Keynote speakers
Angela Arends-Tjiam
Paediatric ophthalmologist, Erasmus MC – Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Angela Arends-Tjiam is an ophthalmologist specialized in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus, with a keen interest in research on retinopathy of prematurity.
Angela Arends-Tjiam works within the multidisciplinary vascular expertise center Erasmus MC – Sophia Children’s Hospital (in Dutch so called: WEVAR-team). Within this team Angela is overseeing the ophthalmic part of children with vascular tumors and anomalies in the orbit.
Thomas Becher
Pediatric neurologist, Sana Krankenhaus, Düsseldorf Gerresheim, Germany and
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sozialpädiatrie und Jugendmedizin, Berlin, Germany
Degree in medicine and special education University of Cologne
Specialist in pediatrics and adolescent medicine, child neurology
2005 Pediatric Neurology Center Sana (KNZ) Clinics Düsseldorf, 2008 Senior physician
o 2009 Head of the Department Movement Disorders and Cerebral Palsy
o 2023 Chief physician in a collegial system
Head of the “Seh-Lotsen (SLS)” working group in social pediatric centers (SPZ) in the central quality group of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sozialpädiatrie und Jugendmedizin (DGSPJ)
Scientific expert advisor in the consortium project SLS: Development of a training course for interprofessional counselling and research at the interface of health care and education in social pediatric centres in Germany. Bochum University of Applied Sciences, DGSPJ & Klinikum Dortmund gGmbH. 2024-2026, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany.
Carlien Bennebroek
Paediatric ophthalmologist, Amsterdam UMC, the Netherlands.
Drs. Bennebroek is a pediatric ophthalmologist and strabismus specialist in the department of ophthalmology at Amsterdam UMC. In July 2025 she defended her thesis: Treatment evaluation and determination of prognostic factors in pediatric optic pathway glioma.
Michael Blair
Ophthalmologist, retina surgeon, Retina Consultants Ltd and University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
Dr. Blair earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard University and medical doctorate at the University of Chicago. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the Wilmer Eye Institute and his Vitreoretinal surgery fellowship at the University of Illinois Eye Infirmary.
His clinical interests include pediatric retina including retinopathy of prematurity, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration, retinal vascular disease, complex retinal detachment repair, and ocular tumors. He has authored over 100 articles in the medical literature.
He is actively involved in teaching and training ROP care to retina fellows from several institutions across Chicagoland and working to expand ROP care around the globe.
Camiel Boon
Camiel Boon, MD, PhD, FEBO, is a Consultant Ophthalmologist at Amsterdam University Medical Center, and Leiden University Medical Center (the Netherlands). Already at the age of 36, he was appointed Full Professor of Ophthalmology, with a special appointment for Clinical Ophthalmogenetics, at the University of Amsterdam. At the age of 39, he was also appointed Full Professor of Ophthalmology at Leiden University. Clinically, Prof. Boon is specialized in medical retina, vitreoretinal surgery, and hereditary retinal diseases. Scientifically, Prof. Boon’s research group focuses on clinical and genetic characteristics of hereditary retinal diseases, and the development of innovative treatments such as gene therapy. In addition, his research group is renowned for ground-breaking research on central serous chorioretinopathy, and age-related macular degeneration. He has extensive experience as initiator and principal investigator in a range of pioneering clinical trials. He has published more than 280 peer-reviewed articles on the aforementioned topics, and is editor/co-author on chapters in a range of atlases.
Jean Luc Fauquert
Ocular allergist and paediatrician, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, Clermont-Ferrand, France
Jean-Luc FAUQUERT is consultant allergist and paediatrician in the university hospital in Clermont-Ferrand, France. He is particularly involved in food allergy in children and ocular allergy. He gained expertise in ocular allergy through the onset of a dual allergy and ophthalmology consultation particularly focused on severe allergic conjunctivitis. Through the onset and spread out of expert group on ocular allergy in France (Groupe Ophtalmo Allergo) and Europe (Interest Group on Ocular Allergy (IGOA) he increased recognition of academic authorities.
