Faculty

Symposium organizers

• Ike K. Ahmed, MD, FRCSC - Chair
• Garfield Miller, MD, FRCSC - Co-Chair

International faculty

• Leslie S. Jones, MD | Washington, D.C.
• Harry A. Quigley, MD | Baltimore, Maryland
• Arsham Sheybani, MD | St. Louis, Missouri

Canadian faculty

• Maryam Abtahi, MD, FRCSC
• Catherine Birt, MD, FRCSC
• Ralf R. Buhrmann, MDCM, MPH, PhD, FRCSC
• Balwantray Chauhan, PhD
• Andrew Crichton, MD, FRCSC
• Georges Durr, MD, FRCSC
• Paul Harasymowycz, MD, FRCSC
• Delan Jinapriya, BSc, MD, FRCSC
• David Marshall, MD
• Thomas Noël, OD
• Hady Saheb, MD, MPH, FRCSC, DABO
• Matthew B.Schlenker, MD, MSc, FRCSC
• Nir Shoham-Hazon, MD
• Devesh Varma, BEng, MD, FRCSC
• Irfan Kherani, AB, MD | Trainee Liaison

Faculty biographies

Maryam Abtahi, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Abtahi completed her residency training in ophthalmology in Iran and a second residency training at the University of Ottawa Eye Institute. She obtained her FRCSC certificate in 2017 and then completed a glaucoma fellowship at the University of Alberta. In July 2018, she joined the Department of Ophthalmology in Ottawa and her practice is focused on meeting the needs of adult patients with glaucoma.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Abtahi has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Novartis
2. Shire

Ike K. Ahmed, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Ahmed is a fellowship-trained glaucoma, cataract, and anterior segment surgeon with a practice focus on the surgical management of glaucoma, complex cataract and intraocular lens complications. He is board certified in ophthalmology in Canada and the USA, and is an active member of numerous national and international societies.

Dr. Ahmed has become world renowned for his skills and groundbreaking work in the diagnosis and surgical treatment of highly complex eye diseases including glaucoma and surgical complications. He is recognized as being one of the most experienced complex eye surgeons in the world and has trained numerous surgeons in innovative surgical techniques. Furthermore, he has been at the leading edge of novel treatments for glaucoma, cataract and lens implant surgery. Patients are referred to him locally, nationally, and from around the world. He has been invited to perform surgery in 4 continents across the globe. In 2010, Dr. Ahmed was selected as one of Canada's "Top 40 Under 40" - a prestigious national award recognizing significant achievements at a young age. In 2014, Dr. Ahmed was selected to receive the prestigious Binkhorst medal at ASCRS, which has been awarded to the world's most prominent ophthalmologists whose careers have made significant contributions to the science and practice of ophthalmology. The American Glaucoma Society honoured him with the AGS Surgery Day Lecture, and the UKISCRS bestowed him with the Pearce Medal Lecture in 2015. In 2017 he awarded the "Innovator of the Year" by the Eye Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario. Dr. Ahmed was recently recognized as the "3rd most influential ophthalmologist" in the world by the news magazine The Ophthalmologist.

Dr. Ahmed has a keen interest in the development of advanced microsurgical devices and techniques in glaucoma surgery and complicated cataract extraction, and is actively involved in research and medical education at a national and international level. He has received research grants to study glaucoma medications, glaucoma laser and surgical devices/techniques, angle closure glaucoma, anterior segment and retinal/optic nerve imaging in glaucoma, cataract surgical techniques and devices, and intraocular lens designs. Dr. Ahmed has designed innovative glaucoma diamond scalpels for surgery, microsurgical instrumentation, and devices, implants, and techniques for the management of the dislocated cataract, iris reconstruction, and glaucoma implant devices. He has done pioneering work in innovative glaucoma surgery, developing and coining the term "Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery (MIGS)" as a new genre of surgical approaches and devices. He also performed the first laser cataract surgery in Canada. As a result of his innovative expertise, Dr. Ahmed has been asked to consult for a variety of companies and manufacturers, especially pertaining to the development of new devices and technologies.

