Our Meetings

Fall 2024 Symposium

Welcome

To learn more: Symposium Program Book

  • Martin G. Myers, Jr., MD, PhD  Director, Elizabeth Weiser Caswell Diabetes Institute, Michigan Medicine
  • Shahzad I. Mian, MD  Chair, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan Medical Group 

Dr. Levine’s Introduction and Announcement: Boehringer Ingelheim and MTM Vision Join Forces to Combat Vision Loss from Diabetes

  • S. Robert Levine, MD  Founder and CEO, MTM Vision
  • Marianne Laouri, PhD, Global Asset Lead, Retinal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals

Patient Voice

Adriana Plevniak | MTM Vision Lay Advisor

“DRD has taken so much from me; it has felt like an unending series of challenges. While I recognize the many blessings in my life, including my wonderful son, the shadow of this disease often looms large, reminding me of my losses. I only find respite from what has happened to my eyes when I sleep. Injection days are super emotional for me, with my anxiety going through the roof. The therapies available now are barbaric. It is my dream to have the treatments available to patients less traumatic. I mean, who wants a needle in their eyes or a laser? When patients have their appointments, the fear doesn’t go away when they leave. It hangs over us like a dark cloud.” 

Translating Science to Clinical Care for Diabetic Retinal Disease

MTM Vision Update:  Jennifer Sun, MD, MPH  Science Co-Director, MTM Vision

Perspectives

  • Aude Couturier, MD PhD Professor of Ophthalmology, Paris Cité University; Deputy Head of the Ophthalmology Department, Lariboisière and Saint-Louis University Hospitals; Project leader EviRED (Evaluation Intelligente de la Rétinopathie Diabétique). Preliminary findings from EviRED natural history study. 
  • Malvina Eydelman, MD Director of the Office of Health Technology Ophthalmic, Anesthesia, Respiratory, ENT and Dental Devices, Office of Product Evaluation and Quality, Food and Drug Administration, Maryland, USA. Food and Drug Administration Regulation of Medical Products for DRD 

Panelists

  • Michael Abramoff, MD, PhD University of Iowa 
  • Jason McAnany, PhD University of Illinois College of Medicine 
  • Sandy Puczynski, PhD  MTM Vision Lay Advisor 

Therapeutics Target Identification Through Human Tissue and Fluid ‘Omics

MTM Vision Update:  Patrice Fort, PhD  Director, MTM Vision Ocular Biorepository & Resource Center

Perspectives

  • Roger Cone, PhD  Mary Sue Coleman Director & Research Professor; Vice Provost and Director, U-M Life Sciences Institute; Professor, Department of Molecular & Integrative Physiology, U-M Medical School; Professor, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, LSA. Process and resources for target identification and drug development.
  • Przemyslaw (Mike) Sapieha, PhD  Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, SemaThera Inc. From target identification to drug development for ocular diseases.

Panelists

  • Lloyd Paul Aiello, MD, PhD  Harvard Medical School
  • Eric Ng, PhD | Eyebiotech Limited, a subsidiary of Merck & Co, Inc (Rahway, NJ)
  • Subramaniam Pennathur, MD University of Michigan
  • Judy Hunt, MBA MTM Vision Lay Advisor

Big Data and Artificial Intelligence Approaches to Diabetic Retinal Disease

MTM Vision Update: S. Robert Levine, MD  Founder and CEO, MTM Vision

Perspectives 

  • Tien-en Tan, MBBS(Hons), MMed(Ophth), FRCOphth, FAMS  Clinical Assistant Professor, SingHealth Duke-NUS Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences Academic Clinical Program. Multi-modal AI for enhanced diagnosis, risk stratification and prognostication in DRD.
  • Brian VanderBeek, MD, MPH, MSCE  Research to Prevent Blindness (RPB)-MTM Vision Physician Scientist Award Winner; Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Pennsylvania. Use of real-world data for better understanding of DRD and population-level differences.

Panelists 

  • Chris German, PhD Chair, MTM Vision Lay Advisory Committee
  • Kerry Goetz, PhD National Eye Institute
  • Tunde Peto, MD, PhD Queens University Belfast

Hot Topics

Facilitator: Chris German, PhD  Chair, MTM Vision Lay Advisory Committee

Perspectives

  • Awareness Crisis in DRDPaolo Silva, MD Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School:
  • Gait Assessment in the Evaluation of Functional Vision: Amanda Bicket, MD  Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Michigan
  • Developing a Patient-Reported Outcome (PRO) for DRD – Creating tools to capture patient voicesFernanda (Maria) Abalem, MD, MSC, PhD  Faculty, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • Vitreous analysis for clinical assessment, staging, and patient selection for clinical trialsJeffrey M. Sundstrom, MD, PhD  Associate Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Neural and Behavioral Science, and Ophthalmology, Penn State University

Future Directions: Restoring Vision in DRD: Lessons from the Inherited Retinal Diseases (IRD) Field

Moderator: Mark Pennesi, MD, PhD। Professor of Ophthalmology, School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University; Director, Ophthalmic Genetics at the Retina Foundation

Perspectives 

  • Rebecca Pfeiffer, PhD  Research Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology & Visual Science, John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah: Pathoconnectomics: Rewiring in Retinitis Pigmentosa.
  • Rachel Huckfeldt, MD, PhD  Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Fellowship Director, Inherited Retinal Degenerations Fellowship, Mass Eye & Ear: How has the consortium helped the field of IRDs and the importance to discovery of natural history studies which incorporate functional markers and endpoints.

Panelists 

  • James Weiland, PhD  University of Michigan
  • Adriana Plevniak  MTM Vision Lay Advisor

Dr. and Lady Glaucomflecken

Will Flanary, MD and Kristin Flanary, MA – aka “Dr. Glaucomflecken” and “Lady Glaucomflecken.”

Will and Kristin Flanary share how their medical experiences led to the creation of their personas as Dr and Lady Glaucomflecken and their resulting advocacy work in eye health and co-survivorship, blending humor and education to raise awareness and promote change.

MTM Vision Consortium | Boehringer Ingelheim Collaboration

  • Shelby Unsworth, PhD  Associate Director, Business Development, Michigan Medicine
  • Marianne Laouri, PhD  Global Asset Lead, Retinal Health, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals

MTM Vision Communications, Collaborations and Fund Development

Moderator: Eric Carlson  Founder, The Carlson Company, Social Impact & Media, Award Winning Documentary and Film Producer: Public outreach, media relations, and fund development  

Panelists

  • Betsy Cote Joslin Diabetes Center
  • Chris Shoemaker  University of Michigan
  • Maurine Slutzky  Stand Up to Cancer
  • Sandy Puczynski, PhD  MTM Vision Lay Advisor

Summations

  • Lloyd Paul Aiello MD, PhD  Professor of Ophthalmology, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School
  • S. Robert Levine, MD  Founder and CEO, MTM Vision Initiative