International Speakers

Dr. Abdullah M. Khan, MD, FRCS (Ed) is a Consultant Pediatric Ophthalmologist and Strabismus Specialist at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KKESH&RC), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Alfaisal University. He serves as the Fellowship Program Director for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus at KKESH&RC. His clinical and research interests include pediatric anterior segment surgery, congenital cataract, congenital glaucoma, strabismus, and retinoblastoma. Dr. Khan has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and is actively involved in medical education, clinical research, and advancing the field of pediatric ophthalmology.

Adel Alakeely, MD, MBA, FASRS is a vitreoretinal surgeon based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, specializing in complex pediatric and adult retinal surgery. Board-certified in ophthalmology, he completed subspecialty fellowship training at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital and Johns Hopkins University and holds the designation of Fellow of the American Society of Retina Specialists (FASRS). Recognized with multiple research awards and holding patents in retinal care, he remains dedicated to clinical innovation.

His area of interest includes visualization in retina surgery and the application of AI for the diagnosis of systemic illnesses specifically congestive disorders.

Dr. Adi Mohammed Al Owaifeer is a consultant of glaucoma and currently serves as an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the College of Medicine, King Faisal University and consultant of innovation at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital & Research Center. Dr. Al Owaifeer’s extensive  experience in medical education includes delivering lectures, workshops, and presentations with a primary focus on the intersection of ophthalmology and digital technology. Additionally, he currently is the chairman of EYENAI the Saudi National Screening Program for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening using Artificial Intelligence. Dr. Al Owaifeer has a strong research background, with more than 40 publications in the peer reviewed literature and has received several awards recognizing his contributions to the field.

Dr. Adnan Alawami is a Canadian and American board-certified vitreoretinal surgeon, currently practicing at Dhahran Eye Specialist Hospital. He earned his medical degree with first-class honors from Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University in 2017, then completed his ophthalmology residency at the University of Ottawa in 2023. He went on to finish a high-intensity fellowship in medical and surgical retina at the same institution, graduating in 2025. Dr. Alawami is dedicated to providing expert care in complex retinal conditions using the latest surgical techniques.

• Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
• Consultant, Cornea, Cataract, and Refractive Surgery, King Fahd Hospital of University, Khobar, SA and Dr. Sulaiman AlHabeeb Hospital, Khobar, SA
• Program Director, Cornea and Anterior Segment Fellowship Prog ram, eastern province, SA.

Dr. Assaf is currently a professor in Ain Shams University and Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. Also, he is a consultant ophthalmic surgeon in phaco-refractive surgeries at Al Watany Eye Hospital (WEH) performing more than 115 cataract surgeries and 90 refractive surgeries per month.

He is an active participant in the annual meetings of European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ESCRS), American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) since 2004 till now.

Prof. Assaf has many publications and articles regarding multifocal IOLs, Visual quality, OVDs, Hyperpulse Ultrasound in Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, Journal of Ophthalmology, International Ophthalmology and others. Meanwhile Prof. Assaf research is related to applications of Femtosecond Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery (LACS)

Dr. Ahmed Awadein, MD, FRCS is a Professor of Ophthalmology at Cairo University.

He received his doctorate degree from Cairo University in 2003 and his ophthalmology fellowship degree from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow in 2004. He acquired clinical fellowship training in Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland, USA in 2006, where he received an intensive medical and surgical hands-on training in the field of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus.

Dr. Ahmed Awadein is specialized in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus and has performed over 15000 strabismus operations to date, including complex and recurrent cases. He has over 70 international publications and chapter books in the field of pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus and has developed a computerized test to assist in the evaluation of patients with diplopia. He also participated as an instructor in various national and international conferences and is currently the secretary general of the Egyptian Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (EAPOS), as well as a board member of the Egyptian Ophthalmological Society, the Egyptian Society for Ophthalmic Investigations, and the Egyptian Council for Ophthalmology Fellowship. Dr Awadein is also the editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Egyptian Ophthalmological Society.

