must subscribe to the vision of the company. That is what aligns all the diversity. That is what makes for “parallel vision.” I’ve instituted that message since into practice and will never forget it.
And so, in honor of that, Rod Ross received a Funky Jacket at AAO 2025. Congratulations to Rod, my ophthalmic business mentor and friend.
- Dr. Liliana Werner
Liliana presented a fascinating study at AAO to evaluate variability in morphology and patency of Chang-style hydrodissection cannulas. Thirty-four disposable cannulas from three manufacturers were evaluated.
“Findings included opening ports that were irregular in shape, partially or totally blocked, and a cannula with a second, lateral opening port. The surface finishing of the tips of the cannulas showed irregular and/or sharp edges, and what appeared to be debris. The streams produced included normal, weak and absent streams and a double stream. All cannulas were composed of stainless steel, and debris appeared to correspond to organic residues,” she wrote. “Our findings raise concerns about potential damage to the capsule, as well as toxic anterior segment syndrome. Priming before use in surgery is advisable to confirm appropriate fluid flow.”
Quite an interesting study, Liliana. Thanks for sharing at AAO.
- Dr. Boris Malyugin
Boris has been a CAKE Magazine advisory board member in the past, and so it’s always good meeting up. Beyond being the obvious inventor of the Malyugin Ring, Boris is quite kind.
He was an instructor in the AAO course entitled “The Art of Crisis Management: Alarm Bell Cases in Cataract Surgery.”
By the end of the session, learners were able to describe and apply intraoperative pearls and pitfalls related to alarm bell cataract surgery situations. Well done, Boris.
- Julie Speed
Purple is in, at least at Orasis. In the branding of Orasis and product Qlosi, I have to say, I love the colors. So Julie and I decided to get pics both at our and her booth. Stunning, wouldn’t you say?!
“Qlosi is the first and only FDA-approved eye drop for blurry near vision with EyeQ Formulation that improves the eye’s natural ability to focus on nearby objects and small details,” according to the company. That’s news certainly worth putting forward in vibrant colors.
- Dr. Arun Gulani
Arun, also an early supporter of Media MICE, has great iconic style stories as well (which is why we bonded over the years). A recent one from his LinkedIn:
“This Just Happened at Midnight.
Returning from the Pacific Coast of California, after multiple flight delays, re-routing and shutdown-related chaos all day—I finally made it through St. Louis airport for the last flight home to Jacksonville at midnight.
Suddenly, I hear someone call out, “Dr. Gulani!”
A lady comes toward me, smiling, and says she recognized me from my style. She tells me her husband is one of my patients, and he has already arrived in Jacksonville from Arizona for his surgery on his second eye with me tomorrow.
He took an earlier flight to avoid the nationwide flight chaos and not miss his appointment with me while she took a later one—and here we were, meeting by pure chance, on the same flight back.
She took a selfie to send to her husband, who’s already at a hotel in Jacksonville.
I am used to running into my patients all over the world and proudly remembering their names, stories and vision journeys with me.”
- Team Alcon
It was an honor to host Lisa Praeger and Rich Brotherson at our booth. Usually, we are excited to participate in Alcon’s media days at places like AAO, and we did once again. But to receive a visit was very nice indeed. Thanks much to these folks for coming out and sharing some time.
This pharmaceutical-spearheading team is focused on the advancement of TRYPTYR, a prescription eye drop used to treat the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease.
“TRYPTYR has been shown to help you produce more of your own natural tears as early as Day 1,” according to the company.
- Dr. Mitch Jackson
Speaking of Orasis earlier , Mitch (another member of the Funky Jacket Club, who has a specially designed jacket by MICE Wear for his DJed performances) also remains scientifically engaged in a major way. He presented a poster at AAO that gave some interesting insights into Qlosi.
The poster sought to “demonstrate the effects of [Qlosi] on pupil size and improvement in near vision with continued use of the drop.”
“Pupil size reductions remained consistent from Day 1 to Day 8, while percentage of responders with achievement of functional vision (20/40) or better increased. Efficacy at the start of treatment may still improve over time because the brain adapts to altered retinal illumination and depth of focus. Patient persistence is important to maximize the full effect of a treatment and other similar therapies.”
