UPMC Vision Institute and Pitt Department of Ophthalmology Faculty Participate in i2Eye Conference

The University of Pittsburgh Department of Ophthalmology and the UPMC Vision Institute were well represented at the 6^th annual i2Eye event with multiple faculty members sharing their clinical and research expertise in a series of panel sessions and discussions.

The prestigious interdisciplinary i2Eye conference, hosted by UPMC, the University of Pittsburgh, and Institut de la Vision, focuses on innovative imaging of eye diseases. The event was held at the newly constructed UPMC Mercy Pavilion, the Vision Institute's headquarters. The pavilion opened in May 2023 and is a state-of-the-art facility where the clinical and research expertise of UPMC and the Department of Ophthalmology help to prevent vision loss and restore sight.

"We are thrilled to host the i2Eye conference at the Vision Institute of Pittsburgh. This conference was started six years ago by Kate Grieve, Michel Paques and Ethan Rossi and has become an annual event bringing together a growing community of researchers around innovative imaging of eye diseases and now many other areas of vision science. After the very successful IHU days at the Sorbonne University historical landmark amphitheater, we expect that this event will match its awe-inspiring scientific content. We are pleased to cordially welcome you to our brand-new Vision Institute that we predict will be a superb venue for this event," said José-Alain Sahel, MD, to open the event.

Full UPMC and Pitt participation details are below.

September 15

i2Eye Opening Session

• José-Alain Sahel, MD
• Ethan Rossi, PhD

Session 1: Imaging Retinal Function and Structure in Health and Disease

• Moderator: Jay Chhablani, MD
• Moderator: Kunal Dansingani, MD
• 3D Biomarkers of Choroidal Vasculature: A Quantitative Perspective: Kiran Kumar Vupparaboina, PhD

Session 2: Glaucoma and ONH

• Moderator: Ian Conner, MD, PhD
• Optic Nerve Head Biomechanics and Glaucoma: Ian Sigal, PhD
• The Evolution and Application of OCT in Glaucoma: Rajesh Sasikumar, MD

Session 3: Optogenetics, Gene Therapy, & Vision Restoration

• Moderator: José-Alain Sahel, MD
• Advances in Retinal Gene Therapy: Leah Byrne, PhD

Session 4: Eye Movements

• Moderator: Ethan Rossi, PhD
• The Interaction of Saccadic and Smooth Pursuit Eye Movement Signals in Prefrontal Cortex: J. Patrick Mayo, PhD

September 16

Industry Roundtable Discussion

• Moderators: Alex Anetakis, MD, MBA and John Ash, PhD

Track 1: Retinal Degeneration and Novel Therapies

• Moderator: Leah Byrne, PhD
• Boosting Proteostasis via Nuclear Speckle Rejuvenation for the Treatment of Retinitis Pigmentosa: Yuanyuan Chen, PhD
• Artificial Vision via High-channel-count Visual Cortical Stimulation in Primates: Xing Chen, PhD

Track 2: Anterior Segment

• Moderator: Vishal Jhanji, MD
• Evaluating the Palisades of Vogt in Optical Coherence Tomography Volumes; Enface Segmentation and Scoring: Kira Lathrop, PhD

Track 1: Organoids, Animal Models and Histology

• Moderator: Boris Rosin, MD, PhD
• Fully Automated OCT Imaging for Ex Vivo and In Vitro Tissue Screening: Shaohua Pi, PhD
• Insights on Fovea Development: Molecular Mechanisms from Multiple Models Systems: Susana da Silva, PhD

Track 2: Ocular Immunology & Inflammation

• Moderators: Paul Kinchington, PhD, and Robert Shanks, PhD
• Adaptive Optics and Multimodal Imaging for Inflammatory Vitreoretinal Interface Abnormalities: Marie Hélène Errera, MD, PhD
• The Neuroimmune Axis at the Ocular Surface During Health and Disease: Anthony St. Leger, PhD