Program

Friday, October 9, 2026  |  New Orleans, LA

Program Moderators: Jessica Ciralsky, MD and Joann Kang, MD

Jump to:  Schedule at a Glance  |  Session I  |  Session II  |  Session III  |  Session IV

Schedule at a Glance

Time	Session
6:45 – 8:00 am	Registration & Breakfast
8:00 – 9:57 am	Session I
9:58 – 10:26 am	Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall
10:27 am – 12:08 pm	Session II
12:09 – 1:29 pm	Lunch Break — R. Townley Paton Luncheon & Moderated Discussion, 12:15 – 1:15 pm
1:30 – 3:15 pm	Session III
3:15 – 3:50 pm	Refreshment Break & Poster Session in the Exhibit Hall
3:50 – 5:15 pm	Session IV
5:15 – 6:15 pm	Networking Reception

Full Program

6:45 – 8:00 am · Registration & Breakfast

Sponsored by Bausch & Lomb 

8:00 – 9:57 · Session I

Time	Presentation
8:00 – 8:02 am	Welcome and Introductions Jessica Ciralsky, MD and Joann Kang, MD; Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD, L.Ac. and Win Chamberlain, MD, PhD
8:03 – 8:13 am	Refractive and Topographic Outcomes of Corneal Tissue Addition Keratoplasty (CTAK) Michael Cheng · The University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
8:14 – 8:24 am	Eye Bank Preloaded Endothelium-In DMEK in Complex Eyes: A Multicenter Comparison of Surgical Efficiency and Clinical Outcomes Ansu Ann John · Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
8:25 – 8:35 am	PDEK-S: The Thinnest DSAEK, Preparation Technique Mark Soper, BS, CEBT · Lions Eye Bank of the Northeast
8:36 – 8:46 am	Method for Ultrathin DSAEK Graft Implantation Without Pull-Through Technique With Incision Under 3.0 Millimeters Mikhail Tsurkan · Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden and TissueGUARD GmbH
8:47 – 8:57 am	Middle Segment Surgery: Pars Plana Assisted Endothelial Keratoplasty in the Unicameral Eye Sadeer B. Hannush, MD · Wills Eye Hospital / AltruVision Eye Bank
8:58 – 9:08 am	DMEK Without Anesthesia Support: Safety, Efficiency, and Patient Experience Kevin Schneider, MD · University of Wisconsin Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
9:09 – 9:41 am	Invited Session: Transforming Corneal Care — Emerging Surgical Innovations
9:09 – 9:19 am	DMAK for Ocular Surface Disorders Joe Tauber, MD
9:20 – 9:30 am	CAIRS/CTAK for Corneal Ectasia Soosan Jacob, MD
9:31 – 9:41 am	Corneal Endothelial Cell Therapy Ellen Koo, MD
9:42 – 9:45 am	Claes Dohlman Award Presentation Shahzad Mian, MD and Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD, L.Ac.
9:46 – 9:47 am	Session I Closing Remarks J essica Ciralsky, MD and Joann Kang, MD
9:48 – 9:57 am	Cornea Society Business Meeting Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD, L.Ac.

9:58 – 10:26 am · Refreshment Break in the Exhibit Hall

10:27 am – 12:08 pm· Session II

Time	Presentation
10:27 – 10:29 am	Welcome Back Jessica Ciralsky, MD and Joann Kang, MD
10:30 – 10:32 am	High Impact Research Grant Announcement Mark Greiner, MD
10:33 – 10:43 am	Insulin Supplementation of Storage Media Enhances Survival of Diabetic Donor Corneal Grafts Shweta Sandhu, MD · Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School
10:44 – 10:54 am	Clinical Outcomes Following DMEK Using Donor Corneas Stored in Optisol-GS Versus XTRA4 Kayne McCarthy · Devers Eye Institute
10:55 – 11:05 am	Effect of Strict Sepsis/SIRS Donor-Eligibility Criteria on the U.S. Corneal Donor Supply Molly Orlick, BS · Thomas Jefferson University
11:06 – 11:16 am	Trends and Determinants of Corneal Tissue Utilization and Discard: 14 Years of Data from United States Eye Banks Henry Bair, MD · Wills Eye Hospital
11:17 – 11:27 am	DEKS ACD Ancillary Study: Tech Estimates & Automated Software for Analyzing Area of Cell Damage Peter Bedard, MS, CEBT · Lions Gift of Sight
11:28 – 11:38 am	Development and Evaluation of Indigenous Bioengineered Corneal Implant Derived from Donor Corneas Unsuitable for Transplantation Radhika Tandon, MD · Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS Delhi
11:39 – 11:43 am	R. Townley Paton Award Introduction Marianne Price, PhD, MBA · Cornea Research Foundation of America
11:44 am – 12:04 pm	R. Townley Paton Lecture — Everything is Cornea: The Cost and Benefits of Global Corneal Health Win Chamberlain, MD, PhD
12:05 – 12:06 pm	R. Townley Paton Award Presentation
12:07 – 12:08 pm	Session II Closing Remarks Jessica Ciralsky, MD and Joann Kang, MD

12:09 – 1:29 pm · Lunch Break

12:15 – 1:15 pm — R. Townley Paton Luncheon & Moderated Discussion

*Included in registration for all physician attendees, including medical students, residents and cornea fellows.

