Long Beach, California, and Paris, France couldn’t be more different places.
But they had one thing in common this year: both hosting the best of the best retina specialists and industry in the world.
And so, anyone with a serious interest in the posterior segment either were flocking to the beach this year, or catching sights of the Eiffel Tower at some point.
As a retina connoisseur, I had the distinct pleasure of visiting both locations.
There, I found as usual a group of movers & shakers worthy of some commentary.
So without further ado, let’s dive in to see who’s who in the American and European retina crowd.
ASRS Long Beach
- Team Neurotech (Dr. Roger on the left and Jim Mazzo in the middle)
First off, we headed to the Fairmont Breakers hotel in Long Beach, where during dinner Jim Mazzo introduced me to Dr. Roger Goldberg (more on him below in the Euretina section). Jim is executive chair of Neurotech, which recently received FDA approval for its encapsulated cell therapy Encelto for macular telangiectasia type 2 (MacTel).
READ MORE: FDA Approves Neurotech’s ENCELTO for Treatment of Macular Telangiectasia Type 2
But Jim also is a member of the Funky Jacket Club, who along with Laurie Ferguson, is planning a suite event of the Funky Jacketed in Orlando, alongside AAO. And so when Jim mentioned Roger might be a good candidate, we took the recommendation seriously in Paris. Keep reading for further details…
- Laura Pillai
Congratulations are in order for Laura Pillai of Optomed, for the launch of Optomed Lumo, a next-generation handheld fundus camera that will help bring retinal imaging into primary care. It was recently cleared under the FDA PJZ product code.
The field of oculomics is growing, and so there is demand for high quality retinal imaging to support the study of systemic health signals that can be observed in the retina, the company noted.
READ MORE: Retinal Imaging and AI-Powered Analysis in the Palm of Your Hand
- Dr. Jay Chhablani
“I presented the first time results of Phase I/II data of Ocugen’s OCU410 for geographic atrophy,” said Jay. “Superb results at month 12 after single subretinal gene therapy injection.”
Specifically, the study analyzes safety and efficacy of OCU410 for geographic atrophy secondary to dry AMD. Exciting times ahead.
- Arthur Chan
Arthur recently announced a change in career from Tarsus to Harrow, which he was now representing at ASRS, and LinkedIn exploded in support, with 796 reactions currently.
“We’re a growing pharmaceutical company, committed to patients first and ensuring accessibility of medicines, bringing together trusted leaders in eyecare who share this common goal,” Arthur wrote. Congrats again Arthur!
- Dr. Manish Nagpal
I first enjoyed the company of Dr. Manish Nagpal around his AVRTT meeting in Ahmedabad, India, where he also resides, many years ago.
And so it was a surprise to see Manish just as our team was about to head off to the same city for APACRS this year.
Manish also represented Team Asia, alongside Team Europe and Team of the Americas at the Novel Surgical Summit at the ASRS. Dr. Hussain A. Khaqan was on the same team, who we get to next…
- Dr. Hussain A. Khaqan
Hussain was all a twitter about the upcoming EVRS meeting, and he should be. European retina surgeons of this prestigious society are headed to…Cancun, Mexico this year!
The meeting takes place from the 12-15 of November, 2025 at the Kempinski Hotel Cancun.
The website looks exciting. Check it out: https://www.evrsmeeting.com/
- Dr. Inoue Makoto (left)
For a long time, Inoue was a virtual friend on my Facebook feed. Then, he made an appearance at ASRS, and I was delighted to meet him.
And here’s the thing. Inoue wasn’t touting his own accomplishments at ASRS on social media. He was celebrating that of others.
“Congratulations, Prof. Jerzy Nawrocki, for the 2025 Founders Award of ASRS,” he wrote. “Since you invented the ILM flap technique, we can treat many patients, especially highly myopes. You deserve this.”
Specifically, as an ASRS presentation noted, Jerzy in collaboration with his wife and daughter (both also MDs and PhDs) pioneered ILM flap technique to repair a wide variety of macular holes.
But, much respect to Inoue for celebrating the success of such a pioneer in the way he did, as well.
- Dr. Judy Kim
Judy was the president of ASRS from 2023-2024, which is amazing because she’s been such a great friend and supporter of Media MICE over the years.
She’s also been super active all over the world, as I still remember her at a Vitreoretina Society of India (VRSI) meeting many years ago.
She always greets with a warm, gentle smile, despite being a KOL titan in this field. That’s a wonderful thing.
Congrats Judy, on all your influence and calm, warm demeanor.
- Team Roche
Meeting representatives from Australia and the global Roche group was exciting, as Roche has a lot happening these days.
In fact, positive data is still coming out around the Euretina meeting just concluded in Paris.
