NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE ​at ARVO 2025

The 2025 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting will take place from Sunday, May 4, to Thursday, May 8, in Salt Lake City, Utah, where many scientists and physicians from Northwestern Medicine will join panels and present research. For more information, check out the schedule below.

​Sunday, May 4

TITLE

Northwestern Medicine PRESENTERS and AUTHORS

TIME and Location
Baseline Deep Capillary Plexus Vessel Density is Correlated with Two-year Retinal Nonperfusion Progression in Diabetic Retinopathy
Amani A. Fawzi, MD
8:00 – 9:45 am
Hall A-E (B0189)
Monitoring Retinal and Limbal Vascular Changes Induced by β-Blockers Using Visible-Light OCT
Hao Zhang, PhD
8:00 – 9:45 am
Hall A-E (A0169)​
Baseline Predictors of Diabetic Retinopathy Complications in a One-Year Longitudinal Study
Amani A. Fawzi, MD
8:00 – 9:45 am
Hall A-E (B0190)
Central and midperipheral retinal ischemia is associated with Low Luminance Visual Acuity of patients with Diabetic Retinopathy
Amani A. Fawzi, MD
1:00 – 1:15 pm
Ballroom F (#500)​
Imaging aqueous humor outflow segmental responses to pilocarpine using robotic visible-light optical coherence tomography
​Cheng Sun, PhD, Hao Zhang, PhD
​1:00 – 2:45 pm
Hall A-E (B0382)
Investigation of two pore types in Schlemm's canal endothelium in flow areas using serial block-face scanning electron microscopy
David Swain, MD, PhD​*
1:00 – 2:45 pm
Hall A-E (B0410)
​
Visible Light OCT for Evaluating Palisades of Vogt
​Cheng Sun, PhD, Hao Zhang, PhD
​1:15 – 1:30 pm
Ballroom I (#522)
​Losartan: a novel therapy for limbal stem cell deficiency
​Dan Xu, PhD, Stephen Miller, PhD, Kurt Lu, MD, Han Peng, PhD, Robert M. Lavker, PhD
​1:30 – 1:45 pm
Ballroom C (#481)
Sustainable Strabismus Surgery: Understanding Waste Produced in Pediatric Ophthalmology’s Most Common Procedure
David J. Palmer, MD, David A. Ramirez, MD
3:15 – 5:00 pm
Hall A-E (B0275)
​​
Ocular and craniofacial neural crest subpopulations: fate mapping and transcriptome analysis in zebrafish  
Antionette Williams, PhD
3:15 – 5:00 pm
Hall A-E (B0567​)
Emerging Therapies for nAMD and DR Outside of Injections
Jeremy A. Lavine, MD, PhD
7:10 pm
Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek

