Our keynote speakers

We would like to thank our distinguished keynote speakers for their significant contribution to the programme.

Valerie Biousse, MD holds the Reunette Harris Chair of Ophthalmologic Research, and is Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurology in the section of neuro-ophthalmology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA, USA. She serves as Vice Chair for Faculty Affairs, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Neuro-Ophthalmology Fellowship Director in the Department of Ophthalmology at Emory University.

Dr. Biousse is a fellow of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society and of the French Society of Neurology and an elected member of the American Ophthalmology Society and American Neurological Association, and multiple other national and international societies, including the American Academies of Ophthalmology and Neurology and the French Society of Ophthalmology. She serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology as Associate Editor, on the editorial board of Current Opinion in Neurology and of the Journal Stroke. She also serves as the Neuro-Ophthalmology Section Lead for the American Academy of Ophthalmology ONE Network. She currently also serves on the board of directors and is Chair of the Board/Immediate Past President of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. She has more than 500 publications, including scientific articles, book chapters and books, including the primary textbook Neuro-Ophthalmology and Walsh & Hoyt’s Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology, 6th Edition, 2005, and the didactic textbook Neuro-Ophthalmology Illustrated (Thieme, 2009, 2016 and 2019 –awarded “best Neurology book of the year” by the British Medical Association in 2016 and received the “PROSE award” from the American Association of Publishers in 2017). Her current research focuses on four primary areas: (1) idiopathic intracranial hypertension, (2) the use of non-mydriatic fundus photography for the diagnosis of neuro-ophthalmic disease in various clinical settings and deep learning applications, (3) diagnostic errors and referral patterns in neuro-ophthalmology, and (4) ocular manifestations of cerebrovascular diseases.

Clinical Trials for Acute CRAO

Even though Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) has a very poor visual prognosis and is associated with a high risk of recurrent stroke and cardiovascular events,  there is currently no definite guideline for the management and treatment of CRAO. Prof. Dr. Valérie Biousse will delve into a review of existing literature on best practices for the management of acute CRAO and discuss ongoing clinical trials.

Dr. Nancy J. Newman holds the LeoDelle Jolley Chair of Ophthalmology, and is Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurology and Instructor in Neurological Surgery at the Emory University School of Medicine, where she serves as the Director of Neuro-Ophthalmology.  She attended Princeton University, the University of London on a Marshall Scholarship, and Harvard Medical School.  She trained in Internal Medicine and Neurology at the Massachusetts General Hospital where she was Chief Resident in Neurology, and in Neuro-Ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.  She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, the American Neurological Association, and the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society.  She was President of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society from 2014 to 2016, Chair of the Board of Directors from 2016 to 2018, and has since been Senior Vice President for Education. She has served on the Editorial Boards of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, Seminars in Neurology, Journal of the Neurological Sciences and the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology.  She has over 600 publications, including scientific articles, book chapters and books, including the primary textbook in Neuro-Ophthalmology, Walsh & Hoyt’s Clinical Neuro-Ophthalmology, 5^th and 6^th Editions, and the popular manual Neuro-Ophthalmology Illustrated, 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd Editions.  She has received many teaching and service awards nationally.  She has lectured widely throughout the world and is known for her innovative teaching style.  Her main research interests include disorders of the optic nerve and the implementation of nonmydriatic ocular fundus cameras in non-ophthalmic settings.  She is a Trustee Emerita of the Board of Trustees of Princeton University and also served as President of the Princeton University Alumni Association.

Treatment for LHON

Recent advances in our understanding of the natural history and pathophysiology underlying the expression of Leber hereditary optic neuropathy (LHON) has culminated in the development of targeted therapies that over the past decade have entered into clinical trials involving hundreds of LHON patients. The use of idebenone, a synthetic, analogue of ubiquinone that shuttles electrons directly to complex III and has potent anti-oxidant capabilities, was tested in a randomized controlled trial vs placebo in LHON patients with all 3 primary mtDNA mutations in the 2011 RHODOS trial, and subsequently in the natural history-controlled LEROS study, with suggested efficacy, especially for the most common severe mtDNA mutation, 11778G>A (MT-ND4). In parallel, gene therapy studies on LHON patients harboring the 11778G>A (MT-ND4) mutation have been performed worldwide using the concept of allotopic rescue. Published results from the RESCUE (patients with vision loss onset within 6 months treated with unilateral intravitreal gene therapy and contralateral sham injection), REVERSE (patients with vision loss onset within 6-12 months treated with unilateral intravitreal gene therapy and contralateral sham injection), and REFLECT (patients with vision loss onset within 1 year treated with bilateral intravitreal injections with the first-affected eye receiving gene therapy and the second affected eye randomized to either gene therapy or placebo injection) studies have suggested efficacy beyond what is reported for the natural history of the disease. An unexpected improvement in untreated eyes has also been consistently reported. The positive effects appear to be sustained over 5 years of followup. Further studies on gene therapy for LHON are ongoing and planned worldwide.

Dr. Fiona Costello is a Professor, affiliated with the Departments of Clinical Neurosciences and Surgery (Ophthalmology), University of Calgary, and a Clinician Scientist with the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI).  She completed her medical school (1995) and Neurology residency training (2000) at Memorial University of Newfoundland, and then embarked on a clinical fellowship in Neuro-Ophthalmology at the University of Iowa (2000 – 2002). Her fellowship training was supported by an E.A. Baker Scholarship she received from the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.  From 2002 to 2007 she worked as an Assistant Professor in Medicine (Neurology) and Ophthalmology, at the University of Ottawa.  Since 2007, she has run a clinical practice in Calgary as a neuro-ophthalmologist, serving the needs of patients with disorders involving the visual pathways and the central nervous system.

Dr. Costello’s area of research focuses on using the eye as a model for brain disorders including multiple sclerosis and tumors. In 2013, Dr. Costello was named Chair to the Roy and Joan Allen Investigatorship for Vision Research and is working to establish a translational vision research program at the Hotchkiss Brain Institute.  She served as Director, Office of Surgical Research with the Department of Surgery at the University of Calgary from 2013 to 2017.  In 2023, she was appointed Associate Dean of Research (Chairs and Professorships), at the Cumming School of Medicine.   Dr. Costello is currently an editorial board member with several academic journals including the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology, the Journal of Neurology, the Multiple Sclerosis Journal, and Neurology.  She has worked in several leadership roles with the Canadian Neurological Society, the Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation, the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society, the International Women in Multiple Sclerosis Network, and the Americas Committee for Treatment and Research in Multiple Sclerosis.

Papilloedema – Diagnosis and Management in the Modern Era

Dr. Fiona Costello will delve into the following objectives:

• To review barriers and challenges to identifying papilloedema in the clinical arena
• To discuss the role of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in diagnosing syndromes of raised intracranial pressure (ICP) with associated papilloedema
• To highlight new approaches to differentiating papilloedema from other causes of an elevated optic nerve head