Ahmed Mostafa Abdelrahman, MD, FRCSED. A professor of Ophthalmology, Cairo University,since 2009till present. In 2015, heachieved the Professional Postgraduate Diploma in Total Quality Management (TQM) for Healthcare Reform. He is the founder and president of the Egyptian Society for Continuous Ophthalmic Education, (EGSCOE on telegram & Website: egscoe.info). He is a glaucomaconsultant with national and international publications and innovations in the field of glaucoma surgery. He is aglaucoma reviewer for a number of PubMedprestigious Ophthalmology. He is the owner of the Giza specialized Eye center (http://www.gizaeyecenter.com) with the Glaucoma Management and Education center being part of it. 2016, the Royal College of Edinburgh council appointed him to be an examiner in the college exams. He received the Education Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 2019.

Chairman and Managing Director-Dr.Agarwal’s group of eye hospitals and Eye Research Centre, 222, TTK Road, Alwarpet, Chennai 600018, Tamilnadu, India
Past President- International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS)
Secretary General- Indian Intraocular implant and Refractive Society (IIRSI)

Amar Agarwal is the pioneer of  Phakonit, which is Phako with a Needle Incision Technology. This technique became popularized as Bimanual phaco, Microincision cataract surgery (MICS) or Microphaco. He was the first to remove cataracts through a 0.7 mm tip with the technique called Microphakonit. He has also discovered No anaesthesia cataract surgery and FAVIT, a new technique to remove dropped nuclei. The air pump, which was a simple idea of using an aquarium fish pump to increase the fluid into the eye in bimanual phaco and co-axial phaco has helped prevent surge. This built the basis of various techniques of forced infusion for small incision cataract surgery.  He has also discovered a new refractive error called Aberropia. He has also been the first to do a combined surgery of microphakonit (700 micron cataract surgery) with a 25 gauge vitrectomy in the same patient thus having the smallest incisions possible for cataract and vitrectomy. He is also the first surgeon to implant a new mirror telescopic IOL (LMI) for patients suffering from age-related macular degeneration. He has also been the first in the world to implant a Glued IOL. He also has brought out the technique of IOL Scaffold in which a three-piece IOL is injected into an eye between the iris and the nucleus to prevent the nucleus from falling down in posterior capsular ruptures. Hypersonic vitrectomy for cases of PC rupture was first done by him and he was the principal investigator for the first hypersonic vitrectomy cases done in the world.
 
Pre Descemet’s Endothelial Keratoplasty or PDEK was started by Prof Agarwal.   Dr Agarwal has designed a new instrument called the Trocar anterior chamber maintainer in complicated cases, which helps give infusion through the anterior chamber and works like a trocar cannula. He has also started a new technique of iris suturing called Single pass Four Throw (SFT) pupilloplasty. Subsequenly he started Pinhole pupilloplasty to treat patients with high astigmatism and higher order aberrations.
 
Dr. Agarwal has performed more than 200 live surgeries at various conferences. His videos have won many awards at the film festivals of ASCRS, AAO and ESCRS. He has more than 250 peer review articles in top journals and has also written more than 80 books in Ophthalmology which have been published in English, Spanish, portugese and chinese. He is the Chairman and managing director of Dr.Agarwals group of eye hospitals with 221 eye hospitals in 11 countries.

Training and Experience:

• Anterior and posterior Segment Surgeon, Südblick (May 2019 – Present)

• Ophthalmology Acting Consultant, Munich University Hospital (March 2017 – March 2019)

• Ophthalmology specialist, Munich University Hospital (June 2016 – Februar 2017))

• Ophthalmology resident, Munich University Hospital (September 2011- May 2016)

• Ophthalmology resident, Jeddah Eye Hospital (March 2008 – April 2010)

Education:

• Cornea and External Diseases Fellowship, University of Munich (October 2017- March 2019)

• Cataract and Refractive Surgery Fellowship, University of Munich (October 2016 – September 2017)

• German Board of Ophthalmology, June 2016

• European Board of Ophthalmology Diploma, May 2015

• Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery, 2007 King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi-Arabia

Surgical Spectrum:

• Keratoplasty: penetrated Keratoplasty, lamellar Keratoplasty (SALK, DALK, DSEK, DMEK), Bowman Layer Transplantation, Femtosecond laser assisted Keratoplasties.

