ARVO: Change of scenery with ‘Life-changing research’ focus

Seattle-With a change of venue and scenery, the annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) hits the road this year, moving from its long-time home in Fort Lauderdale, FL, to Seattle. The 2013 conference will meet from May 5 to 9 at the Washington State Convention Center.

The largest gathering of eye and vision researchers in the world had largely outgrown the facilities available in Fort Lauderdale, and many members had expressed interest in visiting different destinations. In 2014, the meeting will be held in Orlando, followed by Denver in 2015, and back to Seattle in 2016.

With a central theme of “Life-changing research,” the 2013 conference will focus on how vision researchers make a difference to careers, their colleagues, their communities, the economies of their countries, and, ultimately, to the people around the world who benefit from their sight-saving work.

Among the meeting highlights:

Achievement Awards

ARVO presents several annual Achievement Awards, and the recipients are invited to give lectures. Here are this year’s winners:

• The Proctor Medal is being given jointly to Vadim Arshavsky, PhD, of Duke University and Theodore Wensel, PhD, of Baylor College of Medicine. Their lecture, “Timing is Everything: GTPase Regulation in Phototransduction,” will be Monday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

• The Friedenwald Award is being given to David Huang, MD, PhD, of OHSU/Casey Eye Institute. He will give his lecture, “Functional & Structural Optical Coherence Tomography,” Wednesday from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.

• The Weisenfeld Award is being given to David Epstein, MD, of Duke Eye Center. He will give his lecture, “Soaring Aspirations –Lessons from My Mentors and Colleagues,” Monday from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m.

• The Cogan Award is being given to Jonathan Demb, PhD, of Yale University. He will give his lecture, “Neural circuits and synapses for early visual processing,” Wednesday from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m.

Symposia

Several symposia are planned. On Sunday, “From the Cell to Therapy: Transforming Vision and Life” and “Architecture of the Eye: Structural Biology and Vision” will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.

On Thursday, “Restoration of Vision” and “ER Stress and the Unfolded Protein Response in Ocular Health and Disease” will be held from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Exhibit hall

The exhibit hall has new hours this year. More than 125 booths fill two large halls with products and information. Be sure to visit Ophthalmology Times at booth 1419.

• Sunday: 1 to 6 p.m.

• Monday to Wednesday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Thursday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Social events

Among the many social events planned is a party Sunday from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Experience Music Project Museum. Enjoy hors d’oeuvres and drinks, music, and dancing and browse interactive displays. Tickets must be purchased in advance.

More sessions

Each ARVO Scientific Section and Cross-sectional Group has the opportunity to organize at least one minisymposium during the annual meeting. There are 17 minisymposia scheduled concurrently with the paper sessions.

Several cross-sectional platform sessions will be offered as well, along with workshops and Special Interest Group gatherings.

For further information, visit www.arvo.org/am.