Message from the PAOF Chair

Dear Friends,

In an effort to stimulate research at the Pan-American level and recognize the efforts of our young investigators, the Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO), with the support of the PAOF, has been organizing the Pan-American Research Day, in conjunction with the important partnerships with the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) and with Allergan and now AbbVie Latin America for the past 19 years. It has become an exciting tradition. Research development and our young vision scientists are very important for PAAO. In that regard, Pan-American Research Day (PARD) is held every year, now VIRTUAL, after ARVO. Everyone presenting at ARVO is invited to share their research in a quick 5-minute presentation format. This popular event will bring you up to speed on all the latest research in one day, therefore just to attend to learn about advances in research is worthwhile. It is FREE, will be held on Saturday, May 21, 2022. Registration will open soon!

If you have had a presentation accepted by ARVO, we would like to offer you the possibility to present your work at our PARD meeting and an invitation has already been sent. The PAAO will feature two virtual sessions for presentations: anterior (in the morning) and posterior segment (in the afternoon). Due to the popularity of this event, we always receive more requests to present than there are time slots available, so there is a review and competitive selection process. If you are selected to be a program participant, you will be presenting your work in a speed presentation format: three minutes for presentation and two minutes for discussion. The language for presentation is English. This is an excellent place to practice your presentation skills in English in front of a friendly audience.

The Pan-American is offering three prizes for the best presentations in each session. The prize is a registration to the 35th Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology to take place March 17-20, 2023, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and a USD $250 cash prize. The prizes are sponsored by the Arno Habicht Award for Research Sciences and the David & Molly Pyott Foundation. To be considered for a prize, you must be 40 years old or less. Remember, one award per person. If you have already received a travel award from ARVO or PAAO to attend this meeting, you do not qualify to apply for a PAAO award. You must present to receive the travel award. More information will be available at: https://paao.org/meetings/pard-2022/ 

The Pan-American Ophthalmological Foundation (PAOF) supports the PAAO, through education and with the generosity of many of you, has contributed significantly to the prevention of blindness in the Americas and is building the future leaders of ophthalmology in our region. We want to take a moment to thank you for being a PAAO member. The diversity of our membership — from 26 national societies and members in more than 30 countries, gender, age, or subspecialty—is what makes our community strong and makes it attractive to join our organization.

The PAOF continues to support the PAAO membership, particularly our junior/early-career members via various grants/awards, and opportunities through our Travel Awards, and scholarships. We are in the process of creating more opportunities for you. We hope that PAAO members will generously support the Foundation (https://paao.org/paof/donate/) throughout the year. The more gifts donated, the more support the Foundation can provide to PAAO programs.

The goal is to meet again at our XXVI Pan-American Regional Course in conjunction with Bascom Palmer’s XLIV Inter-American Course (CURSO) October 16-19, 2022 in Miami, FL, and of course our XXXV Pan-American Congress of Ophthalmology, March 17-20, 2023 in Buenos Aires Argentina! It’s at these two meetings where ophthalmology from all the Americas come together to meet and you cannot miss that!

J. Fernando Arevalo MD PhD FACS FASRS

Chair
Pan-American Ophthalmological Foundation (PAOF)