​Monday, May 5

A Novel and Affordable Approach to Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Utilizing ChatGPT
Saeed Mohammadi, MD*, Emmanuel A. Sarmiento, MD*, Manjot K. Gill, MD
​​
8:30 – 10:15 am
Hall A-E (B0479)
​
Defining the Spectrum of Crystallin Gene Associated Ocular and Non-Ocular Manifestations
Alexander Ing, Andy Drackley, Patrick McMullen, PhD, Adam Gordon, PhD, Kai Lee Yap, PhD, Pamela Rathburn, PhD, Brenda Bohnsack, MD​, Jennifer L. Rossen, MD
​
8:30 – 10:15 am
Hall A-E (B0575)
Depth-dependent dispersion compensation method for visible-light optical coherence tomography
​Hao Zhang, PhD, Roman Kuranov, PhD
​8:30 – 10:15 am
Hall A-E (A0118)
IFITM1/OVOL1 axis is a novel regulator of the limbal epithelial stem/ early transient amplifying cell population
Han Peng, PhD, Yongling Zhu, PhD, Jian Xu, PhD, Matthew Schipma, PhD, Ziyou Ren, PhD
​9:00 – 9:15 am
Ballroom C (#1376)
​Choroidal macrophages are necessary for spontaneous choroidal neovascularization
Jeremy A. Lavine, MD, PhD
3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (B0361)
Factors Associated with the Receipt of Premium vs. Standard Intraocular Lens in Patients Undergoing Two Cataract Surgeries
Adovich S. Rivera, MD, PhD, Charlesnika T. Evans, PhD, Abel N. Kho, MD, Paul J. Bryar, MD, Dustin D. French, PhD
​3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (A0226)
Functional imaging of rod-mediated signaling in the ex vivo mouse retina
Greg W. Schwartz, PhD
3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (B0011)
Social Determinants of Health Affecting the Odds of Receiving a Premium vs. a Standard Intraocular Lens After Cataract Surgery
Adovich S. Rivera, MD, PhD, Charlesnika T. Evans, PhD, Abel N. Kho, MD, Paul J. Bryar, MD, Dustin D. French, PhD
3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (A0196)
​​
Ocular macrophages are necessary for choriocapillaris maintenance
Jeremy A. Lavine, MD, PhD
3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (B0355)
​Ocular proangiogenic macrophages are shared across species and neovascular diseases
Jeremy A. Lavine, MD, PhD, Andrew P. Voigt, MD*
3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (B0360)
Role of Social Determinants of Health and Clinical Factors on Visual Outcomes Following Cataract Surgery
Charlesnika T. Evans, PhD, Abel N. Kho, MD, Paul J. Bryar, MD, Dustin D. French, PhD​
3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (A0198)​
Factors Associated With the Receipt of Premium vs. Standard Intraocular Lens in Patients Undergoing Two Cataract Surgeries
Charlesnika T. Evans, PhD, Abel N. Kho, MD, Paul J. Bryar, MD, Dustin D. French, PhD
3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (A0226)
​
Role of Social Determinants of Health on Cataract Surgery Complications
Dustin D. French, PhD, Charlesnika T. Evans, PhD, Abel N. Kho, MD, Paul J. Bryar, MD
3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (A0197)
​
Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Receipt of Diagnostic Testing for Patients with Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy
Jeremy A. Lavine, MD, PhD, Charlesnika T. Evans, PhD, Abel N. Kho, MD, Paul J. Bryar, MD, Dustin D. French, PhD

​
3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (A0201)
​
Sustained suppression of aqueous humor free vascular endothelial growth factor following continuous delivery via the Port Delivery System with ranibizumab in the Pagoda and Pavilion trials
Manjot K. Gill, MD
​
3:00 – 4:45 pm
Hall A-E (B0089)
Integrated visible-light OCT and fluorescence SLO to image retinal ganglion cell axons
​Cheng Sun, PhD, Hao Zhang, PhD, Roman Kuranov, PhD
​3:45 – 4:00 pm
Ballroom I (#1936)