He founded and directs The Toronto Cataract Course and the COS Surgical Teaching Series, as well as a number of AAO and ASCRS Courses. He directed the third International Congress on Glaucoma Surgery in May 2006 in Toronto. He sits on the editorial boards of Ophthalmology, Ophthalmology-Glaucoma, Journal of Glaucoma, Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology, EyeNet, Ocular Surgery News, Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today, and is a reviewer for numerous journals. In 2018 he was appointed as the chief medical editor of Glaucoma Today.

Dr. Ahmed has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers, and has published books on Glaucoma Surgery and Intraocular Lens Surgery. He has won five film festival awards, ten best papers of session, and a poster award at ASCRS, as well as an ESCRS first place video award and AAO "Best of Show" award. He has given over 1000 scientific presentations thus far in his career, including 40 visiting professor's lectures around the world.

He is currently an assistant professor at the University of Toronto, and a clinical professor at the University of Utah. He is the director of the Glaucoma and Advanced Anterior Segment Surgery (GAASS) fellowship at the University of Toronto, and Director of Research at the Kensington Eye Institute, University of Toronto. He has trained glaucoma specialists who are now practicing in Canada and around the world, as well as residents and medical students. Dr. Ahmed has a large tertiary glaucoma/cataract practice at Prism Eye Institute (www.prismeyeinstitute.com) in the Greater Toronto Area, and primarily performs surgery at Trillium Health Partners, Mississauga, Ontario, the Kensington Eye Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, and TLC Mississauga.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Ahmed has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

Catherine Birt, MA, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Birt did her master of arts degree, medical school training and residency at the University of Toronto. Her glaucoma fellowship was at the Kresge Eye Institute, Wayne State University, Detroit. She was the director of the Undergraduate Program of the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at the University of Toronto from 1996 - 2006, and more recently has been the President of the Canadian Glaucoma Society. She has received the AAO Achievement Award, and several teaching awards from the University of Toronto, most recently the Dr. William Dixon Sunnybrook Surgical Teaching Award.

Her research interests involve examining the treatment of glaucoma and attempting to find better alternatives, in investigating reasons for treatment failure and the opportunities to ameliorate such factors. Recent work has examined the outcome of selective laser trabeculoplasty in several distinct patient populations, and a recent study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, has reported on the best treatment option for patients who have already had one complete laser treatment. She has received 11 peer-reviewed research grants, and published 54 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Birt has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Canadian Glaucoma Society
2. Glaucoma Research Society of Canada

Ralf R. Buhrmann, MDCM, MPH, PhD, FRCSC

Dr. Buhrmann is a glaucoma consultant at the University of Ottawa Eye Institute with a practice focus on the management and surgical treatment of glaucoma, cataract, and complex cataract. Over the last 4 years, he spearheaded the fundraising and development of a new Glaucoma Centre at the University of Ottawa Eye Institute scheduled to open in the spring of 2020.

Dr. Buhrmann received his medical school and ophthalmology residency training at McGill University. He completed a fellowship in preventive ophthalmology and a fellowship in glaucoma with Harry Quigley at the Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute at Johns Hopkins University where he also obtained a master of public health and a PhD in clinical epidemiology.

Blindness prevention is a special interest of Dr. Buhrmann. From 1999 to 2001, he served as project director for the Kongwa Eye Project and Kongwa Investigation of Mortality and Sight in central Tanzania. In 2002, he founded the Canadian Association for Public Health and Global Ophthalmology (CAPHGO) where he continues to serve on the executive. He was lead author of Foundations for a Canadian Vision Health Strategy produced for the National Coalition for Vision Health in 2007.

Dr. Buhrmann has spent 2 years working in Africa in Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Cameroon and Tanzania. He supervises the International Ophthalmology Electives Program at the University of Ottawa Eye Institute which provides senior residents with a subsidized three-week hands-on training in tropical ophthalmology and manual small incision cataract surgery in partnership with the Srikiran Institute of Ophthalmology in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Dr. Buhrmann is passionate about innovation in surgical teaching. He is a repeat winner of resident surgical teaching awards and is a sought-after mentor for surgical skills transfer courses nationally and internationally. He is the founding director of the Ophthalmic Surgical Simulation Centre (OSSC) at the Ottawa Eye Institute. Over the last decade, Dr. Buhrmann has been developing and teaching a rigorous competency-by-design pre-OR surgical skills training program for ophthalmology residents. The University of Ottawa has recognized his work with an Innovation in Medical Education Award.