Good info indeed!
- Lon Dowell
Optos is promoting its “200 Degree Single Shot” device.
It’s “The ONLY 200° single-shot, ultra-widefield retinal image,” according to the company.
Lon Dowell, an old industry friend, is here now putting his veteran marketing talents to great use. All the best for the journey ahead, Lon.
- Dr. Morgan Micheletti
Read all about the fun and insightful times I had with Morgan here!
- Megan Robinson
Recently, Megan shared a heartfelt story about her road trip in the run-up to AAO. She wrote on LinkedIn:
“I spent six weeks on the road leading up to AAO 2025, getting ready for our FDA approval of FineVision and the official launch of Leos. A lot of miles, a lot of ORs, a lot of airports… and more PowderHounds coffee than I’ll admit.
Here’s what really stuck with me:
Our physicians are absolute superheroes.
Not dramatic. True. They don’t need a cape…they show up every day in a scrub cap (some handmade and very cute – Dr. Watson) and give people their sight back. There’s something deeply humbling about being around that.
Patients may never know what lens was used or which blade made the incision. They don’t care about product numbers, trays or SKUs. They care that they can see again; their spouse, their kids, the mountains or going back to work. On more than 1 occasion, I also witnessed the caregiver tear up in joy… It reminded me that impact is the real outcome. We can never lose that perspective in industry.
What we do at BVI Medical matters. Our team matters. Our reliability matters. Our relationships matter.
Because the work in the OR only happens when we do our part the right way. And that’s something I’m proud of and something I want us to fiercely protect.
As a leader in ophthalmology, it’s my commitment – Stay close to the field. Stay close to the why. Stay human.”
Well said, Megan!
- Dr. Lisa Marten
Lisa has been a Media MICE fan for years, and showed me a picture of us together years ago. We had another pic together at AAO. I love when people like Lisa collect images of our time together over the years and share at showtime. It means we have our moments in time together—moments that we showed up for ophthalmology and moments that mattered. Thanks for the memories, Lisa, and the reminder that together we can keep advancing our field.
- Maaza Martin
Maaza and I made a pact to head to one of the AAO evening social events with some of her team. However, I did not wake up from a nap until much later.
Graciously, Maaza said she was already there and helped me find the location. So, we met up at the tail end and still had a blast. I even got a cowboy hat out of it, thanks to the AAO giveaways.
Thanks for spending some time, Maaza!
Meanwhile, “XDEMVY can help break up mite parties by targeting and killing the Demodex mites that cause Demodex blepharitis (DB),” according to the company.
Clearly, some parties are worth going to to hang with Maaza, while others are worth breaking up…ha!
- Team FJC
Indeed, it was the first annual gathering of the Funky Jacket Club—a meeting like no other at AAO. Watch all about it here:
- Dr. David Lockington
“Scotland’s Calling” notes UKISCRS, in its latest note about its next meeting.
UKISCRS Cornea & Cataract Day 2026 is happening March 16th. My colleague Chris McBride, a Scotsman, will be happy to know about this.
But more to the point, David will be spearheading the effort once again, as the UKISCRS president.
All the best for the next meeting, David!
- Dr. John Hovanesian
John came up to me at a Schallhorn Family Reunion party at AAO and indicated he appreciated the quality media work we were doing in the field of ophthalmology. I remember he said something similar years ago. I really appreciated it, as I have huge respect for John’s stature in the field, and it’s nice to know he’s been quietly observing and supporting in spirit. Thanks so much for the kudos, John.
- Dr. Bill Trattler
Bill, our CAKE Magazine Advisory Board Member for ages now, always does a very courteous and thoughtful check in whenever he sees me at shows. He’s always the first to put his hand up, willing to help in most any circumstance. I’ve appreciated this and admired this about Bill for many years. A fantastic ophthalmologist, researcher and friend, Bill is first-class all the way.
- Dr. Reay Brown
Reay proclaimed his appreciation of what we do at Media MICE a number of shows ago, and I was in awe of him just saying that. Reay is a glaucoma treatment titan, and I’ve at least known of his reputation during my 22 years in the field. So I told him, I’m tickled by the fact that we are now fans of each other. Thanks so much to Reay for the discussions and sharing lunch at AAO.
