Eyeworld

President's Message Dear Cornea Society members, I hope you were able to make it to San Diego for the recent World Cornea Congress (WCC) because it turned out to be a terrific meeting. The invited speakers did a great job. In fact, the "Inflammation and Infection" session was so popular that security actually had to limit the number of additional people who could enter the room for a few minutes until we were able to fill in empty seats. The free papers were excellent, as were the posters. The Opening Ceremo- ny session was packed. I'm sure it wasn't to hear me speak but rather to listen to Mark Mannis, MD's brief video on the history of the Society and WCC and then watch the incredible show by the dance troupe Freelusion. We tried something new this year and added luncheonettes both days where we invited industry to make brief presentations during lunch if attendees wanted to stay and listen. These turned out to be quite popular. And you can't go wrong with San Diego—the convention center and many hotels within walking distance are wonderful, the view of the water can't be beat, and the weather was superb! I can tell you, it is a great feeling when you can look back and know that the months (and even years) of work were worth it. Such an event takes a huge amount of planning. Gail Reggio, our executive director, did a terrific job organizing the meeting. The program co-chairs, Marian Macsai, MD, Donald Tan, MD, and I, and the Program Committee, Michael Belin, MD, Kathy Colby, MD, Terry Kim, MD, Barry Lee, MD, and Enzo Sarnicola, MD, all worked hard to make sure the meeting went off without a hitch. During my Opening Ceremony speech, I acknowledged the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery's (ASCRS) important role in organizing this meeting. We could not have done it without them, and they deserve a lot of the credit for the meeting's success. However, I was remiss in not also giving ASCRS, and executive director Dave Karcher in particular, credit for their part in the growth and success of the Cornea Society over the past 10 years or so. When Ed Holland, MD, and Dr. Mannis were making plans for the WCC V to be held in 2005, the Society had fewer than 400 members and less than $25,000 in the bank. With the encouragement of Dave Karcher, they took the bold step of deciding to hire a full-time executive director for the Society. Gail Reggio (who was working for ASCRS) was hired to help run the Society. They then took a gamble and chose to move the WCC in 2005 to right before the ASCRS meeting in Washington, D.C. Previously it was held adjacent to the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology meeting. Dave Karcher had faith in the Society and felt a joint effort could be a win-win situation both short term for the WCC V and long term for other collaborations. ASCRS was extremely generous in their financial and administrative support of that WCC in Washington, D.C. The truth is, we could not have run that meeting without them. WCC V was a huge success and catapulted the Cornea Society to become the premier professional society it is today. Its success led to the first Cornea Day at ASCRS the following year, co-sponsored by the Society and the ASCRS Cornea Clinical Committee, a tradition that continues to this day. While we are very excited to hold the WCC VIII meeting in Singapore from July 8–9, 2020, in association with the Asia-Pacific Association of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons annual meeting, we will continue to partner with ASCRS on WCC VIII and many other projects. The collaboration between the Society and ASCRS continues to be a win-win, and we look forward to working together closely for many years to come. In the next newsletter, I'll update you on the Fellows Educational Summit from October 15–18 in Tampa, Fla., and our plans for the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Las Vegas in November. I wish you a wonderful spring and summer. Sincerely, Christopher J. Rapuano, MD President Christopher J. Rapuano, MD Cornea Society News – published quarterly by the Cornea Society 2

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