Peter Campbell
Ophthalmologist, retina surgeon, Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon, Portland, United States
Dr. Campbell is the Edwin and Josephine Knowles Professor of Ophthalmology at the Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science University. His clinical training and practice is focused on the care of adult and pediatric patients with vitreoretinal diseases. In addition, he is a translational clinician scientist primarily focused on two main research areas: the development of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) with the Imaging and Informatics in ROP (i-ROP) research consortium, and optical coherence tomography (OCT) for pediatric retina with the Center for Ophthalmic Optics & Lasers [COOL Lab] headed by David Huang, MD at OHSU.
Stefan de Geus, Radboud UMC, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Gerd Holmström, Uppsala university, Sweden
Marinke Hokken
Neuropsychologist, specialized in Cerebral Visual Impairment, Erasmus MC, Koninklijke Visio, Huizen, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
Marinke Hokken is a PhD student at Erasmus MC department of neuroscience and a neuropsychologist at Royal Dutch Visio, specializing in Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI). Her research focuses on using eye-tracking technology to explore how children with CVI process visual information and why they face challenges, such as finding and recognizing objects. In clinical practice, she works with children and families to identify CVI and provide tailored support. Marinke is also a teacher at the Utrecht University, sharing her expertise in neuropsychology with students.
Creig Hoyt
Creig Hoyt is Professor Emeritus and former Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California San Francisco. He received his neurology and ophthalmology training at the University of California and completed a pediatric ophthalmology fellowship at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. He and David Taylor are the original editors of the textbook, Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. Professor Hoyt was the first editor of the British Journal of Ophthalmology who was not a citizen of Great Britain. He has published over 150 papers and delivered 29 named lectures. Although his original research involved early surgery of congenital cataracts his special interest is in pediatric neuro-ophthalmology. In 1984 he was a member of an expedition that kayaked across the Sea of Cortez. He still participates in kayak races.
Peng Khaw
Professor Sir Peng Tee Khaw is Professor of Glaucoma and Wound Healing at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, and Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital, London. His special interest is the surgical treatment of glaucoma in children and young adults. His group have developed and refined surgical techniques (Moorfields Safer Surgery System) and inexpensive single 3-minute treatments to prevent scarring, increasing surgical efficacy and safety worldwide. They proposed the 10-10-10 goal for surgery (10mmHg pressure lasting 10 years and taking 10 minutes) and are helping develop microdevices, anti-scarring systems, and have co-discovered a novel stem cell (Moorfields-IO Müller stem cell), being developed for optic nerve regeneration. He initiated the eye and vision component of UK Biobank with Professor Paul Foster and facilitated the AI collaboration with Google Deep Mind with Professor Pearse Keane.
Sir Peng has delivered over 50 named lectures, won over 20 international awards and medals, published 600+ papers, chapters and books and is the second highest cited ophthalmologist in the UK. He was the first UK President of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (USA). He has raised grants of over $150 million and was the main fundraiser for the Richard Desmond Children’s Eye Centre which is the world’s largest children’s eye centre. He is founder Director of the UK NIHR Moorfields UCL Biomedical Research Centre in Ophthalmology with four five-year renewals. He was elected to the UK Academy of Medical Sciences (2002), NIHR Senior Investigator (2009) and knighted in the Queen’s Birthday Honours (2013). In 2023, he was an inaugural member of The Ophthalmologist Hall of Fame. He passionately believes that scientific research will enable new and better treatments to change lives for the better.
Verena Kerkmann
Rehabilitation educationist, Bochum University, Bochum, Germany and
Klinikum Dortmund gGmbH, Dortmund, Germany
Professorship for Rehabilitation Sciences at Bochum University of Applied Sciences. Key area: Children and youth with visual impairment. Funded by Waldtraut und Sieglinde Hildebrandt-Stiftung.
Head of the the German-wide first “Seh-Lotsen-Sprechstunde (SLS)” at Klinikum Dortmund gGmbH
Leading the consortium project SLS: Development of a training course for interprofessional counselling and research at the interface of health care and education in social pediatric centres in Germany. Bochum University of Applied Sciences, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sozialpädiatrie und Jugendmedizin (DGSPJ) & Klinikum Dortmund gGmbH. 2024-2026, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany.