Sponsored by

1:30 – 3:15 pm · Session III

Time	Presentation
1:30 – 1:32 pm	Welcome Back Jessica Ciralsky, MD and Joann Kang, MD
1:33 – 1:43 pm	EBAA Update
1:44 – 1:54 pm	Phase 3 Trials of Ripasudil in Patients with Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy Undergoing Descemet Stripping Only Kathryn Colby, MD, PhD · NYU Grossman School of Medicine
1:55 – 2:05 pm	Nrf2 Gene Therapy Promotes Corneal Endothelial Cell Survival and Function in Fuchs Dystrophy Ula V. Jurkunas, MD · Massachusetts Eye and Ear / Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School
2:06 – 2:16 pm	Peripheral DNA Correlates with Corneal TCF4 Repeat Expansion in FECD Marianne Price, PhD, MBA · Cornea Research Foundation of America
2:17 – 2:27 pm	The Effect of SLC4A11 Mutation on the Outcomes of Keratoplasty in Congenital Hereditary Endothelial Dystrophy Rhea Wason, MBBS · Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS New Delhi, India
2:28 – 2:38 pm	Novel Ultra High-Resolution Corneal OCT Imaging Yields Clinically Relevant Biomarkers in Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy Sachi Patil, MD · University of Iowa Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
2:39 – 2:49 pm	Real-Time Ultra-Widefield Mosaics of the Corneal Endothelium from Contact Specular Microscopy Video Ved Shivade, MS · Department of Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University
2:50 – 3:00 pm	Tear MicroRNA Diagnostics for Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia: Updated Diagnostic Performance and Clinical Translation Zishuai Chou · Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and Brown University
3:01 – 3:03 pm	Richard Troutman Cornea Prize Introduction
3:04 – 3:13 pm	Richard Troutman Prize Lecture — Efficacy of the Rho-Kinase (ROCK) Inhibitor for Corneal Endothelial Protection in Fuchs’ Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy after Phacoemulsification Benjama Keeratidamkerngsakul
3:14 – 3:15 pm	Session III Closing Remarks Jessica Ciralsky, MD and Joann Kang, MD

3:15 – 3:49 pm · Refreshment Break & Poster Session in the Exhibit Hall

3:50 – 5:15 pm · Session IV

Time	Presentation
3:50 – 3:52 pm	Welcome Back Jessica Ciralsky, MD and Joann Kang, MD
3:53 – 4:03 pm	Artificial Intelligence-Based Automated Guttae Density Scoring in Fuchs Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy Sujin Kang, MD · Bascom Palmer Eye Institute
4:04 – 4:14 pm	IK-FOUND with OCUTRACE: A Multiclass Foundation AI System for Diagnosis, Prognostic Stratification, and Treatment Outcome Prediction in Infectious Keratitis Mohammad Soleimani · UNC Chapel Hill
4:15 – 4:25 pm	Beyond Xerophthalmia: Non-Xerotic Corneal Disease Associated With Adult Vitamin A Deficiency Mohammad H. Dastjerdi · NYU Langone Health
4:26 – 4:36 pm	Efficacy of Topical Losartan Potassium for Treatment of Recent Infectious Keratitis-Induced Corneal Scars Isabela Yang, MD · University of South Florida Department of Ophthalmology
4:37 – 5:08 pm	Cornea Fellow Case Studies Panel
4:39 – 4:44 pm	Unexpected Transplants During Transplants J enna Andre, MD · Ochsner-LSU Health Shreveport
4:45 – 4:50 pm	Crystal Conundrum Andrew Thomson, MD · University of Missouri Mason Eye Institute
4:51 – 4:56 pm	(C)take It Out Daniel Henick, MD · Massachusetts Eye and Ear
4:57 – 5:02 pm	Management of Grade 3 Diffuse Lamellar Keratitis and Interface Vegetative Debris Following a Traumatic 20-Year Post-LASIK Flap Dislocation Yanhan Ren, MD · USC Keck School of Medicine, Roski Eye Institute
5:03 – 5:08 pm	A Cornea Within a Cornea Junru Yan, MD · UC Irvine Gavin Herbert Eye Institute
5:09 – 5:12 pm	Best Paper Presentation Jessica Ciralsky, MD and Joann Kang, MD
5:13 – 5:15 pm	Closing Remarks Jessica Ciralsky, MD and Joann Kang, MD

5:15 – 6:15 pm · Networking Reception

Sponsored by Moria and Kerify 

Program is subject to change