PAAO President’s Message
April 2021
Dear Friends & Colleagues,
“The mind that opens to a new idea never returns to its original size.”
– Albert Einstein
As spring is upon us here in Canada, we are enjoying better weather and we are coming up to ARVO’s annual meeting, taking place from May 1-7. ARVO gives us the chance to all connect virtually, sharing our research ideas and projects. For the PAAO, ARVO also brings about our Pan-American Research Day (PARD), which is usually held each year the weekend before ARVO. Due to our current times, since both ARVO and PARD will be virtual meetings, the PAAO executive committee decided to plan PARD on two different dates this July.
We are thrilled to announce that PARD 2021 will take place on July 10 (anterior segment) and July 17 (posterior segment). All those who have ARVO 2021 accepted abstracts are invited to present their work to the PAAO community. The meeting will be of a similar layout but now in two days, and we will have excellent prizes to be awarded to the three best presentations on both days in researchers under 40. The same judging criteria and standards will apply, as in the previous years. We are excited to host this meeting over two days, to allow for additional presentations, fruitful discussions and more time spent together.
We look forward to interacting with all of you, especially with our young PAAO members and researchers in meeting virtually and learning together, sharing new ideas and keeping our minds open and constantly evolving. During these times, our Community is most important for all of us.
I encourage each and every one of you to register for PARD 2021, to join us and spend these two great days together, virtually. We look forward to seeing you all there!
Please stay safe and well.
With best wishes,
Miguel N. Burnier Jr., MD, MSc, PhD, FRCSC
PAAO President