Tuesday, May 6

Effect of Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) on Visual Outcomes of Non-Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis-Associated Pediatric Uveitis
Brenda L. Bohnsack, MD, PhD, David A. Ramirez, MD, ​Shahin Davoudpour, PhD
​
8:30 – 10:15 am
Hall A-E (A0149)
Swept-source OCTA findings 1-year after switch to faricimab in recalcitrant exAMD
Alice T. Lyon, MD, Rukhsana G. Mirza, MD, ​Michael Drakopoulos, MD*
8:30 – 10:15 am
Hall A-E (B0114)
Super-resolution microscopy quantified mitochondrial morphological alterations associated with hyperglycemia in retinal endothelial cells
Hao Zhang, PhD
​8:30 – 8:45 am
Ballroom I (#2740)
Conditional deletion of Itga9 reduces number and proliferation rate of Schlemm’s canal endothelial cells in mice
Benjamin Thomson, PhD, Susan Quaggin, MD
​8:30 – 10:15 am
Hall A-E (A0402)
ID3 is a novel component of the limbal stem/early TA cell population that negatively regulates epithelial cell migration, impacting corneal epithelial wound healing
Han Peng, PhD, Robert M. Lavker, PhD
​8:45 – 9:00 am
Ballroom C (#2706)
Specifications to ACMG-AMP minor allele frequency guidelines for improved interpretation of CYP27A1
Jennifer L. Rossen, MD, ​Alexander Ing, Patrick McMullen, PhD, Adam Gordon, PhD, Kai Lee Yap, PhD, Pamela Rathburn, PhD, Brenda Bohnsack, MD, Andy Drackley​
9:15 – 9:30 am
Ballroom G (2729)  
​
Characterization of displaced amacrine cells of the mouse retina using function, morphology and gene expression
Greg W. Schwartz, PhD
9:15 – 9:30 am
Ballroom J (2750)  
ROCK inhibitor suppressed choroidal neovascularization by inhibiting the activation of microglia and macrophages
Hao Zhang, PhD
​9:15 – 9:30 am            
Ballroom I (#2743)
New tools for genetic targeting of the Schlemm's canal endothelium
Benjamin Thomson, PhD, ​Mark Johnson, PhD, Evan A. Scott, PhD
1:15 – 1:30 pm
250 (3249)
Cellular and molecular tracing of myofibroblast origins in the choroidal neovascularization model of Age-Related Macular Degeneration
Benjamin Thomson, PhD, ​Amani A. Fawzi, MD
2:00 – 2:15 pm
Ballroom B (3284)
Using model organisms to follow up on high impact genetic findings in glaucoma
Benjamin Thomson, PhD
​​
2:18 – 2:39 pm
255D (3265)
​
Tusc5 and the role of glucose transport regulation in retinal ganglion cell metabolism and function
Greg W. Schwartz, PhD
2:30 – 2:45 pm
Ballroom J (3341)
Accuracy and Readability of ChatGPT-4o in Answering Real World Clinical Ophthalmology Questions
Alcina K. Lidder, MD, Robert S. Feder, MD, Rukhsana G. Mirza, MD, Avrey J. Thau, MD, Angelo P. Tanna, MD, Emmanuel A. Sarmiento, MD*
3:30 – 5:15 pm
Hall A-E (B0422)
​
PLGA Nanoparticles are Immunomodulators that Attenuate Mustard Keratopathy-Induced Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency
​Dan Xu, PhD, Tobias Neef, PhD, Kurt Lu, MD, Stephen Miller, PhD, Han Peng, PhD, Robert M. Lavker, PhD
​3:45 – 4:00 pm            
Ballroom C (#3640)
Real-World Stereoacuity Outcomes of a Binocular, Dual-Mechanism Binocular, Therapy for Amblyopia: Results from the PUPiL Registry
Brenda L. Bohnsack, MD, PhD
​
4:45 – 5:00 pm
Ballroom D (3651)
​

Wednesday, May 7

Perivascular macrophages are associated with permissive sites of immune cell extravasation in retinal venules
Jeremy A. Lavine, MD, PhD
10:15 am – 10:30 am
Ballroom A (4032)
​Retinal Ischemic Perivascular Lesions (RIPL) are Associated with Multifactorial Disease Burden and Diabetic Retinopathy Severity
Amani A. Fawzi, MD
10:15 am – 12:00 pm
Hall A-E (A0219)
Retinal Ischemic Perivascular Lesions as Biomarkers of Cerebral Infarction: A Comparative Analysis Between Stroke Subtypes and Healthy Controls
Rukhsana G. Mirza, MD, ​Michael Drakopoulos, MD*
​
10:15 am – 12:00 pm
Hall A-E (A0238)
​
Il7r+ Macrophages are Derived from Classical Monocytes and Necessary for Choroidal Neovascularization
Jeremy A. Lavine, MD, PhD, ​Andrew P. Voigt, MD*
10:30 am – 10:45 am
Ballroom A (4033)
Cellular-Level Vascular Oculomics (CVO) for Real-Time Monitoring of Systemic Vascular Health
Amani A. Fawzi, MD
10:54 am – 11:07 am
Ballroom E (4061a)
L-DOPA inhibits choroidal angiogenesis in the choroidal sprouting assay
Jeremy A. Lavine, MD, PhD
11:30 – 11:45 am
255E (4023)​
Week 96 outcomes in aflibercept 8 mg- and 2 mg-treated patients by prior DME treatment status: a subgroup analysis of the phase 2/3 PHOTON trial
Manjot K. Gill, MD
​
11:30 – 11:45 am
255ABC (4016)​
​Single unit recordings of retinal ganglion cells with intact neurovascular function
​Greg W. Schwartz, PhD
12:00 – 3:45pm
Hall A-E (A0528)
Central Serous Chorioretinopathy in Neural Crest-Specific Angiopoietin 1 Knockout Mice
Amani A. Fawzi, MD, ​Benjamin Thomson, PhD
2:00 – 3:45pm
Hall A-E (A0367)
Dissecting Intrinsic and Circuit-Level Contributions to Temporal Adaptation in Retinal Ganglion Cell Subtypes
​Greg W. Schwartz, PhD
2:00 – 3:45pm
Hall A-E (A0524)
Impact of Community Resilience Estimates on Visual Outcomes of Unilateral Congenital Cataracts
Dustin D. French, PhD, Jennifer L. Rossen, MD, Brenda L. Bohnsack, MD, PhD, David A. Ramirez, MD, Shahin Davoudpour, PhD
2:00 – 3:45pm
Hall A-E (B0440)
Accelerated Customization of Contact Lenses Through the Integration of Optical Coherence Tomography and 3D Printing
​Cheng Sun, PhD, Hao Zhang, PhD
​2:00 – 3:45 pm
Hall A-E (B0111)

