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Message from the PAOF Chair

Mar 28, 2023

J. Fernando Arevalo MD PhD
PAOF Chair, 2021-2024

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

We look back on many years with satisfaction and success of PAOF & PAAO despite the limitations imposed by a global pandemic. With education as the central mission of the Pan-American, we have kept you updated through webinars, our digital magazine PAJO, and e-learning courses to help our members give the gift of sight to their patients. I would like to thank our e-learning committee, as well as Miguel Burnier and Paulo Dantas, for their leadership during these difficult times. After our resounding success at the PAAO meeting in Cancun, who would have thought that we would not see each other for 4 years! Finally, we were able to meet during our XXXV Pan American Congress of Ophthalmology, March 17 to 20, 2023, in the incredibly beautiful city of Buenos Aires, Argentina! What a meeting! What success! Our congresses are getting better and better!

The 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 member of the PAAO and look forward to what we can accomplish together in 2023 and beyond. The diversity of our membership—of 26 national societies and members in more than 30 countries, gender, age, or subspecialty—is what makes our community strong and attractive to join our organization.

One of the things we are really proud of is our Life and Legacy Programs. The goal is to create a lasting legacy by creating an educational program on behalf of a donor or honoree. A Life and Legacy Program is a permanently endowed educational program, such as a scholarship program or an award in the name of the donor or honoree. The PAOF establishes a minimum level of funding for a named educational program and permanent endowment. This level can be achieved with a single donation or with a multi-donor campaign. 100% of the donations will go to the investment fund. No administrative costs will be deducted from the original donation.
In Buenos Aires at PAAO 2023, we launched several of these programs, including the Conrad Berens Inaugural Lecture, presented by Dr. Douglas Buxton (USA). Dr. Berens was one of the three founders of the PAAO and the only one who had not been honored with a lecture at our Pan- American Congress. Thanks to a generous donation from the Buxton Foundation, that omission has been corrected.

In addition, Morela Silva Pacheco, MD (Venezuela) won the 2023 Fernando Arévalo Award for Best PAAO-SVO Free Paper. The PAAO entered into an agreement with J. Fernando Arévalo MD PhD, to join with the Venezuelan Society of Ophthalmology (SVO) to create the new PAAO award with the aim of promoting education and scientific advancement in Venezuela.

Marina Roizenblatt, MD PhD (Brazil) won the 2023 J. Fernando Arévalo Young Ophthalmologist Award from the PAAO. Other awards given in Buenos Aires included the Bateman Award for Women Ophthalmologists: Dr. Alice McPherson (posthumously); The Edward Maumenee Medal for Distinguished Service: Dr. Rafael Sánchez Fontán (Mexico); The Graue Award for Transformational Leadership: Dr. Carmen Barraquer (Colombia); The Gradle Medal for Good Teaching: Dr. Francisco Contreras (Peru), received by Dr. Dino Natteri on behalf of Dr. Contreras; The Benjamin F. Boyd Humanitarian Award: UNIFESP, Department of Ophthalmology (Brazil), received by Dr. Ivan Maynart Tavares; The  Paul Kayser / RRF Global Award: Dr. Rajeev Muni and the University of Toronto, Department of Ophthalmology (Canada); The Troutman-Véronneau Award: Dra. Marcela Huertas Bello (Colombia)

Bronwyn Bateman with Angela Fernandez
At the closing ceremony, the following were selected to receive the Pyott Foundation Awards as the best free papers in Retina:

RVM-O-017 – PARACENTRAL ACUTE MIDDLE MACULOPATHY (PAMM) AS A PRESENTING SIGN ASSOCIATED WITH LIFE-THREATENING AORTIC ARCH ANEURYSM
PALEXAS, George

RVM-O-019 – VASCULAR CHANGES BY OPTICAL COHERENCE ANGIOTOMOGRAPHY IN PREGNANT PATIENTS WITH A DIAGNOSIS OF DIABETES
BENVENUTO, Franco | Pena-Rodriguez, Leonel | Arevalo-Simental, Diana Esperanza

RVM-O-025 – DISORGANIZATION OF INNER RETINAL LAYER AS A MARKER OF POOR VISION IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETIC MACULAR EDEMA
Leon Borbua, Adriano Jesus | Gomez, Bryan Stuart | Varela, Roberto | of the Cid, José Manuel

Congratulations to all!

Our PAOF fundraising event @ PAAO 2023 in Buenos Aires was a Tango Show at Madero Tango. A total success and sold out! Many thanks to everyone who contributed by purchasing tickets for this event that will benefit our PAAO educational programs.

The PAOF continues to work tirelessly and supports PAAO members, particularly the younger ones, through various grants/awards and opportunities through our travel awards and scholarships. We are in the process of creating more opportunities for you as we speak. We hope PAAO members will generously support the Foundation (https://paao.org/paof/donate/) throughout the year. No donation is small, give what you can. The more donations made, the more support the Foundation can provide to PAAO programs.

The future is great if we stick together as a Pan American community! We are better, stronger, and the goal is to meet again at our XXVII Pan American Regional Ophthalmology Course, from March 14 to 18, 2024 in San Juan, Puerto Rico! XXXVI Pan American Congress of Ophthalmology, from May 30 to June 2, 2025 in Bogotá, Colombia! It is at these magnificent meetings where ophthalmology from all over the Americas comes together and you cannot miss it!

Dr. Fernando Arévalo
Presidente PAOF

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