“Data from the single-arm SALWEEN study showed Vabysmo resulted in clinically meaningful vision gains and retinal drying over a year in polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy (“PCV”), a vision-threatening subtype of nAMD that is especially common in Asia,” according to Zacks Equity Research. “Per RHHBY, Vabysmo also had a clinically meaningful impact on the abnormal, polyp-like blood vessels characteristic of PCV, with these lesions completely resolving in more than 60% of patients and inactivation of polypoidal lesions in the majority (86%) of eyes.”
READ MORE: Roche Unveils Positive Data for Faricimab in Treating PCV
Congrats to the Roche team for continuing to support such a blockbuster.
- Megan Robinson
It’s always great to catch up with Megan, of BVI.
The team recently was recognized for a Product Launch Award in the Medical Device Network Excellence Awards 2025. This involved the introduction of Serenity and Serenity Toric IOLs.
Lots has been going on, as the company also received the 2025 Research and Development Award for the Leos Laser Endoscopy Ophthalmic System, which got 510(K) clearance from the FDA earlier this year.
READ MORE: BVI Medical Receives FDA Clearance for Leos Laser System in Glaucoma Surgery
Other awards also were forthcoming from the same awards group. Congrats to BVI.
Euretina Paris
- Dr. Sandro di Simplicio
Beyond being a doctor, Sandro is a runner. And while I’m not always checking his times or progress (he’s too fast for me), I do consider him a model of running athleticism, which helps push me further in my own health pursuits.
Recently, I did a 18 km run from my home in Da Nang, and into mountainous terrain in Son Tra peninsula, finishing up at the renowned Intercontinental hotel.
Sandro in spirit was with me on that run. I appreciate him greatly.
- Dr. Ambreen Kalhoro Tunio
Ambreen has been a thoughtful LinkedIn connection for some time now, but we got to meet live at a Paris lunch, coincidentally.
On a lark, she came up at a conference-adjacent restaurant and introduced herself. I was so glad to see her as I have noticed when she engaged on LinkedIn.
Isn’t it a wonderful thing nowadays that even without having met someone, you feel like you’ve known them for sometime upon first introduction in some cases. That’s the positive power of social media I think we can all get behind.
- Seba Leoni
Alcon’s Seba Leoni was great to talk to at Euretina, as Alcon has had an impressive line-up of products launching across the globe.
Here, the UNITY VCS and CS systems were buzzing, as Alcon put on an event to spearhead the support of these products. Read more here: Alcon Rolls Out UNITY VCS and CS Systems for Cataract and Vitreoretinal Surgery
We saw the excitement around the launch of these products earlier in the year in the U.S., then in India, and now to see them coming to Europe seems like the right place at the right time.
Congrats, Seba.
- ESCRS Leadership
It was fantastic, as always seeing ESCRS President-Elect Burkhard Dick. Here, we had a fantastic meet-up to talk about the future of the partnership in 2026 and beyond.
Burkhard is both an innovative surgeon and also a warm soul, and that’s why I like him so much as my friend. He blends aspects of his stunning personality seamlessly, making him a real renaissance man.
Flanked by ESCRS CEO Tom Ogilvie-Graham and Brad Fundingsland (another major ESCRS supporter), it felt like the corridors of ESCRS were open to creativity like never before. I just love it.
- Dr. Roger Goldberg
If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then everything you need to know about Roger and my escapade at Euretina is here in this LinkedIn post. Check it out!
- Dr. Arshad Khanani
Speaking of which, Arshad also got a funky jacket, for very good reason. Check it out!
- Team Astellas
Having just met up with Jodie in Singapore, it was great reconnecting with more of the team here at Euretina. Jodie comes from the creative agency world, and so she understands the nature of our collaborations through and through. It’s just easy breezy talking to her about ways to drive forward market success, and so we have some great common ground, including both being headquartered in Singapore.
Jodie, it was a blast!
- Stefan Scheidl
Well, we did it. Back at CTS Las Vegas, Stefan and I dined together and made plans to meet up in Paris. And it was great to meet just as promised. In fact, I didn’t realize it but he had already interacted with my colleague Brandon Winkeler at a previous show, so they knew each other. My, how our team engages in ways that are unknown to me. Great to see you Stefan!
- Adel Bencheikh
I felt very happy for Adel as he has been a very patient man, waiting for certain device approvals. And, he got them.
The Xephilio OCT-R1 is the latest to have regulatory clearance in Europe. According to Adel, it has the major benefits of being a high resolution OCT, a high resolution retina camera for fundus imaging, also provides anterior segment visualization, and is a fraction of the price of other devices.
Congrats, Adel!
- Monika Ranta
Monika, you made the list! Only just. Just kidding. It has been great being a friend over the years, and I see you coming out of your color shell now, huh? It’s always great interacting at these shows and I wish you all the best for the rest of 2025 and beyond. You truly deserve it.
Well, that’s a wrap for the best of ASRS Long Beach and Euretina Paris movers & shakers. We barely get a breath as we’re going right into ESCRS Copenhagen mode this week. See you there!
Check out our Euretina 2025 coverage here.