Thursday, May 8

The Association Between Sociodemographic and Clinical Factors and the Receipt of Routine vs. Complex Cataract Surgery
Dustin D. French, PhD, Charlesnika T. Evans, PhD, Abel N. Kho, MD, Paul J. Bryar, MD, Adovich S. Rivera, MD, PhD
8:00 – 9:45 am
Hall A-E (B0363)
Utilization of ChatGPT for Detection of Intraretinal and Subretinal Fluid in Optical Coherence Tomography
Saeed Mohammadi, MD*, Manjot K. Gill, MD
​
8:00 – 9:45 am
Hall A-E (A0354)
Exploring the Relationship Between Coronary Artery Calcium Scores and Retinal Ischemic Perivascular Lesions as Indicators of Systemic Vascular Dysfunction​
Adin-Cristian Andrei, PhD, Rukhsana G. Mirza, MD, ​John Bryan, MD*, Michael Drakopoulos, MD*
8:00 – 9:45 am
Hall A-E (A0380)

​
The Association Between Vasculature and Oxygenation Measured by OCT-Angiography and Visible Light OCT
Hao Zhang, PhD
​8:00 – 9:45 am
Hall A-E (B0238)
Towards imaging-guided, personalized minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries
Hao Zhang, PhD, Mark Johnson, PhD
​11:45 – 1:30 pm
Hall A-E (B0300)
Use of Retinal Imaging and AI in Studying SERPINE1 Variant and Human Biological Age
Manjot K. Gill, MD
​
12:30 – 12:45 pm
255ABC (5847)
Pericyte-specific FOXC1 regulates vascular formation under physiological and oxygen-induced retinopathy conditions in retinal angiogenesis
Amani A. Fawzi, MD, ​Tsutomu Kume, PhD
12:30 – 12:45 pm
Ballroom B (5881)
Swept-source OCT in the visible light spectral range
Cheng Sun, PhD, Hao Zhang, PhD, Roman Kuranov, PhD 
​12:30 – 12:45 pm
Ballroom I (#5928)

On-Demand Sessions

Daylight Saving Time Transition and Incidence of Retinal Vascular Disease: A Nationwide Cohort Study
Rukhsana G. Mirza, MD
​
On-demand session (OD25)
Quantitative macular OCTA metrics correlate with five-year survival in elderly patients with AMD
Rukhsana G. Mirza, MD
On-demand session (OD108)
​
​*Trainee

​NORTHWESTERN MEDICINE OPHTHALMOLOGY

The Northwestern Medicine Department of Ophthalmology is dedicated to providing the most advanced medical care; educating students, residents and fellows; and conducting high-impact research that results in the development of new knowledge and therapies for vision-threatening diseases. Our faculty members include nationally and internationally recognized specialists in cornea, glaucoma, pediatric ophthalmology, orbit and oculoplastics, ocular inflammation, retinal diseases, refractive surgery, neuro-ophthalmology, adult strabismus and comprehensive ophthalmology. More than 30 of our physicians and scientists are actively pursuing new knowledge to contribute to the development of highly advanced therapies and improve the quality of life for patients with diseases and disorders of the eyes.