Marlou Kooiker
Researcher and pediatric (neuro)psychologist, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam and
Koninklijke visio, Huizen
As a postdoc researcher and pediatric (neuro)psychologist, I’m working with children with visual impairments and their families. Both from a research and clinical perspective, I focus on early screening, diagnostics and rehabilitation strategies of Cerebral Visual Impairment. Another important focus is on providing support in living with a visual impairment for children, their families and broader network.
Sjoukje Loudon
Paediatric ophthalmologist, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Dr. Sjoukje Loudon is an ophthalmologist at Erasmus MC Sophia, specializing in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus. She pursued a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. Her research focuses on amblyopia and complex strabismus. She has contributed significantly to the field with numerous publications and is dedicated to improving the visual health of children.
Sophie Marlowe
Genetic counsellor, Great Ormond Street Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
Sophie has been working as a registered ophthalmic genetic counsellor at GOSH for nearly two years and is passionate about delivering fully-integrated pre- and post-test genetic counselling for children and their families with suspected ophthalmic genetic disorders. Prior to qualifying as a genetic counsellor, Sophie worked at the Oxford Eye Hospital Clinical Trials Unit in coordinating clinical research studies for patients with inherited retinal and other ophthalmic disorders.
João Pedro Marques
Ophthalmic geneticist and retina Consultant, Unidade Local de Saúde de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
João Pedro Marques is an Invited Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Faculty of Medicine,University of Coimbra (FMUC) and an Ophthalmic Genetics and Retina Consultant at the Coimbra University Hospital. His PhD in Ophthalmic Genetics (FMUC) earned him the highest distinction (cum laude) and was later internationally recognized by the World Health Summit Academic Alliance with the 2nd place in the 2023 M8 Alliance Best PhD Thesis Award. He has published over 100 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals and won several national and international awards and research grants, including the prestigious EURETINA Retinal Medicine Clinical Research Award in 2023.
Irene Mathijssen
Plastic surgeon, Erasmus MC University Medical Cente, Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Professor Irene Mathijssen, MD, PhD, MBA-H, is a leading craniofacial surgeon at Erasmus MC Sophia. She specializes in craniofacial disorders, with extensive research on brain anomalies and genetic causes. Mathijssen is also the Secretary-Treasurer of the International Society of Craniofacial Surgery and coordinates the European Reference Network CRANIO. Her work has earned her numerous awards and grants, significantly advancing craniofacial care and research.
Sandra van der Meijden
Royal Dutch Visio, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Sandra van der Meijden studied social pedagogy, linguistics, child and family studies and health care psychology. She worked in child and youth psychiatry for 20 years as therapist and trainer, with autism as a special interest. Eight years ago, she started working at Royal Dutch Visio, centre of expertise for blind and partially sighted people in the Netherlands. Next to psychological diagnosis and treatment (CBT, EMDR, ACT), Sandra works as a supervisor and workplace trainer for health care psychologists and as an expert and trainer in relations, intimacy and sexuality of visually impaired people.
Şengül Özdek
Ophthalmologist, Retina surgeon, Gazi University, School of Medicine, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
Prof. Dr. Şengül Özdek was born in 1971 in Turkey. She had her medical education in Hacettepe University and her residency in Ophthalmology in Gazi University in Ankara. She is a faculty member in Gazi University Retina division since 1999. She studied in Retina division of Miami University, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute with Prof. Dr. Harry Flynn in 2004. She had been to Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, Michigan as a clinical observer in pediatric retina clinic under the supervision of Dr. Trese and Dr. Capone in April 2010. ROP and pediatric vitreoretinal surgery (ROP, PFV, FEVR, Coats) are her primary interests.
She is an examiner in the European Board of Ophthalmology Examinations and became FEBO (Fellow of European Board of Ophthalmology) in 2017. She has been awarded with the “EVRS Ambassador Award” by European Vitreoretinal Society in 2017 and with “Honor Award” by American Society of Retina Specialists in 2018, with “Achievement Award” by American Academy of Ophthalmology in 2020 and with “Senior Honor Award” by American Society of Retina Specialists in 2024. Her vitreoretinal surgical videos were awarded by EVRS, Mediterretina and Turkish Ophthalmology Societies. She has been selected in the Class of 2020-2021 by Retina Hall of Fame. She was awarded with the best presentation award in Vit-Buckle Society in Las Vegas in 2023. Her surgical video has been selected as “Best of Show” by AAO in 2023.
