Home to Mardi Gras parades, Jackson Square and fresh beignets from Café Du Monde, New Orleans will be the backdrop for the 2015 American Academy of Optometry (AAO) meeting from Oct. 7-10.

Academy 2015 promises to surpass even last year’s Denver meeting, which was the largest meeting in Academy history, says Joseph P. Shovlin, OD, Academy president-elect and annual meeting chair. 

	“Keep Your Eye on New Orleans” is the American Academy of Optometry’s catch phrase for this year’s conference. Photo: © istock.com/jobsonhealthcare.

The meeting includes more than 300 hours of continuing education and standouts such as the first joint Academy of Ophthalmology and Academy of Optometry symposium, highlighting both disciplines’ collaborative work in pediatric eye care.

Joint Symposium
This landmark joint symposium, titled “Amblyopia and Beyond: Current Evidence-Based Pediatric Eye Care,” will be on Friday, Oct. 9 from 2pm to 4pm. The program will be presented at both the New Orleans meeting and the American Academy of Ophthalmology’s annual meeting in Las Vegas in November. This inaugural program is a united effort to support joint educational initiatives. Evidence-based pediatric eye care will be discussed by Donald Mutti, OD, PhD, Bruce Moore, OD, Susan Cotter, OD, MS, and American Academy of Ophthalmology representatives Jonathan Holmes, MD, Mary Louise Collins, MD, and Jean Ramsey, MD. This is the first time the two Academies have worked together to better prepare and support their members in delivering the highest quality eye care.

Meeting Highlights
“In addition, the plenary features perhaps the most talented team in medicine today,” Dr. Shovlin says. “Drs. Carol and Jerry Shields, co-directors of Ocular Oncology at Wills Eye Hospital, will present a lengthy discussion on ocular melanoma.”

Their luncheon session, “Today’s Research, Tomorrow’s Practice: Recognizing and Treating Ocular Melanomas,” will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 7 from 12pm to 2pm and will highlight how to differentiate between suspicious and non-suspicious pigmented and amelanotic lesions, as well as new treatment and management options. 