He is a long serving member of the Annual Meeting Program Planning Committee for the Canadian Ophthalmological Society and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Buhrmann has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Aequus
2. Allergan

Balwantray Chauhan, PhD

Balwantray Chauhan is Mathers professor and research director of ophthalmology and visual sciences, professor of physiology and biophysics and professor of medical neurosciences at Dalhousie University. He obtained his PhD at the University of Wales, Cardiff, UK, and his postdoctoral training at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, under Dr. Stephen Drance.

Dr. Chauhan's clinical research interests centre on changes in the visual field and optic nerve head in glaucoma. He has devised new methods for detecting glaucoma progression and conducted research leading to their translation to clinical practice. Key contributions in imaging include the Topographical Change Analysis (TCA), used for identifying changes in the optic nerve and on the acquisition and analysis of anatomically and geometrically accurate data from the optic nerve. Dr. Chauhan is principal investigator of the Canadian Glaucoma Study, a multi-centre study on the risk factors for the progression of open-angle glaucoma.

He also conducts research with experimental models of optic nerve damage. Areas of activity include studies of neuron-glia interaction in the retina and optic nerve, in vivo structural and functional imaging of retinal ganglion cells and neuroprotection. This research is conducted in the Retina and Optic Nerve Research Laboratory, a multidisciplinary facility he was instrumental in establishing.

Dr. Chauhan has received numerous awards and recognitions including the senior Alcon Research Institute Award, the Gold Fellow of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, and the Secretariat Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He is President of the Glaucoma Research Society. His research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, National Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Atlantic Innovation Fund and other public and private sector agencies.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Chauhan has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Allergan
2. CenterVue
3. Heidelberg Engineering
4. Santen
5. TopCon

Andrew Crichton, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Crichton is a clinical professor of surgery at the University of Calgary. After graduating from medical school at the University of British Columbia, he did his ophthalmology residency in Toronto and his glaucoma fellowship in Vancouver with Dr. Stephen Drance and Dr. Gordon Douglas. He is currently, acting chief for the Division of Ophthalmology at the Department of Surgery. He has authored/co-authored over 50 journal articles. Dr. Crichton is interested in virtually all aspects of glaucoma.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Crichton has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Aerie Pharma
2. Alcon Canada
3. Allergan Inc.
4. Bausch + Lomb
5. CADTH
6. Santen Inc.
7. Thea Pharma

Georges Durr, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Durr completed his undergraduate, medical degree (MD), and residency in ophthalmology at the University of Montreal. He obtained his bachelor degree in biomedical sciences with honours. He is a board-certified Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada (FRCSC). Dr. Durr pursued a two-year fellowship in Glaucoma and Advanced Anterior Segment Surgery (GAASS) at the University of Toronto.

Research activities have been mainly targeted toward new innovations in glaucoma surgery and anterior segment reconstruction. Currently, he is practicing glaucoma and advanced anterior segment surgery at the University of Montréal in the CHUM hospital (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Montréal).

Financial disclosure: Dr. Durr has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Allergan

Paul Harasymowycz, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Harasymowycz is chief of glaucoma at the Université de Montréal where, since 2011, he has been a clinician and researcher at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital and the Guy-Bernier research centre. He is the medical director of the Bellevue Ophthalmology Clinics, the Montréal Glaucoma Institute, and the Quebec Glaucoma Foundation, which seeks to promote research on glaucoma in Quebec, increase public awareness of the disease, and educate people who suffer from the illness.

Dr. Harasymowycz's research concentrates on glaucoma screening, new diagnostic technologies, and on new surgical treatments for glaucoma and for cataracts. He has a passion for teaching students, residents, and glaucoma fellows and is often sought out to present and teach surgical techniques at national and international congresses.

He is a member of the glaucoma committee of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS). He has published over 50 articles in medical peer-reviewed journals and book chapters on glaucoma.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Harasymowycz has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Aerie
2. Alcon
3. Allergan
4. Bausch + Lomb
5. Bausch Health
6. Ellex
7. Glaukos
8. Ivantis
9. Johnson & Johnson Vision
10. Labtician
11. New World Medical
12. Novartis
13. Santen
14. Shire
15. Thea

Delan Jinapriya, BSc, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Jinapriya is an assistant professor at Queen's University, in the Department of Ophthalmology specializing in comprehensive glaucoma. He is the medical director of the Galen Eye Centre, which is a multi-doctor facility specializing in glaucoma.

