Ghada Atta has been a corneal, refractive surgeon specialist in Egypt since 2016. Her interests inclue corneal surgeries, femto, and refractive corrections. Ghada is Head of the Committee for Press, Media and Advertising DAOG e.V. and also a doctoral candidate at the Centre for Ophthalmology at the University Hospital of Cologne and the Faculty of Medicine since January 2019 in collaboration with the Institute of Vision and Bone Regeneration at the PMU University in Salzburg, Austria. She completed her doctorate (Dr.med.) on 20 January 2023 with the grade cum laude.

Ghada completed her thesis "The lymphangiogenic and haemangioma factors affecting the human sclera", including the publication of 3 manuscripts, and won the paper award for the best original research paper - Annual Congress of Sicsso - The International Society of Cornea, Stem Cells and Ocular Surface 2022 and participation in ASCRS 2022 - Washington, USA.

Beatrice Cochener-Lamard is the Head of the Ophthalmology Department in Brest University Hospital (France) since 2000, and professor since 2002. She has been president of the French Society of Ophthalmology (SFO) for three years (2009-2011), is deputy president of the National Association of Ophthalmology (SNOF) and past-president of the French Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (SAFIR). Since 2011, she has been head of the French Academy of Ophthalmology, which is the national professional board of ophthalmology.

Beatrice is involved in the international arena as ESCRS committee member and past-president since 2020, current president of Eucornea and Dean of the University of Medicine and Health Sciences. 

Her main fields of interest are anterior segment, refractive surgery and corneal surgery. In 2013, she was awarded the Legion of Honour, a French distinction of high merit. In terms of research activities, she is a member of the Medical Imaging Laboratory (Brest Inserm LATim), involved in IA and Medicine. Invited to many conferences across the world, she has contributed to more than 200 publications and was in charge of the SFO national report dedicated to Presbyopia in 2012 and associated to the one on Ocular Surface in 2016 and 2 books on refractive surgery published in 2016.

H. Burkhard Dick, M.D., Ph.D., FEBOS-CR

Burkhard Dick was born in a small town by the name of Brake in Northern Germany. After graduating from the local high school, he served for two years as a medical officer with Germany's NATO forces. He attended medical school at the University of Giessen, a city with a strong American presence during the Cold War, where he graduated in 1990, a year that saw German unification and changed Giessen's location where he began his residency in ophthalmology from bordertown at the edge of the Iron Curtain to suddenly being in the country's geographical centre.

Dick became head physician at the University Eye Hospital in 1995 before he moved to the Eye Hospital of the University of Mainz which bears the name of that city's greatest son, Johannes Gutenberg. Here he specialized in refractive and cataract surgery and became head of the hospital's Refractive Surgical Eye CareCenter in 1997. Shortly after becoming a clinical professor in Mainz, the University of Bochumoffered offered Burkhard Dick the position of head and director of its eye clinic and eye research centre which he accepted in 2006. Since then, the Bochum University Eye Clinic has become an internationally renowned institution with a constant output of highly ranked research papers and clinical studies, most of them published in the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the Journal of Refractive Surgery.

Burkhard Dick became one of the first ophthalmic surgeons in Europe to use a femtosecond laser in cataract surgery; to date almost 12,000 eyes have been operated with that technology in Bochum.

For his pioneering work, he has been awarded a number of honours like the Choyce Medal of the British Ophthalmological Society, the Gold Medal Award of the Australian Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the Waring Medal of the Journal of Refractive Surgery and, most recently, the Visionary Award of the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery (AECOS).

He currently serves as the Treasurer of the German Society of Cataract, Refractive and Interventional Surgery (DGII) after being President of the DGII for four years (2016-2020). He is a regular lecturer at international meetings like the AAO, DOG, DOC, DGII, ESCRS, APAO and ASCRS and has instructed fellows in the University Eye Hospital Bochum from 44 different countries in state-of-the-art cataract, refractive, glaucoma and vitreoretinal surgery.

Mor Dickman is an acknowledged anterior segment specialist with expertise in corneal transplantation and complex lens pathologies. His clinical research focuses on improving patient outcomes after corneal transplantation, cataract, and refractive surgery.