• Lens Surgeries: innovative Intraocular lenses: toric IOL, multifocal IOL, phakic IOL, Add On IOL, Sclera/Iris fixated IOL, Femtosecond laser assisted Cataract Surgery (FLACS)

• Complex anterior chamber surgeries: Triple OP (combined Cornea and Cataract surgery)

• Vitreoretinal surgery (Pars Plana Vitrectomy)

• Intravitreal Therapy

• Laser Vision Correction (LASEK/ PRK/ Trans-PRK, LASIK, ReLEx SMILE)

• Trauma Surgery

• Pterygium excision with conjunctival autograft

• Amnion membrane transplantation

• Limbal stem cell transplantation (SLET/ KLAL)

• Corneal Crosslinking (also combined with topo guided excimer laser Transepithelial- PRK /Transepithelial-PTK)

• Intrastromal corneal Ring Segments: Keraring/ Myoring/ Corneal allogenic intrastromal ring segment (CAIRS)/ Continuous corneal allogenic intrastromal ring (CCAIR)

• Excimer laser Phototherapeutic Keratectomy

• Micro-invasive Glaucoma Surgery (I-Stent, XEN Gel Stent, Preserflo)

Occupational field Full Professor of Ophthalmology and Chairman of Eye Clinic – Department of Medical Surgical Sciences and Health – University of Trieste, Italy Italian Medical Licence n. 3399 Work experience Date Position held Main activities and responsibilities Date October 2019 onwards Full Professor of Ophthalmology – Eye Clinic – University of Trieste – Italy Anterior and posterior segment surgeon. 1st November 2011 onwards Position held Chairman of University Eye Clinic – Department of Medical Surgical Sciences and Health – University of Trieste, Italy and Professor of Ophthalmology 2/11 – Curriculum vitae di Tognetto Daniele Europass: http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu © European Union, 2002-2010 24082010 Main activities and responsibilities Anterior and posterior segment surgeon (surgery from 1st Jan 1992 to present): More than 20.000 surgical procedures. (Cataract, retina, cornea and glaucoma surgery). Director of the Eye Clinic. Tutor for surgeons in training. Head of Ophthalmology Course in the Degree Course in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Trieste Head of Residency Program in Ophthalmology at the University of Trieste.

David Guyton is a problem solver, a clinical innovator, an inventor, a teacher, and a communicator. He followed his grandfather, father, and uncle into medicine, becoming the first of a record ten siblings all physicians. Following a physics degree from the University in Mississippi in 1965, he obtained his MD degree from Harvard Medical School in 1969.
After his residency in ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins’ Wilmer Eye Institute and a Fellowship in Strabismus with Gunter von Noorden, he returned in 1977 to Johns Hopkins as the Director of Strabismus and Pediatric Ophthalmology, until 2011, where he continues to serve as the Zanvyl Krieger Professor of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Guyton’s contributions to clinical optics and strabismus have achieved international recognition. In clinical optics he gave us one of the first automated refractors; the proper techniques for prescribing cylinders, measuring strabismus with prisms, and centering corneal surgical procedures; and the Potential Acuity Meter for assessing the potential visual acuity in cataract patients. In strabismus he has given us the exaggerated traction test for assessing oblique muscle tightness, an explanation of oblique muscle overaction and A and V patterns in patients with strabismus, an explanation of the mechanism of dissociated vertical deviation, advanced adjustable suture techniques for strabismus surgery in both adults and children, and theories of how and why strabismus changes over time.
For more than 45 years Dr. Guyton has been the foremost teacher of ophthalmic optics and clinical refraction in the United States. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and has served on the Board of Directors, and as President, of both AAPOS and ARVO.
The most recent of his 330+ publications and 19 U.S. Patents deal with remote optical systems and automated screening devices for detection of strabismus and amblyopia in infants and children.

Professor Farhad Hafezi is a refractive surgeon and ocular cell biologist. Combing patient care, research & development, and teaching, Hafezi is considered a pioneer and key opinion leader of corneal cross-linking (CXL).
Hafezi is one of the most cited ophthalmologists of his generation.
Key Points