- Team Dompe
It was great to sit down with some of the leadership at Dompe at AAO Orlando. In fact, the sit down began at Academy in Boston. I love how showtime enables the organic continuation of relationships across time and place. When eye care’s “usual suspects” know they’ll all be showing up at conferences of import across the planet, it’s easier to coordinate visits. It only took a 30-minute coffee break in this case to align for the future, and with some great people at that.
Dompe produces Oxervate to help treat neurotrophic keratitis, a rare eye disease. Good stuff!
- Team Topcon
Topcon continues to support the theme “Healthcare from the Eye.”
“Healthcare from the Eye integrates oculomics across the entire care continuum—from pre-screening to triage, monitoring and personalized risk prediction,” according to the Alliance for Healthcare from the Eye website. “This includes disease identification and risk assessment, risk stratification, triage and capacity building, and monitoring and adherence. The implementation of such an approach in a coordinated care system that includes eyecare providers, primary care providers and specialty care providers using secure and responsible technology supports and advances predictive, preventive and personalized care.”
This is a topic we discussed in depth during our AAO-partnered Media MICE Media Wall at Eyecelerator. It was great to speak with Ali Tafreshi and others on this critical topic.
- Dr. Lisa Nijm
Lisa chaired a high-level symposium at AAO entitled “Innovations in Ophthalmology and Global Health Policy: Shaping the Future of Global Eye Care.”
Much like the Topcon thought leadership above, the session really examined on a high level the future potential of technology and modern health policy.
Congrats, Lisa.
- Jai G. Parekh
Jai, as chief commercial officer of Nordic Pharma, is helping spearhead Lacrifill canalicular gel, which is a treatment for dry eye.
“LACRIFILL comes in a pre-filled injector with enough gel to treat the lower and upper canaliculi,” according to the company. “A cannula tip is placed in the punctum and the LACRIFILL gel is inserted. The gel flows through the punctum into the lacrimal sac. If you see the gel extruding from the upper punctum, you know that both the upper and lower puncta have been blocked.”
It’s great to know there is such an innovative option for the treatment of dry eye. Congrats, Jai!
- Dr. Allen Ho
Allen was on the program committee for Eyecelerator at AAO, and a stunning program it was.
The Winning Pitch Challenge always is a highlight, and this time, 1st Place went to InnSight Technology, won by Leanne Labriola, DO, MBA.
The Winning Pitch Challenge is a Shark Tank-style competition featuring pitches from three early-stage ophthalmology innovators, with judges and the audience awarding cash prizes worth $45,000. Congrats, Leanne!
- Michael J. O’Rourke
I was very happy to see and congratulate Michael at Eyecelerator, as his group Re-Vana Therapeutics secured a $1 billion deal from Boehringer Ingelheim, provided certain milestones are reached.
Re-Vana’s drug delivery technology is meant to provide sustained-release drug delivery over six to 12 months, hence reducing the need for injections. Combined with Boehringer Ingelheim’s product portfolio in ophthalmology, it is a strong partnership indeed.
Congrats to Michael and Re-Vana on this fantastic cooperation.
- Laurent Attias
Laurent is SVP, Corporate Strategy, Business Development and Licensing (BD&L) and Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). Clearly a busy man, it was nonetheless great to sit down with him for a few at Eyecelerator to get the skinny on some of Alcon’s strategies moving forward. All the best, Laurent.
- Dr. David Chang
David has been a fixture at both international and domestic meetings all year long. We saw him making fantastic points about early democracy at Winter ESCRS in Athens. We saw him at PAAO in Bogota, Colombia mixing in to hear some local music. And we saw him at a IIIC dinner alongside the ESCRS in Copenhagen. And now again here at AAO Orlando. I’d say that makes David a global ambassador for eye care, and really, there’s no one better with his depth of knowledge and surgical acumen. So pleased he is a friend.