He feels that educating physicians is a powerful means by which to improve health care for Canadians. He is the co-director of the Queen's Glaucoma Fellowship Program and a clinical and surgical mentor in the Queen's Ophthalmology Residency Program. He has been involved in glaucoma curriculum development for continuing medical education for the Canadian Ophthalmological Society and is past chair of the COS Skills Transfer Courses.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Jinapriya has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Allergan
2. Bausch + Lomb

Leslie S. Jones, MD

Dr. Jones is associate professor and chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Howard University College of Medicine. She received her medical degree from Howard University and completed her internship in internal medicine at Washington Hospital Center followed by a residency in ophthalmology at Howard University Hospital and a fellowship in glaucoma at Wills Eye Hospital.

Dr. Jones has demonstrated a commitment to vision research as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellow at the National Eye Institute and is currently the glaucoma consultant for the Uveitis Section of the National Eye Institute. She is a past recipient of the American Glaucoma Society Clinician-Scientist Award, and her research focuses on the genetic epidemiology of glaucoma, the evaluation of current and innovative medical and surgical glaucoma therapies, and the use of online simulation as an adjunct to traditional ophthalmic clinical skills training.

Dr. Jones is dedicated to academic medicine with the goal of passing on to the next generation those values which are most important in assuring that our students and residents provide excellent care, and she is most proud of the doctors that she has trained knowing that her commitment to patients is magnified through her commitment to teaching and mentoring our future ophthalmologists.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Jones has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Aerie
2. Alcon
3. Allergan

David Marshall, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Marshall has been an ophthalmologist in the Ottawa area for the past 20 years. His main focus of practice is glaucoma management as well as glaucoma and cataract surgery. He obtained his medical degree and did his ophthalmology residency at the University of Ottawa. This was followed by a fellowship in glaucoma at the University of Wisconsin.

He is actively involved in the University of Ottawa Department of Ophthalmology residency training program, teaching residents and medical students in clinics and operating rooms.

Dr. Marshall has spoken at national meetings as well surgical and medical teaching in China, India, and Bangladesh.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Marshall has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Allergan

Garfield Miller, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Miller is an ophthalmologist and assistant professor at the University of Ottawa Eye Institute. He has been practicing at the Ottawa Hospital since 2011. Dr. Miller obtained a bachelor degree in science at McMaster University and later completed medical school and residency at the University of Toronto. During his 5-year residency, Dr. Miller developed a passion for patients suffering from glaucoma. He was accepted into the Glaucoma and Advanced Anterior Segment Surgery fellowship at the University of Toronto, specializing in complex cataracts and micro-invasive techniques.

At the University of Ottawa Eye Institute, Dr. Miller is a full-time academic staff and assistant professor with an interest in teaching and research. He specializes in cataracts, anterior segment repair, and complex glaucoma management. Dr. Miller also coordinates the glaucoma curriculum for medical trainees and residents.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Miller has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Alcon
2. Allergan

Thomas Noël, OD

Dr. Noël is co-chair of the Health Quality of Ontario (HQO) Glaucoma Quality Standard Clinical Expert Advisory Group for the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. He is also a member of the Provincial Vision Task Force and a director of the Champlain LHIN Vision Task force.

He is vice-president of the Ontario Association of Optometrist and a council member of the Canadian Association of Optometrists. He is past president of the College of Optometrists of Ontario and past Co-Chair of the Eye Health Council of Ontario. He graduated from the University of Montreal School of Optometry with a Doctorate in Optometry. After graduation, Dr. Noël did an externship at the Syracuse Veteran Hospital Department of Ophthalmology in Syracuse, New York.

Dr. Noël has helped over the years to publish several documents to help improve inter-collaboration between optometry and ophthalmology.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Noël has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Allergan Canada
2. Shire Canada

Harry A. Quigley, MD

Dr. Quigley was born in St. Louis and is a graduate of Harvard College and Johns Hopkins Medical School (Alpha Omega Alpha). After ophthalmic residency at the Wilmer Institute, he did a fellowship with Douglas Anderson at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami. He became the A. Edward Maumenee Professor of Ophthalmology in 1994, directing both the Glaucoma Center of Excellence and, until 2011, the Dana Center for Preventive Ophthalmology at Wilmer. He was a founding member of the American Glaucoma Society, serving for 8 years as its Secretary. He was elected to 5 year terms as chief executive officer of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and Editor-in-Chief of Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science.