• 7 times voted onto the Global PowerList of “The Ophthalmologist”
• ESCRS Council Member
• Head of ESCRS Research Committee
• h index 66
• More than 19.000 citations in the scientific literature
• More than 280 publications in the scientific literature
• Impact Factor cumulative 1.045 points.
• Active professorships at University of Geneva (Switzerland), the University of Southern California Los Angeles (USA), at New York University (NYU) and at Wenzhou University (China).
• Since 2018, he is one of 950 FARVOs, a fellow of ARVO (Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology).
• Hafezi is an Associate Editor of the JRS (Journal of Refractive Surgery) and is a present or past member of the editorial board of the Journal of Clinical Medicine, Translational Vision Science and Technology (TVST), BMC Ophthalmology, Current Eye Research. European Journal of Ophthalmology, Eye and Vision, Iranian Journal of Ophthalmology, and The International Journal of Keratoconus and Ectatic Corneal Disease.
• Hafezi has won more than 40 national and international awards, including the Carl Camras Translational Research Award of ARVO, the Casebeer Award of ISRS/AAO and the highest ophthalmological awards in Belgium and Switzerland.
• Prof. Hafezi has commercialized CXL technology with the focus on democratizing access to treatment. This technology requires minimal infrastructure and increases the ease-of-use by providing pre-set integrated protocols and using one customized riboflavin for all treatments. (https://www.emagine-eye.com)
• Prof. Hafezi is also the co-founder of an international charity, the Light for Sight Foundation, that is dedicated to stopping preventable blindness among children and adolescents with keratoconus. This foundation expands to 42 countries and supports education, outreach, access to treatment and research activities (https://lightforsight.org/)

For a complete bio, see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farhad_Hafezi
For more information, visit: https://www.elza-institute.com/

Luís Abegão Pinto is the Head of the Glaucoma Clinic of the Department of Ophthalmology of Portugal’s largest Hospital (Hospital Santa Maria). He serves as Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Faculty of Medicine of Lisbon University, Portugal. His main areas of interest are Glaucoma Surgery, Artificial Intelligence and Screening.

He serves in the Executive Board of the European Glaucoma Society (EGS) since 2018 and he is currently the EGS Vice President. Moreover, he is co-chair of the EGS TaskForce on Glaucoma Surgery, co-editing the new “Guides on Innovations in Glaucoma Surgery”

He has authored or co-authored 105 indexed, peer-reviewed papers in Glaucoma. He is actively engaged in several scientific ophthalmological societies, including the EGS and EVER, having chaired or co-chaired a number of courses in international Ophthalmology societies’ meetings.

Upon completion of ophthalmology residency in 1997, Dr. Hosny worked as a fellow of refractive and anterior segment surgery at the University of Alicante, Spain perusing the clinical research of his Doctorate thesis under supervision of Professor Jorge Alio. He then travelled to work as a Registrar of Ophthalmology at Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion in Edinburgh for one year. He obtained his Masters Degree from Cairo University in 1996, His FRCS degree from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1998, and his Doctorate degree in 1999.Dr Hosny has numerous international publications including coauthoring in David Ben Ezra’s book “Ocular inflammation”. Dr. Hosny is a regular presenter at the ASCRS and occasionally at the ESCRS meetings over the past 12 years. He served for more than six years as panelist and co-Chair person in sessions at the annual meeting of the ASCRS.

Dr. Hosny is currently a Professor of Ophthalmology at Cairo University, he also is a leading Refractive and Anterior segment consultant at Dar El Oyoun Specialized Eye Hospitals in Egypt.

• Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Alexandria, Egypt
• Cornea and Refractive Surgery Consultant, Alexandria University Hospitals
• Master degree of Ophthalmology (University of Alex) and Doctorate degree in Ophthalmology (University of Complutense Madrid, Spain), Fellow of Instituto Ramon Castroviejo, Madrid
• Licensed to practice in Spain, Egypt, Dubai, Sudan and Lybia.
• Founder and director of Horus Vision Correction Center, Alexandria and three other leading refractive centers in Egypt and Middle East
• Consultant Refractive Surgeon for Dubai government health authority (2007-2009)
• Member of all International Refractive Societies and Founder member of many Refractive Societies in Egypt and Middle East.
• Board Member and Steering Committee member of all Egyptian Refractive Surgery Societies
• Member of Reviewers board of many of the leading Refractive Surgery Peer reviewed journals.
• Winner of many honors and awards from Egyptian Society of Refractive Surgery, Lybian Ophthalmology Society and Emirates Ophthalmology Society.

Dr. Owaidhah is a senior consultant & Chair of IRB Committee at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, adjunct assistant professor at AlFaisal University. She is also the chair of the Saudi Glaucoma group and an editorial board member for Glaucoma section at EyeWiki website and the first surgeon to implant XEN implant in Saudi Arabia. She received the award of “Exceptional Physician” at May 2015 & an award from HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Ahmad AL-Saud for chairing “World Sight Day” activities at the Kingdom.