He specialises in population-based registry studies and multicentre randomised controlled trials. His fundamental and translational research is in regenerative medicine with a focus on cell therapies to regenerate the cornea.

As Chair of the ESCRS BROSS Working Group, he is committed to promoting inclusion and equity and fostering an environment where everyone feels valued and can realise their full potential. 

Oliver Findl MD MBA FEBO

Oliver Findl, is Professor of Ophthalmology and chairs the Department of Ophthalmology at the Hanusch Hospital, Vienna, Austria. He founded and heads the Vienna Institute for Research in Ocular Surgery (VIROS).

A research fellowship at Children’s Hospital in Boston was followed by residency and an anterior segment surgery fellowship at the Medical University of Vienna. He was a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, for several years.

His research interests are in the fields of optical biometry, presbyopia correcting IOLs, posterior capsule opacification and the pathogenesis of myopia. He has authored over 350 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and is a former president of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) as well as the treasurer of the Austrian Ophthalmological Society.

Thomas Kohnen

Goethe-University
Frankfurt, Germany

Thomas Kohnen is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe-University in Frankfurt, Germany, and he is Visiting Professor of Ophthalmology at the Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, USA.

Prof. Kohnen studied medicine in Germany, Italy, India and the USA before specializing in ophthalmology in 1989. After his residency, he was awarded a 2-year scholarship from the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft) to study at the Cullen Eye Institute in 1995–1996, where he pioneered corneal refractive surgery and developed research tools for IOL quality control. He gained an additional degree in Healthcare Management in 2006–2007.

He is an international expert in the anterior segment with specialization in cataract, intraocular lenses (IOLs), refractive and cornea surgery as well as treatment of glaucoma and retinal problems. His research focuses on IOLs, laser technology and cataract, refractive (in particular now presbyopia) and corneal surgery.

Prof. Kohnen is Editor of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Associate Editor of Der Ophthalmologe, Focal Topic Editor of Klinische Monatsblätter für Augenheilkunde, Ad Hoc Associate Editor of American Journal of Ophthalmology, Editorial Board member of Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology and a frequent peer reviewer for top journals.

He is (co-)author of almost 630 publications, (co-)promotor of 101 PhDs students and gave more than
500 invited lectures.

He is Treasurer and past president of the German Ophthalmological Society (DOG), Past President of the
German Speaking Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (DGII), President of the Verein Rhein-Mainischer Augenärzte, and President of the International Intraocular Implant Club (IIIC).

He is the recipient of several prestigious awards including the American Academy of Ophthalmology Lifetime Achievement Honor Award in 2019, the Gold Medal of the Australasian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons in 2018 as well as the silver (2014) and platinum medal (2019) of the German Ophthalmic Surgery (DOC) and the scientific award of the German Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery (DGII) in 2022.

Artemis has completed two prestigious Corneal Fellowships in Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge and Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead. She is a Fellow of the European Board of Ophthalmology and a member of the Royal College of Physicians of London. 

Artemis sits at the Education Committee of the ESCRS and the Leadership Business Committee of the ESCRS, with continuous involvement in projects that aim to improve educational opportunities and leadership skills for ophthalmologists around Europe. She is also a Council Member of the MCLOSA and ESASO societies. 

Artemis has authored a number of peer-reviewed publications, including randomised controlled trials on endothelial corneal transplant techniques. She is an invited speaker in national and international ophthalmology conferences and a guest reviewer in leading ophthalmology journals.

Laura Maubon FRCOphth, BMBS, BMedsci, PGCertSurg Ed, is a consultant ophthalmologist specialised in anterior segment surgery, ocular surface disease and surgical education. She is a mother of two and works as a locum consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London.

Recently, she completed teaching and further studies in surgical educational at Imperial College London. She is an active member of the BOSS research group, ESCRS YO and programme committees. Prior to this she led the UK (UKISCRS) young ophthalmologist programme for 4 years whilst completing ophthalmic training.

After undergraduate and foundation medicine in Nottinghamshire she completed ophthalmic training rotating through Guys and St Thomas Hospital, Kings College Hospital, completing fellowships in education, cornea and external diseases at Moorfields.

With 30 years of experience in the healthcare field, Kris's background combines entrepreneurship, business development, market assessment and commercial strategy, along with clinical and regulatory expertise. 