Section Standouts at the AAO The AAO meeting in New Orleans offers myriad learning opportunities. Here are the Section and SIG Symposium courses scheduled: Wednesday, Oct. 7 • 10am – 12pm. Academic Medical Center Optometrists SIG Symposium: The Future of Optometrists in Academic Medicine Moderator: Patti Fries, OD. Speakers: Michael F. Chiang, MD, and Susan M. Pollart, MD. • 2pm – 4pm. Anterior Segment Section Symposium: Controversies and Evolutions in the Management of Corneal Infectious Disease Moderator: Paul Karpecki, OD. Speakers: Joseph P. Shovlin, OD, Christine Sindt, OD, and Michael DePaolis, OD. • 2pm – 4pm. Binocular Vision, Perception and Pediatric Optometry Section: ARVO/AAO Joint Symposium: Visual Neural Plasticity: Cells to Systems Moderator: Tawna Roberts, OD, MS. Speakers: R. Douglas Fields, PhD, Benjamin Thompson, PhD, Tara Alvarez, PhD, and Michael Earley, OD, PhD. • 2pm – 4pm. Public Health and Environmental Vision Section Symposium: Global Health and Emerging Diseases 2015 Moderator: Jeffrey L. Weaver, OD. Speakers: Pierre Buekens, MD, John Mason, PhD, and Susan McLellan, MD. • 3pm – 5pm. Nutrition, Disease Prevention and Wellness SIG Symposium: The Role of Carotenoids in Visual Performance and Cognition Moderators: Kimberly Reed, OD, and A. Paul Chous, MA, OD. Speakers: Lisa Renzi, PhD, Dennis Ruskin, OD, and Stuart Richer, OD, PhD. • 7pm – 9pm. Glaucoma Section Symposium: Evidence Based Decision Making in the Management of the Open Angle Suspect Moderator: Richard Madonna, MA, OD. Speakers: Denise Pensyl, OD, MS, Anthony Litwak, OD, and John McSoley, OD. Thursday, Oct. 8 • 10am – 12pm. Neuro-Ophthalmic Disorders in Optometry SIG: 2015 Lawrence Gray Symposium on Neuro-Ophthalmic Disorders Moderator: Leonard Messner, OD. Speakers: Tina Porzukowiak, OD, Nancy Newman, MD, and Valerie Biousse, MD. • 10am – 12pm. Optometric Education Section Symposium: Effective Clinical Teaching: What’s the Best Evidence? Moderators: Michael Giese, OD, and Meredith Whiteside, OD. Speakers: John Littlefield, PhD, and Brenda Talley, MD. • 3:30pm – 5:30pm. Primary Care Section Symposium: Innovative Optometry: Light, Technology, Telemedicine and the Future Moderator: Tina Porzukowiak, OD. Speakers: Nicole Putnam, PhD, Kirk Smick, OD, Charles Kinnaird, OD, Anastas Pass, OD, JD, and Scot Morris, OD. • 7pm – 9pm. Low Vision Section Symposium: Update on the Preferred Retinal Locus: What Have We Learned About Visual Function and the Development of the Pseudofovea in the Context of Macular Disease? Speakers: Nicole C. Ross, OD, MSc, Russell Woods, PhD, MCOptom, Susana Chung, OD, PhD, Kristina Visscher, PhD, and Gary Rubin, PhD. Friday, October 9 • 10am – 12pm. Section on Cornea, Contact Lenses and Refractive Technologies Symposium: Layers, Lenses and Lasers Moderator: Jeffrey Krohn, OD. Speakers: Ronald Krueger, MD, and Jayne Weiss, MD. • 10am – 12pm. Vision in Aging SIG and Public Health and Environmental Vision Section Symposium: Aging in the International Year of Light Moderator: Sue Leat, PhD. Speakers: Alan Lewis, OD, PhD, Jack Werner, PhD, Mariana Figueiro, PhD, and Michael Flanagan, PhD. • 4pm – 6pm. Vision Science Section and Low Vision Section Symposium: New Approaches to Rehabilitation of Visual Field Loss after Brain Damage Moderators: Alex Bowers, MCOptom, PhD, and Nicole C. Ross, OD, MSc. Speakers: Denise Goodwin, OD, Russell Woods, PhD, MCOptom, Alex Bowers, MCOptom, PhD, Alison Lane, PhD, and Krystel Huxlin, PhD. • 4pm – 6pm. Optometric Education Section Hands-On Session: Teaching in the Clinic: Methods of Efficient Education Speakers: Michael Giese, OD, Meredith Whiteside, OD, John Littlefield, PhD, and Brenda Talley, MD. Saturday, October 10 • 10am – 12pm. Retina SIG Symposium: Diabetes: A Comprehensive Team Approach Moderator: Steven Ferrucci, OD. Speakers: A. Paul Chous, MA, OD, Mandeep Brar, MD, and Michael Tolentino, MD.

Another highlight will be the Monroe J. Hirsch Research Symposium, “Research Matters: How Research Changed Practice,” on Thursday, Oct. 8 from 8am to 10am. The symposium will give a bird’s eye view of the steps required to transition from bench to bedside, including the key target areas that drive laboratory-based research and the establishment of diagnostic methodologies to test for and monitor therapeutic and postoperative responses. Speakers will include: Lucia Sobrin, MD, MPH, who will lead a discussion about the impact of the growing field of molecular genetics on patient care and clinical outcomes; Matthew Petroll, PhD, who will present his work on the development and clinical implementation of ophthalmic imaging devices, with an emphasis on confocal microscopy, including data he acquired from the first confocal microscope ever used to image the human cornea; and Andrew Lee, MD, who will speak about the impact of clinical trials, focusing on the Optic Neuritis Treatment Trial’s influence on practice patterns.