Dr. Omar Trabelsi, MD is a Tunisian Vitreo-Retinal Surgeon and General and Medical Director of the Clinique Ophtalmologique de Tunis, one of the leading ophthalmology centers in North Africa and the Mediterranean region.
He completed his ophthalmology training at the University of Liège, Belgium, and the University of Pretoria, South Africa. His clinical and academic expertise focuses particularly on vitreoretinal surgery and surgical retina training. He pioneered a twostep vitreoretinal surgical technique, published in 2023.
Dr. Trabelsi is a member of several national and international ophthalmological societies and serves as a Board Member of the Middle East Africa Vitreo-Retinal Society (MEAVRS). He has served as Retina Coordinator for Africa and the Middle East at the World Ophthalmology Congresses in Mexico (2016) and Barcelona (2018), and as an abstract reviewer for several international ophthalmology congresses.
He is also actively involved in blindness-prevention initiatives through Nadi Al Bassar, contributing to ophthalmic training and cataract surgery campaigns across Africa.
Outside ophthalmology, Dr. Trabelsi is an accomplished equestrian. He is a Tunisian Champion in Show Jumping (2026) and was elected to the Tunisian National Team representing Tunisia at the 2026 Mediterranean Games in Taranto, Italy. He is also the Founder and Manager of Hippoclub, where he supports equestrian training programs for children with disabilities and visual impairments.

• Co-opted member of the ESCRS Board and of the ESCRS Educational Committee (2012 – 2016 – attending all the ESCRS Board meetings in 2012-2016
• ESCRS Academy member – since January 2014, ongoing; invited speaker for several Academy meetings
• ESASO Faculty member – since January 2014 – 2024; invited course presenter for ESASO

Surgical experience (1994 – present):

• Approx. 70000 cases of cataract surgery with PC-IOL implantatation (mostly phaco procedures); large experience in astigmatism and presbyopia correcting lenses and in Femto-Assisted Cataract surgeries, since 2013
• Approx. 3000 cases of corneal transplantation and combined procedures
• Approx. 600 vitreo-retinal surgeries
• Office-Laser procedures (YAG capsulotomies, iridotomies, ALT/SLT)

Speaker for several congresses and meetings in national and international congresses (including several editions of ASCRS, ESCRS 2006-2025, SICSSO 2017-2021, Videocatarattarefrattiva, 2010 – 2025, AICCER 2021, 2024 and 2026, Koln Advent Symposium 2022, SICSSO 2018-2026, EuCornea 2022 – 2023, GIVRE 2023, MEACO- AAO session 2023, ESOIRS 2024, etc.

Experience in national and international Live surgery sessions, as surgeon: several times in ESCRS meetings, in MTK congresses, HSIORS meetings, ESASO meetings and others, between 2006 and 2019

Experience in International clinical studies, GCP certified, since September 1999 to present

Books:

• Co-author in „Cataract surgery complications” – Lucio Buratto, Stephen Brint – SLACK Incorporated, 2013 – Chapter: Complications of Phacoemulsification
• Author of „Practical guide for avoiding and treating complications in cataract surgery” – Curtea veche Publisher, 2019.
• Co-author in “Cataract Surgery – Practice, Technique and Innovation” – editors Ashraf Armia, Otman Sandali, Rachid Tahiri – Springer 2026 – Chapter: „Descemet Membrane Detachment in Cataract Surgery”

Dr Ramesh Kekunnaya is the Network Director for Technology Innovation at LVPEI. He also serves as the Director of both the Child Sight Institute and the Center for Technology Innovation, and the Head of the Jasti V Ramanamma Children’s Eye Care Centre at LVPEI.

He is also an Executive Bureau Director of the World Society for Paediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus (WSPOS), a Founder Executive Bureau Member of the Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Network (POSN) of India, and an Administrative Council Member of the International Strabismological Association (ISA).

Dr Kekunnaya received his basic medical training from the Karnataka Medical College in Hubli and specialized in ophthalmology from the Government Medical College, Mysore. He completed a fellowship in pediatric and neuro-ophthalmology, strabismus, and comprehensive ophthalmology at LVPEI, followed by an AAPOS-accredited fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California, USA.

His core clinical interests include simple and complex strabismus in adults and children (squint), childhood cataract, vision development, myopia, amblyopia (lazy eye), and neuro-ophthalmological disorders in children.

