Dr. Sophie J. Bakri is a vitreoretinal surgeon and Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. She specializes in the medical and surgical management of complex retinal disorders, including retinal detachment, macular holes, and epiretinal membranes. She also treats age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, central serous retinopathy, macular telangiectasia (MacTel), and retinal vein occlusion using intravitreal medications, laser photocoagulation, photodynamic therapy, and cell-based therapies.

Dr. Bakri is actively involved in clinical trials investigating long-acting drug delivery, gene therapy, and surgical outcomes. Her clinical approach integrates advanced imaging, evidence-based protocols, and refined surgical techniques to optimize patient care. She is widely published in the field of retina and participates in national ophthalmology leadership and editorial boards. Dr. Bakri is also deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of ophthalmologists and advancing research that directly improves patient outcomes.

Dr. Gregory L. Skuta is the David W. Parke II, MD Professor, Vice Chair for Faculty Development and External Relations, and Regents’ Professor at the Dean McGee Eye Institute and the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine’s Department of Ophthalmology. A faculty member since 1992, he served as President and CEO of the Institute and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology from 2009 to 2021. A native of Illinois, he earned his BS and MD from the University of Illinois, completed residency at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as chief resident, and pursued a glaucoma fellowship at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute. He is widely recognized for his clinical and research expertise in wound healing in glaucoma filtering surgery and glaucoma clinical trials.

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Dr. Skuta has authored more than 120 publications and served in prominent leadership roles, including President of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American Glaucoma Society. He has been a principal investigator in landmark NIH-sponsored glaucoma studies and continues to hold leadership positions such as Executive Vice President of the American Glaucoma Society and chair of the AAO’s Foundation Advisory Board. His many honors include the AAO Life Achievement Honor Award, the AGS President’s Award, and recognition as one of America’s Top Ophthalmologists. He lives in Edmond, Oklahoma with his wife Anne, enjoys music, travel, and cinema, and treasures time with their three children and two grandchildren.

Dr. Justis P. Ehlers is the Norman C. and Donna L. Harbert Endowed Chair of Ophthalmic Research and Director of the Tony and Leona Campane Center for Excellence in Image-Guided Surgery and Advanced Imaging Research at the Cleveland Clinic’s Cole Eye Institute, where he also serves on the vitreoretinal service and recently promoted to Vice Chair of Operations for the Cole Eye Institute at Cleveland Clinic. He joined Cleveland Clinic in 2010.

He earned his undergraduate degree summa cum laude at the University of Notre Dame, his MD from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, completed residency at Wills Eye Institute (Chief Resident 2004–2005), and fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery and disease at Duke Eye Institute.

Clinically, he specializes in medical and surgical management of vitreoretinal diseases including macular degeneration, retinal vascular disease, diabetic retinopathy, retinal detachment, trauma, and macular disorders. He has led numerous clinical trials, including large intraoperative OCT studies, and his research focuses on advanced imaging, biomarker discovery, and integrating imaging into surgery. He directs a multi-disciplinary research team and has received multiple NIH grants.

Dr. Ehlers has authored over 180 peer-reviewed papers, co-edited three books (including The Wills Eye Manual, 5th Edition), and presented more than 200 abstracts. He serves on the AAO Council and ASRS Board of Directors. His work has been recognized with honors including the AAO Senior Achievement Award, ASRS Senior Honor Award, AAO Secretariat Award, Cleveland Clinic Innovation Awards, and “Top 40 Under 40.”

Dr. Glenn Jaffe is an accomplished vitreoretinal specialist, educator, and researcher with an extensive career in both clinical care and academic medicine. He completed his MD at the University of California San Francisco, followed by residency training at UCSF Fresno and a vitreoretinal fellowship at the Eye Institute of the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Dr. Jaffe has led groundbreaking clinical and basic science research in uveitis and retinal diseases. He has served as principal investigator on numerous funded studies, including pivotal trials of sustained drug delivery implants for uveitis and diabetic macular edema, as well as investigations of systemic therapies such as an oral ganciclovir prodrug for CMV retinitis. His work has advanced the use of ultrasonography and optical coherence tomography (OCT) for diagnosing macular edema across a spectrum of ocular diseases. His basic research program focuses on cytokine-driven mechanisms in proliferative vitreoretinopathy, an important intraocular wound healing disorder.

