The International Committee is pleased to report that there continues to be a strong interest from ex-US colleagues to join the Macula Society. We have continued to see healthy growth in the number of international members.
Macula Society participation in International Conferences:
The Macula Society co-hosted a symposium on Dry AMD during the APVRS annual congress in Singapore.
• Chairs: Dr. Lihteh Wu, Dr. Michael Singer, Dr. Kelvin Teo
• Speakers: Dr. SiriniVas Sadda, Dr. Seung-Young Yu, Dr. Phil Ferrone, Dr. Rick F. Spaide, Dr. Kelvin Teo, Dr. Yuichiro Ogura
• The symposium covered diagnostics, phenotypic variations, therapeutic considerations, and upcoming therapies, and it was well received.
Planned activity during the 2025 Meeting:
The inaugural international members session during the 2024 annual meeting was well received. After discussion with the Exco, we are excited at the opportunity to continue this activity. We thank the Program Committee for identifying the following timeslot:
• International Symposium was held Thursday 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. after the General Session.
International Networking Symposium Synopsis This symposium aims to bring together and network US and International members. Three hot topics have been identified and each will begin with a presentation reviewing current understanding followed by panel discussion.
Special focus will be placed on developing ideas for international collaborations.
Remembering: Ramin Tadayoni, MD, PhD
Aude Courturier, MD, PhD
Topic 1: Myopic Tractional Maculopathy – Current Understanding and Towards a Standardized Nomenclature – Presentation by Kyoko Ohno-Matsui, MD, PhD
Panel Discussion: Kyoko Ohno-Matsui, MD, PhD; Yves Salomon Cohen, MD, PhD; Aude Couturier, MD, PhD; Rick F. Spaide, MD
Topic 2: Retinal Nonperfusion – Reconciling Different Imaging Modalities
Presentation by Sobha Sivaprasad: Retinal Nonperfusion in Diabetes – Current Understanding
Panel Discussion: Jennifer K. Sun, MD, MPH; Stela Vujosevic, MD, PhD, FEBO; David Sarraf, MD; Tien Y. Wong, MBBS, M.Med (Ophth), FRCSE, FANZCO, PhD
Topic 3: Central Serous Chorioretinopathy – Current Understanding
and Future Research Presentation by Jay K. Chhablani, MD
Panel Discussion: Jay K. Chhablani, MD; Jennifer I. Lim, MD, FARVO;
Francine Behar-Cohen, MD, PhD; Andrew J. Lotery, MD, FRCOphth; Hideki Koizumi, MD, PhD
An ongoing Research Project: International Cohort of Central Serous Chorioretinopathy (Project lead: Jay K. Chhablani, MD)
Dr. Chhablani’s update: We have collected more than 1,100 subjects. Data collection is still going on. Image data and curation have already started. We have written the first manuscript on EZ integrity, which is being reviewed by co-authors.
Update of current international Macula Society members’ number: 199
Respectfully,
Gemmy Cheung, MD, Chair International Committee