Dr Kekunnaya has been honoured with Achievement Awards from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the Asia Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology. He is also the recipient of the International Scholar Award and International Education Award from AAO, and the Honor Award from the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus.

He has authored over 225 publications in peer-reviewed journals and has written more than 25 textbook chapters so far. He serves as the Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Section Editor for the IJO, JBOVM, Current Eye ResearchHe has presented widely, is invited as a keynote speaker at both national and global levels, and is passionate about teaching.

Known among colleagues for his calm and composed demeanor, Dr Kekunnaya spends his free time listening to music and watching movies.

Publications link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=kekunnaya&sort=date

Prof. Ambrósio is the first son of the late Renato Ambrósio MD, who pioneered the field of refractive surgery in Brazil in the early 1980s, and Vera Martins Ambrósio MD, a resilient and dedicated ophthalmologist who upheld the family practice after the premature decease of her husband in January 1994. Prof. Ambrósio is in private practice in Rio de Janeiro with his younger brother, Rodrigo Martins Ambrósio MD, a talented retina surgeon, and his beautiful wife, Renata Siqueira da Silva MD, a well-trained and competent glaucoma and contact lens specialist.
He concluded his residency in ophthalmology at the Instituto de Oftalmologia Tadeu Cvintal (São Paulo) in 1999 and a fellowship program in refractive surgery and cornea at the University of Washington (Seattle) in October 2002 under the supervision of Steven E Wilson MD. He defended his doctorate in sciences at the University of São Paulo in May 2004.

He served as president of the Brazilian Society of Administration in Ophthalmology from 2006 until 2010, and president of the Brazilian Society of Refractive Surgery from 2012 until 2014, before the incorporation with the Brazilian Society of Cataract and Implants for the creation of the Brazilian Association of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (BRASCRS). He was the vice president of the Brazilian Council of Ophthalmology (2013-2015) and was elected president of the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS) in 2020, staying in this position until its spinoff from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) in 2024. He is also the current president of the Refractive Surgery Alliance (RSA; 2023-2024).

Prof. Ambrósio founded the Rio de Janeiro Corneal Tomography and Biomechanics Study Group in 2007 and BrAIN (Brazilian Artificial Intelligence Networking in Medicine) in 2010, from which over 200 publications originated. He is an affiliate professor of the postdoc program in ophthalmology at the Pontific Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (lato sensu) and the Federal University of São Paulo (stricto sensu) and an adjunct professor in ophthalmology at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO).

He published an invited thesis for the American Ophthalmological Society (AOS) in the American Journal of Ophthalmology in July 2023, with the title “Optimized Artificial Intelligence for Enhanced Ectasia Detection Using Scheimpflug-Based Corneal Tomography and Biomechanical Data.”

Professor Ambrósio is a fellow of the World College of Refractive Surgery (FWCRS) and a world-class refractive surgeon-scientist. His research philosophy encompasses his original algorithm (A2I)2 – applying ancient intelligence (the why’s) and applied artificial intelligence (the how). His primary interests are corneal/refractive multimodal diagnostics, beyond and not over corneal tomography and biomechanics. His practice includes customized laser vision correction (LVC), phakic IOLs, refractive cataract surgery, dry eye, and therapeutic procedures for ectatic corneal diseases.

He is a devoted family man with 2 lovely daughters, Giovanna and Rafaella. He is a second-degree black-belt Jiu-jitsu practitioner and lives embracing the challenge of finding balance among his busy and proactive academic appointments, his private practice at Instituto de Olhos Renato Ambrósio and Rio Vision Hospital in Rio de Janeiro, and Centro Brasileiro de Cirurgia de Olhos in Goiania.

Consultant Cornea and Refractive surgery Clinical and translational Scientist, Narayana Nethralaya, Bangalore, INDIA GROW laboratories Faculty, Dept. of Ophthalmology, Univ. Maastricht.

Prof. Dr. Rohit Shetty is the Vice Chairman of Narayana Nethralaya Eye Institute. He is a Professor at Sri Devaraj Urs Medical College, India and an Adjunct Associate Professor at MS Ramaiah Medical College, Bangalore and is an Affiliate Associate Professor and PhD guide at the Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Prof. Dr. Rohit Shetty has over 200 Publication in peer reviewed indexed Journals. He is a Corneal Refractive Surgeon at Narayana Nethralaya Eye Institute, Bangalore, India. His other areas of work include Neuro-ophthalmology electrophysiology.

