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 – 3:17 pm | Session III |
| 3:17 – 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 · Weill Cornell Medicine and Joann Kang, MD · The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration; Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD, L.Ac. · University of Pittsburgh and Win Chamberlain, MD, PhD · VisionGift |
| 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 Simone Arndt, MSc · 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 · Saving Sight |
| 9:20 – 9:30 am | CAIRS/CTAK for Corneal Ectasia Soosan Jacob, MD · Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital |
| 9:31 – 9:41 am | Corneal Endothelial Cell Therapy Ellen Koo, MD · Bascom Palmer Eye Institute |
| 9:42 – 9:45 am | Claes Dohlman Award Presentation Recipient: Alan Sugar, MD · University of Michigan Presented by Shahzad Mian, MD · University of Michigan |
| 9:46 – 9:47 am | Session I Closing Remarks Jessica Ciralsky, MD · Weill Cornell Medicine and Joann Kang, MD · The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration |
| 9:48 – 9:57 am | Cornea Society Business Meeting Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD, L.Ac. · University of Pittsburgh |
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 · Weill Cornell Medicine and Joann Kang, MD · The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration |
| 10:30 – 10:32 am | High Impact Research Grant Announcement Kathryn Colby, MD, PhD · NYU Grossman School of Medicine |
| 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, MD, MPH · Devers Eye Institute |
| 10:55 – 11:05 am | Effect of Strict Sepsis/SIRS Donor-Eligibility Criteria on the U.S. Corneal Donor Supply Haley Evans, BS · Wills Eye Hospital |
| 11:06 – 11:16 am | DEKS ACD Ancillary Study: Tech Estimates & Automated Software for Analyzing Area of Cell Damage Peter Bedard, MS, CEBT · Lions Gift of Sight |
| 11:17 – 11:27 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 |
| 11:28 – 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 · VisionGift |
| 12:05 – 12:06 pm | R. Townley Paton Award Presentation |
| 12:07 – 12:08 pm | Session II Closing Remarks Jessica Ciralsky, MD · Weill Cornell Medicine and Joann Kang, MD · The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration |
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 · Weill Cornell Medicine and Joann Kang, MD · The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration |
| 1:33 – 1:43 pm | EBAA Update Kevin Corcoran, CAE · Eye Bank Association of America |
| 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 | Tear MicroRNA Diagnostics for Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia: Updated Diagnostic Performance and Clinical Translation Zishuai Chou · Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and Brown University |
| 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 · NYU Grossman School of Medicine |
| 2:50 – 3:00 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 |
| 3:01 – 3:03 pm | Richard Troutman Cornea Prize Introduction Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD, L.Ac. · University of Pittsburgh and Kathryn Colby, MD, PhD · NYU Grossman School of Medicine |
| 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, MD · Mettapracharak Hospital |
| 3:14 – 3:15 pm | Announcement of the 2027 R. Townley Paton Award Recipient Win Chamberlain, MD, PhD · VisionGift |
| 3:16 – 3:17 pm | Session III Closing Remarks Jessica Ciralsky, MD · Weill Cornell Medicine and Joann Kang, MD · The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration |
3:17 – 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 · Weill Cornell Medicine and Joann Kang, MD · The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration |
| 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 Panel introduction · Jessica Ciralsky, MD · Weill Cornell Medicine and Joann Kang, MD · The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration |
| 4:39 – 4:44 pm | Unexpected Transplants During Transplants Jenna 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 Win Chamberlain, MD, PhD · VisionGift and Deepinder Dhaliwal, MD, L.Ac. · University of Pittsburgh Supported by Lions Eye Bank of West Central Ohio |
| 5:13 – 5:15 pm | Closing Remarks Jessica Ciralsky, MD · Weill Cornell Medicine and Joann Kang, MD · The Eye-Bank for Sight Restoration |
5:15 – 6:15 pm · Networking Reception
Sponsored by Moria and Kerify
Program is subject to change
