Eyecelerator @ ARVO 2026 

Registration and breakfast

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Location: Bluebird Ballroom, 4th Level​​

Welcome and Overview of Eyecelerator @ ARVO 2026​​​​

Stephen D. McLeod, MD, CEO, American Academy of Ophthalmology

Iris Rush, CAE, Executive Director, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology

Gil Kliman, MD, MBA, Program Director

Allen C. Ho, MD, Retina Program Director 

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​​​Moderators:

• Gil Kliman, MD, MBA, Program Director

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​Speakers: ​

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Ophthalmology Market Overview

• Long Sha, PhD, Partner, Boston Consulting Group​

Capital Market Overview

• Andrew Gitkin, Managing Partner, Gitkin & Co.

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VC Market Overview

• Garrett Hamontree, MBA, Partner, Visionary Ventures

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​Panel: 

• Andrew Gitkin, Managing Partner, Gitkin & Co

• Adrienne Graves, PhD, Board Chair, Foundation Fighting Blindness RD fund

• Garrett Hamontree, Partner, Visionary Ventures

• Long Sha, PhD, Partner, Boston Consulting Group

• Julian Smith, General Manager, Eye Care Pipeline Commercial Strategy, AbbVie

​​​Moderators: 

• Raj Rajpal, MD, Chief Strategy and Medical Officer, Horizon Surgical Systems

• Julie Schallhorn, MD, MS, Program Co-Chair

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Panel: 

• Blake Anderson, MD, CEO & CTO, Switchboard, MD

• Roshni Bhagalia, PhD, VP-Digital Products, Surgical, Alcon 

• Nick de Pennington, FRCS, CEO, Ufonia

• Daniela Ferrara, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer, Topcon Healthcare

• Sujay Jadhav, MBA, CEO, Verana Health

Networking Break 

​Moderators: 

• Robert L. Avery, MD, Program Co-Chair

• Ross Ethier, PhD, Program Committee

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​Speakers: 

Overview of Anterior Drug Delivery

• Uday Kompella, PhD, Founder, Ocugen

Overview of Posterior Drug Delivery

• Michael Goldstein, MD, Co-Director, Cornea Service, New England Eye Center 

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​Panel: 

• Austin Blackwell, Head of Marketing, Retina, AbbVie

• Christopher Brittain, Global Head of Ophthalmology Product Development, Genentech

• Jay S. Duker, MD, President & CEO, EyePoint

• Tomas Navratil, PhD, Chief Development Officer, Glaukos

• Michael J. O’Rourke, CEO, Re-Vana Therapeutics

• Rich Small, CEO, Neurotech

​Moderators: 

• Stephen McLeod, MD, Program Committee

• Gil Kliman, MD, Program Director

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Panel:

• Gali Baler, PhD, Managing Director, Strategy and Operations, CU Innovations

• Doug Fisher, MD, Partner, Revelation Partners

• Babak Nemati, PhD, Founder and CEO, Strategic Intelligence, Inc.

• Mike Papac, PhD, Head, Ophthalmic Business Development, UCSF Innovation Ventures

• Firas Rahhal, MD, Partner, ExSight Ventures 

• Namrata Saroj, OD, Chief Business Officer, Ocular Therapeutics

• Christine Winoto, Founding Partner, MedTech Venture Partners

​​Moderators: 

• Allen C. Ho, MD, Retina Program Director

• Srinivas Sadda, MD, Program Committee

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Panelists:

• Kapil Bharti, PhD, Scientific Director, National Eye Institute, NIH 

• Peter Francis, MD, PhD, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer, Ray Technologies

• Ralf Hornig, PhD, Director, Clinical Affairs, Science Corporation

• Mark Humayun, MD, PhD, Director, USC Ginsburg Institute for Biomedical Therapeutics 

• Erin Kimbrel, PhD, Head of Cell & Gene Therapy Research, Astellas 

• Samarendra Mohanty, President & Co-Founder, Nanoscope Therapeutics 

• Henry Wiley, MD, Lead Medical Director, Genentech

Enjoy a bite with your colleagues.​​

Forty companies will present innovative new treatments, products, and services. Three breakout rooms will operate simultaneously for each segment.

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Anterior Segment  -  Room: 401, Level 3

Moderators:

• Julie M. Schallhorn, MD, MS, Program Committee 

• Kuldev Singh, MD, MPH, Program Co-Chair

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Durable Retina Therapeutics: Gene Therapy and Drug Delivery - Room: 403, Level 3

Moderators:

• Robert L. Avery, MD, Program Co-Chair

• Lejla Vajzovic, MD

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Next Generation Retina Therapeutics and Advances in AI - Room: 405, Level 3

Moderators:

• Allen C. Ho, MD, Retina Program Director

• Srinivas Sadda, MD, Program Committee​

Networking Break ​

​​Moderators:

• Kuldev Singh, MD, MPH, Program Co-Chair

• Robert L. Avery, MD, Program Co-Chair

• Allen C. Ho, MD, Retina Program Director

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Panel:

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• Heidi Becker, MD, CDER

• Bradley Cunningham, MSE, CDRH (participating remotely)

• Katerina Tsilou, MD, CBER (participating remotely)

​​Moderators:

• Kuldev Singh, MD, MPH, Program Co-Chair

• Robert L. Avery, MD, Program Co-Chair

• Allen C. Ho, MD, Retina Program Director

Panel:

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• Pravin Dugel, MD, President & CEO, Ocular Therapeutix

• Carl Garner, PhD, SVP, Global Regulatory Affairs and Head, Eli Lilly and Company

• Jeffry Weinhuff, Managing Partner, Visionary Ventures

The program committee wraps the day with the People's Choice recognition of best presenting company by segment.  

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Enjoy refreshments and connect!