She has more than 290 articles published in international and national journals She is the editor of Pediatric Vitreoretinal Surgery Book by Springer in 2023. She has been invited as a speaker to numerous international and national meetings and as a surgeon in many live surgeries. She is currently the Secretary of European Vitreoretinal Society (EVRS) and president of the ROP commission of Turkish OS and running the international ROP Courses in Turkey.
Manca Tekavcic Pompe
Paediatric ophthalmologist, Eye Hospital, UMC Ljubljana, Slovenia
Manca Tekavcic Pompe is a paediatric ophthalmologist from Ljubljana, Slovenia. She is Head of Paediatric Ophthalmology at the Eye Hospital UMC Ljubljana, President of the Slovenian Society of Paediatric Ophthalmology and current President of the Slovenian Society of Ophthalmology. Dr. Tekavcic Pompe is co-chair of the scientific board of the WSPOS (World Society of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus) and board member of the EPOS (European Paediatric Ophthalmology Society). She is interested in clinical research in the field of paediatric ophthalmology, including anterior segment surgery, paediatric glaucoma, ROP, visual electrophysiology and its clinical application, and colour vision.
Chris Lloyd
Chris Lloyd is Head of Ophthalmology at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. He is Senior Lecturer at UCL and Honorary Professor at the University of Manchester. He trained at Barts' Hospital London, Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and Great Ormond Street.
He spent 20 years in Manchester before returning to GOSH in 2016.
He has published over 100 papers, 12 book chapters and a book on paediatric cataract.
Chris was chair of the RCOphth paediatric sub-committee and is President-elect of BIPOSA. He has served on the AAPOS genetic group, the board of EPOS and given many medal lectures and workshops.
Ameenat Lola Solebo
Paediatric ophthalmologist, UCL GOS Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
Lola is a Wellcome clinician scientist at UCL GOS Institute of Child Health, Consultant Paediatric Ophthalmologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital, and Clinical Deputy Lead for the Applied Child Health Informatics Theme at the NIHR GOSH Biomedical Research Centre. Her work investigates the determinants of outcome for children with or at risk of blinding disorders, and how best to translate these findings into changes in practice and policy. Her research involves the development of rare disease registries, inception cohorts, ophthalmic imaging biomarkers and the reuse of routinely collected clinical data and health administrative data.
Mervyn Thomas
Ophthalmologist, University of Leicester, Leicester, United Kingdom
Dr Mervyn Thomas is a Clinical Associate Professor, Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist, and Clinical Lead of the Ulverscroft Eye Unit at the University of Leicester, UK. He leads an interdisciplinary research group spanning genetics, animal models, and multi-centre deep phenotyping. His work on foveal hypoplasia and grading systems is internationally adopted in clinical practice. Dr Thomas has extensively published on foveal developmental disorders and infantile nystagmus. He is dedicated to training the next generation of clinician-scientists, supervising NIHR Academic Clinical Fellows, Clinical Lecturers, orthoptists, and postgraduate students. He serves on the ARVO Advocacy Committee and advises the Nystagmus Network and Global Albinism Alliance.
Elyse Verboom
Hemato-oncologist, Erasmus MC – Sophia Children’s Hospital, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Elyse Verboom is a pediatric hematologist. Her areas of interest are benign hematology, pediatric oncology and last but not least vascular tumors and anomalies.
Elyse Verboom works within the multidisciplinary vascular expertise center Erasmus MC – Sophia Children’s Hospital (in Dutch so called: WEVAR-team). Within this team Elyse is responsible for the systemic treatment of rare vascular tumors and anomalies.
Charles Vervaet
Contact lens specialist, Oculenti Contact lenses, Zoetermeer, the Netherlands
Charles studied Optometry and Orthophty. For many years he practiced and tried to get the best outcomes with Contact lenses in the LUMC and Erasmus MC. Oculenti is the company he is working for. Oculenti develops and produces rigid lenses for more than 75 yrs. Charles way of thinking is: what if we can fit RGP's that are just as comfortable as Soft contact lenses?
Dear Colleagues and Friends!
&width=645 "Leiden")
&width=645 "LUMC main building")
&width=645 "LUMC building 3")
