17th Retina Academy

Registration is open for the 17th ESASO Retina Academy, to be held in Berlin, Germany, from 29 June-1 July 2017. The venue for this meeting will be the bright and airy dbb forum on Friedrichstraße, situated in the government district close to historic landmarks such as the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag building, which is convenient for travel connections. Delivered by an internationally renowned faculty, the programme of events for the Academy includes a range of educational formats, including plenary sessions, poster presentations, case studies, debates, industry sessions and workshops, and vitreoretinal video surgery sessions. Particular highlights of the programme include ESASO Medical and Surgical Masterclasses, in which participants have the opportunity to interact with expert faculty in small group sessions, an imaging workshop providing hands-on demonstrations of the most recent ophthalmic imaging equipment, and presentations of pipeline developments by pharmaceutical industry representatives. A wide variety of topics will cover the newest developments in medical and surgical retina, retinal pathologies, treatment and management, monitoring and imaging, plus much more, to ensure that participants’ educational needs are met. Live streaming of sessions will permit the educational content presented at the meeting to be made available to as many participants as possible, including those who are unable to travel to Berlin to attend the meeting in person. Abstract and case study submissions are open until 10 February, and participants are encouraged to submit their work for consideration. All accepted abstracts will be presented as posters and published in the peer-reviewed and indexed journal Ophthalmic Research, and in addition the Scientific Committee will select five abstracts and up to six case studies for oral presentation and discussion during the scientific sessions. Participants under the age of 40 can choose to enter their abstracts in the Young Ophthalmologists category, the winners of which will be invited to attend the 18th ESASO Retina Academy meeting in 2018 as special guests. In addition to the scientific sessions, the 17th ESASO Retina Academy will host a graduation ceremony to honour those students who have successfully completed the requirements of the ESASO Fellowship Programme and the ESASO Graduation Scheme, as well as celebrate the winners of the XOVA Excellence in Ophthalmology Vision Awards. This programme provides financial support for outstanding initiatives to address unmet needs in eye care worldwide. The winners of this year’s XOVA will be in attendance to receive their awards and share details of the projects that they will be embarking upon with the help of XOVA funding.