Prof. Dr. Rohit Shetty defended his PhD from Maastricht University, Netherlandson Understanding the Clinical, Immunological and Genetic Molecular Mechanism of Keratoconus. He has a special interest in the management of Keratoconus, tear film abnormalities and biomarkers. He has introduced cutting edge technology at Narayana Nethralaya and spearheads treatment for challenging eye disorders.

In the 2015 annual conference of the All India Ophthalmological Society, Dr. Rohit Shetty won the prestigious Col. Rangachari award for the overall best paper of the conference for his work on “Is Inflammation Driving Keratoconus? – A Holistic Study Of Molecular Pathways”.

The American Academy of Ophthalmology recently conferred an achievement award to Dr. Rohit Shetty for the distinguished services he has rendered over the years to the programs of the society.

Dr. Shady Awwad is a professor of Ophthalmology and the head of the cornea & refractive surgery division at the American University of Beirut Medical Center. He received his medical degree and completed his residency training at the American University of Beirut. He subsequently completed a fellowship in cornea & refractive surgery and then ocular pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. Shady’s research and clinical interests are focused on analytical corneal imaging including developing machine learning models, ocular and corneal wavefront analysis, keratoconus diagnosis and treatment, refractive surgery, and intraocular lens calculations after refractive surgery, for which he has two formulas on the ASCRS IOL calculator website. He created a patented technique to analyze optical coherence tomography images of corneal haze and demarcation lines using artificial intelligence and another software to analyze slit lamp photos, among others, and accurately compute corneal lesions coordinates, surface area, and density, ideal for custom ablation area phototherapeutic keratectomy. He has several online ophthalmology software and tools. He has been awarded , the Alpha Omega Alpha honor society award, the American Academy of Ophthalmology achievement award, and the George Waring Medal for editorial excellence from the Journal of Refractive Surgery.

Dr. Shatha Hussein Alfreihi is a distinguished pediatric ophthalmologist from Saudi Arabia, currently serving as the Deputy Chairman of the Department of Pediatric Surgery at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in Riyadh. With extensive training, including fellowships from prestigious institutions like George Washington University and UCLA, Dr. Alfreihi holds board certifications in ophthalmology and has made significant contributions to her field through 12 publications and numerous presentations. An active member of several professional societies, she also participates in academic activities, including journal clubs and research committees. Recognized for her exceptional performance with multiple awards, Dr. Alfreihi embodies the ultimate commitment to advancing pediatric ophthalmology.

Dr. Siham Lazreg currently owns and manages a private practice focused on treating ocular surface disease in adults and children in Algeria, and served as an Associate Professor at the University Hospital Mustapha Bacha of Algiers in 1990 through 2008. Dr. Lazreg obtained her Medical Degree from, completed residency at, and completed a fellowship at Paris Diderot University in France. She specializes in paediatric ophthalmology and ocular surface diseases. She is the leader on ocular surface in North Africa.

Dr. Lazreg has authored many manuscripts on severe allergies (vernal and atopic keratoconjunctivitis), dry eye associated with Sjogren’s Syndrome and graft-versus-host disease, and children’s blepharitis. Her main medical interests include ocular surface diseases, dry eye and allergies, Dr. Lazreg is a scientific coordinator in the Algerian Ophthalmologic Society and she is member of many African, European, Asian and American ophthalmologic societies, she is a member and ambassador of TFOS DEWS2.

• Director and Chief, Dr. Agarwal’s Refractive and Cornea Foundation
• Senior Consultant, Cataract and Glaucoma Services, Dr. Agarwal’s Group of Eye Hospitals
• President – International Society of Refractive Surgery
• Chair – International Society of Refractive Surgery Multimedia Editorial Board
• Associate Editor – Journal of Refractive Surgery
• Associate Editor – Journal of Refractive Surgery Case Reports
• Section Editor (Refractive Surgery) – EyeNet (American Academy of Ophthalmology)
• Executive Committee Member- Global Education and Research Society of Ophthalmology
• Council Board Member- Global Education and Research Society of Ophthalmology
• Chair, Cornea Committee- Global Education and Research Society of Ophthalmology
• Member Editorial Board: Journal of Refractive Surgery, Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, Ocular Surgery News – Asia Pacific Edition, EuroTimes (Official news journal of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery), Glaucoma Today (Bryn Mawr Communications), International Journal of Keratoconus and Ectatic Corneal Diseases, Medical Hypothesis in Optometry and TNOA Journal of Ophthalmic Science and Research
• Member Editorial Advisory Board: EyeNet (American Academy of Ophthalmology)
• Member Global Advisory Board: Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today, Europe; Journal – Ophthalmology and Therapy
• International Scientific Board Member, Advanced Ophthalmologic Practice
• Annual Stanford Rankings of Top 2 percentile scientists- (Included 2020-2025)