- Dr. Lejla Vajzovic
Lejla, meanwhile, is a fixture at innovation meetings. But behind the scenes, she’s also active in the scientific poster realm. This time, she was a co-author on a poster entitled, “Screening for Referable Macular Pathologies in Retirement Centers Using a Nonmydriatic Robotic OCT Fundus Camera.” According to the poster abstract: “Non-ophthalmic staff simultaneously captured CFP (40°) and OCT (9×12 mm) within two retirement center clinics,” study authors wrote. “Among 200 participants (400 eyes) imaged, 64% of CFP (255 eyes) and 99% of OCT (396 eyes) were interpretable. AMD was detected in 92 participants (163 eyes): 60% early dry, 24% intermediate, 13% geographic atrophy (GA) and 3% wet AMD. Robotic OCT fundus screening in retirement centers effectively detects AMD, without requiring dilation or ophthalmic staff.”
Those are some significant findings for retirement center patients with AMD. Well done, Lejla and co-authors.
- Ramin Valian
Ramin is Vice President of Eye Care and Global Pipeline and Commercialization Strategy. He was a delight to speak with at Eyecelerator. I was surprised we had gone some years before getting to know each other, but we firmly enjoyed our discussion and I believe there are more ahead.
At AAO Boston
- Dr. Alan Glazier
Alan is one of the most prominent optometrists of his generation in the United States. And yet, he’s always keen for collaboration, working hand in hand with all kinds of stakeholders in the community. That’s a testament to Alan’s generosity and graciousness, and I’m glad to know him.
- Joanne Hu
Joanne surprised me at AAO Boston by announcing she had joined Merck as Principal Scientist, U.S. Director of Medical Affairs, Ophthalmology. Merck is an interesting entrant into the ophthalmology space, as back in 2024 they completed the acquisition of EyeBio. With that, the company bought Restoret, which is aiming to treat DME and nAMD. Congrats on the new position, Joanne.
- Olga Prenat
Olga did an excellent job continuing to spearhead the Global Myopia Awareness Coalition (GMAC), which was formed in 2019. “It comprises leading ophthalmic companies, eye health associations and non-profit organizations,” she noted in slides. “GMAC members recognize the need for greater awareness about the growing prevalence and consequences of myopia, especially in children.”
- Enzu Jeon
Enzu Jeon, of Johnson & Johnson Vision, is the GMAC co-chair and throws the support of Johnson & Johnson behind the group. Really, so many company representatives have come together to support GMAC in a compelling, non-biased way including EssilorLuxottica, CooperVision, and others from charitable organizations and societies.
- Sandra Block
The outgoing president of the World Council of Optometry, Sandra worked wonders for the group. She also was a great ally as we at Media MICE forged a media partnership with the WCO, and we look forward to supporting them next year at their sixth annual meeting (WCO6)—in Saudi Arabia of all places! What a milestone!!
- Kevin Chan
It was great to finally meet Kevin, as we had been LinkedIn friends for a while. I was also glad to see he was appointed Medical Co-Editor of Review of Myopia Management last April. They are lucky to have such a stellar optometrist as part of their group.
- Shelby Johnson
And indeed the GMAC networking event was a great place for connecting with new friends, as I met Shelby there, a smart, confident optometrist working as clinical associate professor of Optometry at the State University of New York College of Optometry. All the best, Shelby!
- Monica Jong
Monica introduced the Stellest lens, now approved in the United States.
“Myopia can be corrected through a single vision lens which helps to focus light clearly on the retina,” her presentation explained. “However, it does not stop excessive eye elongation. Essilor introduces a game-changing innovation. Essilor unveils the Stellest Lens.”
The lens corrects myopia, slows myopia progression (by 71% on average over two years according to research), and is an easy-to-use, reliable method to help manage myopia for children, according to her presentation.
Go Monica!
- Amanda Long
Amanda helped to promote the new Acuvue Oasis Max 1-Day multifocal contact lenses with astigmatism correction. Great new innovation in this space, and great seeing Amanda!
- Emily Jakacki and team
Emily was supporting Phelcom, and specifically the Eyer2 Basic camera. It “images with 55 degrees of visual field and anterior segment captures with amazing quality,” according to the Phelcom website.
- Maria Sampalis
And of course who could forget Maria Sampalis: No one! Here’s my post on her being the first optometrist to receive a Funky Jacket!
Well m’eye friends, that’s it for written round-ups this year. I hope you had a blast perhaps being one of the influencers here, or following them, as these show movers and shakers make waves across the world. See you again in 2026 for more movement and influence in the best of industry spaces: the eye!