Glaucoma Foundation’s annual Think Tank Set for June 9-10

(Image Credit: AdobeStock/TTstudio)

The Glaucoma Foundation is bringing researchers, clinicians and glaucoma patients together for its 28th Annual Glaucoma Scientific Think Tank June 9-10 in New York City.

According to the foundation, this interdisciplinary meeting has been a key forum for the exchange of ideas between leading scientists in diverse fields to bring their knowledge to the challenges of glaucoma and help set the course for future glaucoma research.

Established in 1995, the Think Tank has increased the number of people around the world working in the field. The presenters at this year’s two-day program come from Mount Sinai in New York, Johns Hopkins in Maryland, Shiley Eye Institute and the Keck School of Medicine in California, Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee, W. K. Kellogg Eye Center at the University of Michigan, Perelman School of Medicine at University of Pennsylvania, Brigham and Women's Hospital in Massachusetts, Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary, Duke University in North Carolina, Georgia Institute of Technology, Moorfields Eye Hospital in the UK, and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute in Australia.

All of the speakers will attend in person and the conference will be live-streamed on Zoom.

The sessions will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 9 and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 10.

“This year’s Think Tank will incorporate the latest science into a forum designed to bring patients, advocates and caregivers into the discussion on living with glaucoma,” TGF President Elena Sturman said in a statement.

The closing session on Saturday morning will be open to participation from the entire audience.

Friday June 9 Sessions: 

Meeting Registration - Zoom

Friday Session 1:

Glaucoma Data Integration, Moderator: Louis Pasquale, MD

Overview of databases available to advance glaucoma knowledge – Sally Baxter, MD

Lessons learned about glaucoma from the UK Biobank – Anthony Khawaja, MD

POAG genomic architecture update – Stuart MacGregor, PhD

A 360-degree biomedical profile of health: lessons from cardiovascular disease – Iain Forrest, PhD

Friday Session 2:

Drug re-purposing in glaucoma, Moderator: Richard Lee, MD, PhD

Insulin signaling and glaucoma: Friend or Foe? – Louis R. Pasquale, MD

Metformin and glaucoma – Joshua Stein, MD

GLP-1R agonists and glaucoma – Qi Cui, MD, PhD

Friday Session 3:

Neuroprotection, Moderator: Robert N. Weinreb, MD

Overview of glaucoma neuroprotection agents. Derek Welsbie, MD

Why do we not have a neuroprotection agent for glaucoma? Robert N. Weinreb, MD

Facilitating Randomized Clinical Trials in Neuroprotection through Artificial Intelligence: An Emerging Paradigm -- Felipe Medeiros, MD, PhD

Friday Session 4:

Sex hormones and glaucoma, Moderator: Rachel Lee, MD, MPH

The role of sex hormones in the pathogenesis of open-angle glaucoma: evidence from epidemiological studies – Thasarat Vajaranant, MD, MHA

Estrogen signaling pathways in glaucoma – Yutao Liu, PhD

The biomechanical argument that estrogen plays a role in glaucoma – Andrew Feola PhD

Saturday, June 10 Sessions: 

Meeting Registration - Zoom

Saturday Session 5:

Non-IOP factors of importance in glaucoma, Moderator Jeffrey M. Liebmann, MD

Diet and glaucoma – Jae Hee Kang, ScD

Hypertension, antihypertensive drugs and glaucoma – Alon Harris, PhD

The impact of glaucoma on activities of daily living – Pradeep Ramulu MD

Saturday Concluding Session 6:

What can The Glaucoma Foundation do to help patients, researchers, and eye-care providers to tackle glaucoma? – Co-Moderators, Murray Fingeret OD, Louis Pasquale MD, Gregory Harmon MD

What is the Glaucoma Foundation doing now? Elena Sturman, TGF President

What do patients want to see in glaucoma research? Patient representatives – Amy Dixon, Hillary Golden, Jahkori Dopwell Hall

Open microphone with patient participation.

A discussion will follow each session. Visit glaucomafoundation.org for information and registration.