He has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles, and his reports are the most cited in the ophthalmic literature over the last 30 years (Archives of Ophthalmology, 2007; h-index=121, i10-index=371, with 65,000 citations). He has been honored with the Friedenwald, Joanne Angle and Epstein Mentoring Awards by ARVO, the Doyne Medal by the Oxford Ophthalmological Congress, the Leslie Dana Medal by the St. Louis Society for the Blind, and by research awards from Research to Prevent Blindness, the Alcon Research Award (twice), the European Society of Ophthalmology (Prix Jules Francois), the Chicago Ophthalmological Society (best teacher), Ophthalmological Society of Scotland (Mackenzie Medal), Australian Society of Ophthalmology (Gregg Medal), Irish Ophthalmological Society (Mooney Medal), and the New York Academy of Sciences (Lewis Rudin Prize). He is an ARVO Gold Fellow and a Life Achievement Honor Awardee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He has given 45 named lectures, including the 66th Edward Jackson Lecture (AAO).

Dr. Quigley has trained 65 glaucoma clinician--scientists who lead glaucoma centers in the U.S. and worldwide. His research has improved the early diagnosis of glaucoma and has developed instruments and techniques to identify glaucoma damage better. His investigations found that early glaucoma damage preceded existing detection methods. He was the first to report on long-term success with laser iridotomy. His suturing technique for trabeculectomy has been widely adopted.

He has participated in pioneering studies of the epidemiology, morbidity and progression rate of glaucoma and other eye disease in American, African, Asian, and Hispanic populations, serving as a consultant to the World Health Organization. He conceptualized new roles for iris and choroidal volume change as risk factors in angle closure glaucoma. In the laboratory, he has demonstrated successful gene therapy to protect retinal ganglion cells from experimental glaucoma, and developed glaucoma models in monkeys, rats and mice.

Dr. Quigley is an advocate of natural gardening techniques in ecorestoration projects in Baltimore, developing Poplar Hill Park (see www.waytogarden.net). He is a Horticultural Assistant at the National Aquarium, Baltimore. His son, David, is on the University of California San Francisco faculty in Oncology and Epidemiology as a bioinformatics specialist in cancer research. His daughter, Erica, is a landscape architect, designing outdoor play spaces. He loves being asked about his 2 grand-daughters.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Quigley has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Graybug Vision
2. Gore
3. Heidelberg Instruments
4. IDx
5. Kali Care
6. National Institutes of Health (NIH)
7. Sensimed

Hady Saheb, MD, MPH, FRCSC, DABO

Dr. Saheb is currently assistant professor of ophthalmology and director of glaucoma fellowship and resident research at McGill University. He is also chair of the Canadian Glaucoma Society MIGS Advisory Committee and a member of the Meeting Planning Committee for the Canadian Glaucoma Society.

Dr. Saheb earned his medical degree and completed his residency at McGill University. He was then a glaucoma fellow at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, and subsequently completed a second fellowship in Novel Glaucoma Surgical Devices and Complex Anterior Segment Surgery with Dr Ike Ahmed at the University of Toronto. He also completed a master's in public health at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, with an interest in Clinical Trials and Health Leadership. Dr. Saheb has received several awards, published peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and spoken at multiple national and international meetings.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Saheb has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Aerie
2. Alcon
3. Allergan
4. Bausch
5. Glaukos
6. Ivantis
7. Johnson & Johnson
8. Labtician Thea
9. Novartis

Matthew B. Schlenker, MD, MSc, FRCSC

Dr. Schlenker is an assistant professor and University of Toronto glaucoma, cataract, and anterior segment surgeon at Kensington Eye Institute, Trillium Health Partners, and Toronto Western Hospital. He received his bachelor's degree (magna cum laude) in economics from Yale University and then worked as a financial analyst at Bear Stearns and as a business analyst at McKinsey & Co. He received his MD (with honours) and ophthalmology training at the University of Toronto, where he was a chief resident. He then completed a glaucoma and advanced anterior segment fellowship at Trillium Health Partners and a master of science degree in epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