The Prentice and Fry Lectures and Awards Program will be held on Friday, Oct. 9 from 8am to 10am. The most deserving optometrists and vision scientists will be honored for their research and dedication to the profession. The Glenn A. Fry and Charles F. Prentice Award recipients will give presentations on their research findings. Clinicians can earn one hour of CE by attending both hours of the program, and a continental breakfast will be provided.

Two investigators, who were supported early on by AOF Ezell Fellowships, will present “Tackling Traumatic Brain Injury” on Friday, Oct. 9 from 10am to 12pm. They will focus on how retinal and visual function is affected by TBI. New measures to quantify traumatic brain injury recovery will also be discussed so that clinicians can make more educated decisions as to whether or not an athlete is ready to return to play. Speakers include Kristine Dalton, OD, PhD, and Andrew Hartwick, OD, PhD.

The meeting will also offer specialty topics (see, Section Standouts at the AAO), including the Anterior Segment Section Symposium: Controversies and Evolutions in the Management of Corneal Infectious Disease on Wednesday, Oct. 7 from 2pm to 4pm. The panel features Paul Karpecki, OD, Dr. Shovlin, Christine Sindt, OD, and Michael DePaolis, OD. The team will review the changing landscape of corneal infectious disease. Old controversies, such as the use of empiric vs. culture-driven treatment strategies and the use of corticosteroids, will be reviewed in light of antimicrobial resistance. They will also consider new practice trends such as the increasing clinical appearance of herpes zoster in the healthy adult population and the use of corneal crosslinking as an antimicrobial strategy. 

Optometrists can earn a maximum of 35 continuing education credit hours during the meeting. Be sure to mark your calendars for some unsurpassed educational opportunities and a hearty dose of New Orleans Cajun flavor.

For more information, go to www.aaopt.org. 

Living it Up in NOLA If you are looking for a break between CE sessions, check out some of these top attractions: Algiers/Canal Ferry. Used by locals on their daily commutes, the ferry also serves as a fast, scenic way to navigate from one end of the city to the other. Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium. Dedicated to over 900,000 species of insects and their relatives, this insectarium gives you a glimpse into the beautiful, exciting world of these curious creatures. Blaine Kern’s Mardi Gras World. This museum also serves as the largest float-building facility in the world. Guided tours give a history of the festival, from the mule-drawn carriages of the past to the sophisticated mega-floats of today. Carousel Gardens Amusement Park. Since 1906, everyone has enjoyed the “flying horses” of City Park’s antique carousel, one of only approximately 100 antique wooden carousels left in the country and the last one in Louisiana. Congo Square. Slaves and free blacks gathered here throughout the 19th century for meetings, open markets and the African dance and drumming celebrations that played a substantial role in the development of jazz. Local voodoo practitioners still consider Congo Square a spiritual base and gather there. French Market. Founded in 1791, New Orleans’ French Market is the oldest public market in the country. This open-air mall features shopping, dining and music in a tradition that is uniquely New Orleans. French Quarter. This is home to some of New Orleans’ best restaurants, art galleries and shops, in addition to the famed Jackson Square and the debauchery of Bourbon Street. Jackson Square. This New Orleans treasure earned its name for one of three bronze statues of Andrew Jackson located in the center of the square. Jackson Square is also the location of an open-air artist colony, where artists display their work on the outside of the iron fence. The National World War II Museum. The country’s official World War II Museum lets you experience America’s role in the war. Don’t miss “Beyond All Boundaries,” a multi-sensory cinematic feature from producer Tom Hanks, playing at the 4D Solomon Victory Theater. Steamboat Natchez. This classic Mississippi riverboat sails three times daily, at 11:30am, 2:30pm and 7pm. Traditional New Orleans jazz is featured and the evening cruise includes dinner (reservations required). Voodoo Museum. Voodoo has always been a significant part of New Orleans culture. This museum strives to preserve this aspect of NOLA history through education and entertainment. The museum explores the mysteries, legends and traditions of voodoo and educates visitors on the influence voodoo has had throughout the city’s history. Find more at www.neworleansonline.com.