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.

A cornerstone of the Retina & Eye community, Dr. Ronald Frenkel founded the East Florida Eye Institute in 1989 and has been instrumental in advancing ophthalmological care on the Treasure Coast. Specializing in conditions such as Cataracts, Diabetic Retinopathy, and Macular Degeneration, Dr. Frenkel's commitment to excellence ensures patients receive cutting-edge care. A former professor at the prestigious Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, his achievements include the Distinguished Alumni Award from Kresge Eye Institute and the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Achievement Award. With distinguished training, including a Glaucoma Fellowship at Harvard, Dr. Frenkel's contributions to the field, both as a speaker and a researcher in over 90 clinical trials, position him as a luminary in retina and eye care. 

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. 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.

Christopher Anderson is a Chambers-ranked health care transactional and regulatory attorney who works with private equity funds, venture capitalists, strategic investors, lenders, institutional and professional healthcare providers, telehealth/health tech companies, and life science companies in connection with planning, structuring, and executing transactions and other strategic business arrangements in the healthcare industry. Chris is the co-head of the Healthcare Transactions and the Virtual and Digital Health practices.

His transactional experience includes M&A, divestitures, joint ventures corporate reorganization and other affiliations. He regularly leads large-scale transactions managing a team of subject matter experts as well as acting as a health care regulatory and transactional authority in other firm deals.

His hospital-physician integration experience encompasses transactions and other partnership arrangements for health systems, ASCs (ambulatory surgery centers), large physician groups, and other ancillary providers, as well as the formation of care coordination entities, joint ventures, pay-for-performance and gain sharing programs, co-management agreements, ACOs (accountable care organizations), clinically integrated networks, and other partnership opportunities. He has structured innovative arrangements between for-profit entities and nonprofit providers and/or quasi-governmental entities that have led to the preservation of community health care assets and simultaneously safeguarded investor value.

Chris’s regulatory practice includes advising clients on various fraud and abuse and self-referral matters, HIPAA and other data security compliance issues, Medicare program requirements, state licensure, certificate of need, corporate practice of medicine, and fee-split problems.

He has written and spoken extensively on the applications of health care law and is an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago, co-leading an annual class on health care law, regulation, and clinical ethics.

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.

Dr. Yasha S. Modi is a board-certified ophthalmologist and vitreoretinal surgeon based in New York, New York. He is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the region, including NYC Health and Hospitals–Bellevue, NYU Langone Hospitals, and Dutchess Ambulatory Surgical Center. He received his medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine and has been in practice for more than a decade.

Dr. Modi specializes in the management and surgical treatment of diseases affecting the vitreous, retina, and choroid. His clinical expertise includes repairing retinal detachments and retinal tears, treating complications of diabetic retinopathy, addressing macular holes and epiretinal membranes, and performing secondary sutured intraocular lens implantation. In addition, he has extensive experience in managing cataracts, glaucoma, and a wide spectrum of other retinal and ophthalmic conditions.

At Tisch Hospital and the Ambulatory Care Center, Dr. Modi and his team are dedicated to providing the highest standard of personalized retinal care. They employ advanced imaging techniques to ensure accurate diagnoses and optimal treatment outcomes while tailoring care to each patient’s unique needs. Dr. Modi is committed to combining the latest evidence-based research with compassionate, individualized patient care.

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Modi is actively engaged in research on retinal vascular diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and vein occlusion, retinal drug toxicity, age-related macular degeneration, and the surgical outcomes of retinal detachment. He has published more than 35 peer-reviewed papers in ophthalmology and is the coauthor of The Yale Guide to Surgical Ophthalmology. He also contributes to medical education and has recently led a continuing education course on managing retinal vein occlusions.

Dr. Modi accepts a wide range of insurance plans, including Medicare, Aetna, Humana, Cigna, Blue Cross, and UnitedHealthcare.

Steven R. Sarkisian, Jr., MD is the founder and CEO of Oklahoma Eye Surgeons, PLLC, specializing in premium cataract and glaucoma surgery with a focus on helping patients achieve glasses-free vision through advanced technologies and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS).

A pioneer in ophthalmic innovation, Dr. Sarkisian was the first in Oklahoma to implant the PanOptix trifocal lens and perform groundbreaking procedures such as the iStent, iStent Inject, Xen Gel Stent, and canaloplasty. He was also the first in the U.S. to use the OMNI device and the first worldwide to use the TRAB360 and VISCO360 surgical systems.

Previously, he served as Director of the Glaucoma Service and Fellowship at the Dean McGee Eye Institute and as Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oklahoma. He has been a principal investigator in numerous FDA clinical trials, contributing to the development of several next-generation glaucoma implants and sustained-release drug delivery systems.

Dr. Sarkisian is the co-author of “Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery: A Practical Guide” and serves on the editorial boards of multiple journals, including the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Glaucoma Today, and Glaucoma Physician.

Recognized nationally, he has been listed among The Best Doctors in America, Oklahoma Super Doctors, and America’s Top Ophthalmologists. Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, he is an active member of the American Glaucoma Society, ASCRS, and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Dr. Sarkisian resides in Edmond, Oklahoma, with his wife Anne and their four children.