Diana V. Do, MD
Program Co-Director
Byers Eye Institute
Thursday, October 8, 2026 · Prior to AAO 2026
Innovate Retina
What’s New & What’s Next in Retina. One evening in New Orleans, prior to AAO.
The Meeting
An evening built for what's next.
Retina Innovate focuses exclusively on game-changing innovations in medical and surgical retina care, including current management of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and diabetic retinopathy, ocular imaging, gene therapy, ocular inflammation, surgical technologies, ocular oncology, and the latest advances in retinal pharmacotherapy.
Oct 8One evening · 2:00 to 7:30 PM
Global2026 faculty & co-directors
NOLASt. Charles Avenue
AAOThe night before it all starts
Discussion Highlights
Six currents moving the field.
Topics will include late breaking retina pharmacotherapy clinical trials data, current management of neovascular AMD, diabetic macular edema, and diabetic retinopathy, updates on artificial intelligence (AI) for diagnosis, advances in molecular surgery for the precision treatment of previously untreatable blinding diseases, and novel drug delivery technologies designed to improve patient care.
Late-breaking trials
Fresh pharmacotherapy data for neovascular AMD, DME and diabetic retinopathy.
AI for diagnosis
Where artificial intelligence is already reading the retina.
Molecular surgery
Precision treatment for previously untreatable blinding diseases.
Drug delivery
Novel technologies designed to lighten the treatment burden.
Imaging biomarkers
The role of imaging in determining new biomarkers for disease.
Surgical innovation
New instrumentation, visualization enhancements and image-guided surgery.
Educational Objectives
What the evening should leave you with.
- Identify current management practices for common retinal vascular diseases.
- Discuss the latest pre-clinical and clinical data in retinal therapeutic development for exudative age-related macular degeneration, diabetic macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and myopic choroidal neovascular membrane.
- Review the latest updates in regulatory guidance for the development of retinal therapeutics.
- Assess innovations across imaging, medical devices, artificial intelligence, and pharmacotherapeutics.
- Evaluate novel surgical imaging systems.
- Discuss career paths that help retina specialists play a more active role in the innovation ecosystem.
- Discuss the current management of dry age-related macular degeneration and geographic atrophy, including a review of the latest safety data.
Target Audience
Who the room is for.
Practicing retina specialists, retinal fellows in training, and vitreoretinal surgeons. Comprehensive ophthalmologists, vision and AI scientists in retina, translational scientists, oncologists and allied physicians, and imaging experts are encouraged to attend.
Agenda at a glance
2:00 PM – 3:00 PM · Registration, Exhibits and Light Snacks
3:00 PM – 6:15 PM · General Session
6:15 PM – 6:45 PM · Break, Exhibits and Dinner
6:45 PM – 7:30 PM · General Session
Leadership
Directed from the Byers Eye Institute.
Program co-directors lead the meeting, and a 2026 faculty drawn worldwide.
Prithvi Mruthyunjaya, MD, MHS
Program Co-Director
Byers Eye Institute
Quan Dong Nguyen, MD, MSc
Program Co-Director
Byers Eye Institute
Stephen Smith, MD
Program Co-Director
Byers Eye Institute
Location
St. Charles Avenue, the night before AAO.
The specialty lands in New Orleans for AAO 2026. Innovate Retina takes the evening before, a streetcar ride from the convention center.
InterContinental New Orleans444 St. Charles Avenue · New Orleans, LA 70130Meeting Room: Salle A-C Ballroom (3rd floor)
Supported By
Thank you to our sponsors.
Visionary, Innovation, Clinical and Educational Partners for 2026.