Chairman & Managing Director, Nethradhama Super Speciality Eye Hospital – The first Eye hospital in India to get the NABH quality accreditation.

With a strong academic foundation, he holds an MBBS and an MS & DNB in Ophthalmology and has been honoured with prestigious distinctions including an Honorary Doctor of Science (DSc) from Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) and an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons (FRCS),
Glasgow.

Dr. Sri Ganesh is internationally acclaimed for his expertise in cataract and refractive surgery. Over the course of his career, he has successfully performed more than 150,000 surgeries, earning a reputation for precision, innovation, and excellence in patient care. His contributions extend beyond clinical practice into education and global collaboration. He serves as Secretary of the International Intraocular Implant Club (IIIC) and Treasurer of the Asia-Pacific Association of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (APACRS). Additionally, he has mentored and
trained over 300 fellows from across the world, significantly influencing the next generation of ophthalmologists &
has over 100 Peer reviewed Publications.

Recognized with numerous national and international awards for remarkable achievements:

1. Honored with the WCRS Fellowship and AUSCRS Gold Medal.
2. Received AIOS Col. RANGACHARI AWARD for Best free Paper 2016.
3. Received the Micheal Kritzinger award by ISRS during AAO 2022.
4. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology (IJO) Best of Best Paper Award 2025.
5. Received APACRS Gold Medal 2025.
6. Awarded the prestigious LIM Lecture d

Professor Walter Sekundo, MD, PhD is Medical Director and Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology, Philipps University of Marburg and University Eye Clinic Germany. He is a comprehensive ophthalmic surgeon with special interest in cornea, cataract and refractive surgery. He studied Medicine in Frankfurt/Germany, New Orleans and Durham/USA. He received the postgraduate training at the Dept. of Ophthalmology, University of Bonn/Germany. He also accomplished fellowships in Eye Pathology at Tennents Institute of Ophthalmology (Glasgow/UK), Corneal & Refractive Surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital (London/UK), was trained in vitreoretinal surgery at the University of Marburg and in glaucoma surgery in Mainz (Germany). He is one of the developers of Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE) and the first surgeon who performed it worldwide. He received several prestigious awards for this and other microsurgical developments. Prof. Sekundo is member of several national and international associations and a reviewer for many professional journals, among them JCRS and JRS. He is an Editorial Board Member of “Die Ophthalmologie” and “Eye Discovery”. As of August 2026, he published 215 PubMed listed papers, 45 book chapters and edited a textbook on SMILE (Springer 2015) and a textbook book on KLEx (Springer 2025). Despite all these commitments he remains a busy clinician with over 40,000 anterior and posterior segment procedures performed up to date. For this reason, since 2010 the independent “Focus Magazine” has regularly ranked him as one of the 30 top cataract, corneal and refractive surgeons in Germany.

Dr. Khoueir completed his residency at the Saint-Joseph University in Beirut. He then pursued his glaucoma training by obtaining postdoctoral fellowships from the Glaucoma Institute in Paris (UPMC Sorbonne University, Paris, France) and subsequently from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Hospital in Boston (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA). Dr. Khoueir received the young ophthalmologist scholarship award during the 8th International Congress on Glaucoma Surgery in 2016. Dr. Khoueir currently holds the position of associate director of the Glaucoma division at the Beirut Eye and ENT Specialist Hospital. He’s a research collaborator at the Mayo Clinic Ophthalmology department. He’s a clinical instructor and lecturer at the Saint-Joseph University medical school in Beirut. He is the co-chair of the associate advisory board of the World Glaucoma Association and a member of the associate advisory board of the International Society of Glaucoma Surgery. He is interested in the medical and surgical management of glaucoma and ophthalmic imaging with a special interest in innovative techniques such as minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) and glaucoma laser treatments.