In addition to his research, Dr. Jaffe is deeply committed to education and mentorship. He trains residents, fellows, post-doctoral students, and medical students in vitreoretinal surgery and clinically relevant research. He is a mentor for Duke University’s third-year medical student research program and serves as a respected educator at national and international meetings, contributing to the advancement of ophthalmology worldwide.

I received an undergraduate degree with honors from Columbia College, medical school training at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons and completed an ophthalmology residency and surgical vitreoretinal fellowship at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, where I was selected by the faculty to serve as the Chief Retina Fellow. My research career started as an undergraduate at Columbia College where, in conjunction with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Defense, I evaluated the implications of microgravity on early developmental patterning with scientific experiments launched on the space shuttle Discovery (STS-70) and the space shuttle Columbia (STS-78). I am currently the Associate Dean of Clinical Compliance, Chair of the General Faculty Council, Vice-Chair of Research, Vice-Chair of Compliance, Chief of the Retina Service, Director of Teleophthalmology, and Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Currently, my clinical and translational research efforts focus on four broad areas: ocular gene and cellular therapy, novel therapeutic targets for ocular neovascularization, complex vitreoretinal surgical techniques, and retinal imaging. I have participated as a principal investigator in over three-dozen prospective clinical trials and laboratory investigations. I have authored over 270 scientific publications, given nearly 250 invited lectureships worldwide, and serve on the Editorial Board and as a scientific reviewer to a number of major journals. In addition to my scientific efforts, I have garnered a reputation as a world renowned medical and surgical vitreoretinal specialist; my clinical practice draws patients from all regions of the world. For my academic and clinical work, I have won numerous academic and scientific awards including the Schepens Eye Research Institute Joint Clinical Research Center Pilot Project Grant, the Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Fellowship Award, the Ronald G. Michels Foundation Fellowship Award, the Paul Kayser International Fellowship Award, American Society of Retina Specialists Rhett Buckler Award, and the Research to Prevent Blindness Physician-Scientist Award. For my contributions to ophthalmology, I have received the Honor and Senior Honor Awards from the American Society of Retina Specialists and the Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. I was also among a select group of retina specialists worldwide (and the youngest) to be elected by his peers as a Charter Member of the Retina Hall of Fame. I have also been named to several regional, national and international Top Doctors lists, including The Ophthalmologist Power List Top 40 Under 40 Ophthalmologist Worldwide, OSN Retina 150 Leading Innovators in Surgical and Medical Retina, Castle Connolly’s Top Reginal Doctors, and New York Super Doctors.

Mitchell P. Weikert, M.D., M.S. is a Professor at the Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine. Prior to pursuing a career in medicine, Dr. Weikert received degrees in both electrical and biomedical engineering and worked as a design engineer in the petroleum industry. He obtained his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine, where he graduated with honors. During his ophthalmology residency, completed at the Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine, he served as Chief Resident during his final year of training. He completed his fellowship in cornea, cataract, and refractive surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine’s John. A. Moran Eye Center.

Dr. Weikert served as the Residency Program Director at Baylor from 2012 to 2023 and the Medical Director of the Lions Eye Bank of Texas from 2010 to 2016. His research interests include biometry, intraocular lens calculations, biomedical optics, and anterior segment imaging. He has authored 100 peer-reviewed articles and 23 book chapters, and he has edited 3 textbooks. He is a recipient of the Baylor College of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus and Rising Star Awards, the University of Utah Moran Eye Center’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, the AAO Secretariat, Achievement, and Senior Achievement Awards, the ASCRS Educator Award, the AAO Charles D. Kelman Lectureship, and the ASCRS Binkhorst Medal, and was recently recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s top 200 ophthalmologists.