He is the chair of resident research in the Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences at U. of T. and sits on the Kensington Research Committee. He is a regular presenter at both local and international academic conferences and has published in Ophthalmology, American Journal of Ophthalmology, British Journal of Ophthalmology, and the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, among other journals.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Schlenker has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a commercial organization:

1. Aequus
2. Alcon
3. Allergan
4. Bausch & Lomb
5. Johnson & Johnson
6. Santen
7. Théa-Labtician

Arsham Sheybani, MD

Dr. Sheybani completed his medical degree at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He then completed his residency in ophthalmology at the same institution and was selected to remain on faculty as chief resident. During that year, Dr. Sheybani was responsible for ophthalmologic trauma and emergencies as well as all adult inpatient ophthalmology consultations at Barnes Jewish Hospital. He was the primary surgical teacher for the beginning residents and implemented a didactic system that is still used at Washington University.

Dr. Sheybani then completed a fellowship with Ike Ahmed in glaucoma and advanced anterior segment surgery in Toronto, Canada. He subsequently returned to Washington University School of Medicine as faculty in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences where he serves as residency program director.

He is an avid surgical teacher, winning the resident selected faculty teaching award early in his career. He has also helped create one of the highest volume surgical glaucoma fellowships in the country serving as the fellowship director.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Sheybani has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Allergan
2. Katena

Nir Shoham-Hazon, MD

Dr. Shoham-Hazon completed an ophthalmology residency at the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot, Israel, in January 2010. During his residency, he was appointed chief resident and was awarded two awards of excellence: Outstanding Resident Award for the Kaplan Medical Center; and Outstanding Resident Award for the School of Medicine, Hebrew University and Hadassah, Jerusalem, Israel.

Thereafter, Dr. Shoham-Hazon pursued the highly competitive fellowship at the University of Toronto, with the world renowned, Dr. Ike Ahmed. This was a three-year fellowship which included clinical, surgical and research aspects of glaucoma, advanced anterior segment & IOL surgery (GAASS). During his fellowship, Dr. Shoham-Hazon received numerous awards for presentations in international conferences and research grants for numerous research studies.

During Dr. Shoham-Hazon's career, he has transitioned from practices of different types, ranging from academic practice to independent and private practice. He is currently practicing GAASS in independent practice in Atlantic Canada - Miramichi, NB.

Dr. Shoham-Hazon has academic affiliations with Dalhousie and Memorial universities as assistant and clinical assistant professor, respectively.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Shoham-Hazon has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Alcon
2. Allergan
3. Bayer
4. IOPtima
5. Iridex
6. Novartis

Devesh Varma, BEng, MD, FRCSC

Dr. Varma is recognized across Canada as a leader in ophthalmology. He specializes in the full range of glaucoma surgery performing a full spectrum of complex as well as newer minimally invasive procedures. In addition to routine and refractive cataract surgery, he has particular expertise in high risk cataracts, the repair of complications from cataract surgery and reconstruction of the front portion of the eye. He graduated first in his class in Engineering at Dalhousie University, then completed his medical school in Halifax, a residency in ophthalmology in Saskatoon and a fellowship in glaucoma and advanced anterior segment surgery at the University of Toronto under Dr. Ike Ahmed.

In 2010, Dr. Varma joined the Prism Eye Institute - a large multidisciplinary practice with locations in Mississauga and Brampton where he is now a senior partner. He has served over 100,000 patients, performed over 7,000 surgeries and over 15,000 laser procedures. Dr. Varma operates at Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga, Kensington Eye Institute and TLC Mississauga.

Dr. Varma is an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Toronto, where he leads undergraduate ophthalmology teaching at the Mississauga campus, teaches residents, fellows and delivers a wide variety of continuing education programs for practicing physicians. He also chairs the Emerging Leaders Program for Ophthalmologists at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. Dr. Varma actively conducts research and has special interests in angle closure glaucoma and new technologies, having authored over 20 publications and delivered over 100 presentations at national and international conferences.

Financial disclosure: Dr. Varma has/had an affiliation (financial or otherwise) with a for-profit and/or not-for-profit organization:

1. Alcon
2. Allergan
3. Bausch+Lomb
4. Glaukos
5. Johnson & Johnson Vision
6. Labtician
7. Labtician-Thea
8. New World Medical
9. Santen
10. Takeda
11. Vizzario