In 2005, Kris founded KAM Communications to provide medical communications services to start-ups and established ophthalmology companies. This was followed in 2008 by Medeuronet, the first pan-European company focused on supporting medical device start-ups entering the market. 

As founder and president of Medevise Consulting, Kris leads a senior-level, global team to support ophthalmic companies in bringing innovative technologies to market. She is supporting by a board of directors which includes some of the most experience entrepreneurs in ophthalmology. The company includes clients with a custom approach that can include market access, regulatory and clinical support, and medical communications.

Sotiria Palioura, MD, MSc, PhD is a US-trained cataract, cornea and ocular surface disease specialist currently based in Athens, Greece.  She is certified by both the American and European Boards of Ophthalmology. She serves as Voluntary Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute (Miami, Florida, USA), as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at Yale School of Medicine (New Haven, Connecticut, USA), as Visiting Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at University of Cyprus (Nicosia, Cyprus), and as Medical Director of the NAM III Eye Bank at Archbishop’s Makarios III Hospital (Nicosia, Cyprus). Within ESCRS, she is a member of the Cornea and Education Committees and the Diversity & Inclusivity Working Group.

Filomena Ribeiro

Filomena Ribeiro is Chair of the Ophthalmology Department of Hospital da Luz Lisbon and is professor of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Lisbon.

Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Lisbon with the dissertation “Personalized Pseudophakic eye model for IOL power calculation” (University of Lisbon) and has a postgraduate degree in Leadership (PAAO) and management for healthcare institutions (AESE Business School) and is Fellow of the European Board of Ophthalmology.

She was Chair of the Portuguese Group of Ocular Inflammation of the Portuguese Society of Ophthalmology and of the Portuguese Group of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Board and Secretary of the Portuguese Ophthalmology College and National representative of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS).

She has developed and is Director of the Cataract Surgery simulated courses in Portugal. Nacional Ophthalmology Jury and EBO and EBO-CR Examiner.

Researcher at the Visual Sciences Research Centre, at the Plasma Physics, Laser and nuclear Fusion Department at Lisbon University and PI of the Learning Health Vision Group at Hospital da Luz Lisbon. Her research interests are in the field of IOL power calculation, presbyopia correction and cataract surgery innovation. Filomena is currently the President of the ESCRS.

Sarah Schimansky MB BCh BAO MEd FEBO FRCOphth is an ophthalmology trainee in the UK with special interest in adult and paediatric corneal and anterior segment surgery.

- Medical Doctor (MD), Fellow of the European Board of Ophthalmologists (FEBO)

- Lisbon, Portugal

Anterior segment, Cornea and Refractive Surgery consultant since 2019 at Hospital Fernando Fonseca and Hospital da Luz in Lisbon

Member of the ESCRS Young Ophthalmologists for Sustainability and co-chair of Eyesustain’s Global Council leadership committee. Enthusiast by medical training, I coordinate/lecture at resident courses organized locally and by the Portuguese ophthalmic society, and I enjoy taking part in surgical training at Wetlabs whether at national and ESCRS congresses.

AFFILIATION:

Emeritus head and chief of the department of ophthalmology of the

Antwerp University Hospital and University of Antwerp,

appointed as such at both institutions (2017-Current).

CEO of the P.E.D Tassignon company for medical expertise in

Ophthalmology (2017- current)

Coach educator at University Hospital VUBrussel (2023-current)

Coach at Infosan-Romania (2024-current

KEY POSITIONS:

          Treasurer Belgian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery

          President committee Fellow Eur. Board Ophthalmol. Exam on Cataract

and Refr. Surg (FEBOS-CR)

           Immediate past president of Academia Ophthalmology Internationalis (Chair L)

           Chair IV of the European Academy Ophthalmology

            Past Chair program committee WOC 2020-2022

            Chair Anterior Segment section of European Vision Institute Clinical

 Trial-network (EVICR-net)

           Member Education Committee ESCRS

           Member advisory committee European Board of Ophthalmology

           President Belgian Foundation for Research in Ophthalmology

           President Belgian Society Prevention of Blindness

           Co editor of Journal Cataract Refractive Surgery/ section review papers

           Co editor of Ophthalmic Research/ section cataract