Programme

Final Programme

Location: Sofia, Bulgaria

“HOW TO MAKE IT GR8”

The program features speakers (expert doctors and scientists) from three continents: Europe, North America, and Asia.

It will make this conference truly global in scope. It will be an international celebration of collaboration and hope.

Friday,  17 April 2026

10.00-12.30    Arrival and registration, industry opens (time for parallel meetings and networking)

12.30-13.30     Lunch break

13.30-14.00     Opening ceremony

14.00-14.30     Opening keynote lecture – Novel Therapeutic Approaches and Clinical Guidelines for Aniridia – Dr Yoshinori Oie

14.30-16.00     Session 1: From bed to bench and back – stem cell research as  new hope for aniridia patients

Panelists: Prof. Neil Lagali, Dr Jo Zhou

14.30-14.50  Latest update on stem cells, PAX6 and aniridia 

Exploring developmental and postnatal PAX6 aniridia with spatial transcriptomics  – Meri Vattulainen

Decoding epithelial homeostasis and stem cell renewal in the Aniridia Associated Keratopathy murine cornea by enriched high-resolution spatiotemporal single-cell transcriptomics  – Dina Javidjam

14.50-15.10      Dissecting stem cell differentiation control in corneal development through multi-omics approaches – Dr Jo Zhou

15.10-15.30     Cornea organoids from aniridia-derived iPSC – Dulce Lima Cunha

15.30-16.00     Coffee break and Poster Session 1

16.00-17.30     Session 2: Young ophthalmologist, scientist, and patients presented posters

Title 1:Implantation of the keratoprosthesis in a child with congenital PAX6 aniridia and total corneal opacification (Polyakova E.U., Makhmutov V.U., Kalinnikov U.U., Utegusheva P.G.) – Ekaterina Polyakova

Title 2: Gene expression analysis of limbal epithelial cells from PAX6- aniridia patients – Elsa Berg

Title 3: Crystallins Beyond the Eye: A Potential PAX6-Dependent Mechanism Underlying Visual and Auditory Deficits in Aniridia – Israa Sefawi

Title 4: Congenital Aniridia: Organisational Models of Care and Quality of Life Outcomes – Marfuga Oteuliyeva

Title 5: Congenital Aniridia In A One-Year-Old Child: Clinical Findings And Molecular Confirmation – Doroteya Yordanova, Milena Stoyanova

Introduction of Prof.Barbara Käsmann-Kellner Award by Barbara Poli. Announcement of the recipient. 

17.30-18.30     Session 3: Facilitating the Quality of Life –  Multilevel Perspective

Panelists: Dr Sabrina Vaccaro, Dr Huban Atilla, Daniel Egido

17.30-17.50     Unmet needs of aniridia patients in the everyday clinical practice –  Dr Huban Atilla

17.50-18.10     The patient perspective – Daniel Egido

18.10-18.30     Panel discussion: How to improve?

Dr. Sabrina Vaccaro, Dr. Huban Atila, Daniel Egido, James Buller, Katherine Atkinson, Prof. Christin Grupcheva

18.30     Closure of DAY ONE

19.00     Networking – Earth and Man National Museum

Saturday, 18 April

08.00-18.00     Registration and welcome

08.30-10.00     Session 4: The new perspectives in treatment of Glaucoma

Panelists: Dominique Bremond-Gignac, Peter Netland, Alejandra Daruich

08.30-08.50    The role of lasers – Prof. Christina Grupcheva

08.50-09.10     PAX6-related glaucoma. Anti-glaucoma medication and MIGS Preserflo – Prof. Dominique Bremond-Gignac

09.10-09.30     MIGS Xen and When nothing helps… – Prof. Peter Netland

09.30-9.50     Discussion

09.50-10.30     Coffee break and Poster Session 2

10.30-12.00     Session 5: The new perspectives in treatment of Dry eye

Panelists: Prof. Nora Szentmary, Prof. Maria Del Carmen Acosta, Prof. Christina Grupcheva

10.30-10.50     Inflammation matters – Prof. Christina Grupcheva

10.50-11.10     Current Understanding of Corneal Sensory Nerve Functionality in Aniridia – Prof. Maria Del Carmen Acosta

11.10-11.30     All is a vicious circle – Prof. Nora Szentmary

11.30-12.00     The “best” artificial tears – patient’s perspective – discussion with patients’ involvement

12.00-12.20     The long way to success treating ocular surface and glaucoma (in collaboration with SANTEN) – Prof. Christina Grupcheva

12.20–12.30       Gratitude to sponsors and supporters

12.30-13.00     Progress on aniridia research and therapies for aniridia-associated keratopathy – Neil Lagali

13.00-13.30    Packed lunch

13.30-14.00     Keynote lecture of the BSO “Genetic testing and consultations as а standard of care for people with rare eye disease“  – Dr Petia Stratieva (Retina Bulgaria)

14.00-15.30     Session 6: Facilitating the quality of life – the Multilevel Perspective

Panelists: Dr Sabrina Vaccaro, Prof. Peter Netland, Dr Yoshinori Oie

14.00-14.20     How to assess quality of life – European perspective – Dr Sabrina Vaccaro

14.20-14.40     How to assess quality of life – US perspective – Prof. Peter Netland

14.40-15.00     How to assess quality of life – Asian perspective – Dr Yoshinori Oie

15.00-15.30     How to achieve quality of life – Patient’s perspective – Katherine Atkinson, Daniel Egido, 

15.30-16.00       Coffee break and Poster Session 3

16.00-17.30     Session 7: The Retina and Beyond

Panelists: Prof.  Dominique Bremond-Gignac, Prof. Alejandra Daruich

16.00-16.30     Retina in aniridia – Prof. Alejandra Daruich

16.30-17.00     Beyond the Eye: Pax6 Haploinsufficiency and its impact on  Cortical and Neuroendocrine Function – Jim Lauderdale

17.00-17.30     Beyond the Iris: Managing the Full Spectrum of  WAGR Syndrome (Recording) – Kelly Trout, International WAGR Syndrome Association (IWSA)

17.30-18.00       Interdisciplinary approach for better care – round table

Panelists: Prof. Nora Szentmary, Dr Yoshinori Oie, Prof. Huban Atila

18.00-18.30       Session 8 Free presentations

Title 1: Clinical-genetic forms of congenital aniridia in Bulgaria –  Anna Popova

Title 2: Restoring PAX6 expression via CRISPR activation: a road towards transparency – Catia Mio     

18.30     Closure of DAY TWO

19.00     Networking  – Introduction of Bulgarian folk culture, traditional remedies, and herbs

Sunday, 19 April

08.00-13.00     Registration and welcome

08.30-11.00     Session 9: New diagnostic approaches and therapeutic innovations

Panelists: Prof. Neil Lagali,  Assoc. Prof. Jim Lauderdale, Prof Peter Netland

09.00-09.30     Follow-up of children with congenital aniridia – an interdisciplinary approach – Erlend Landsend (Recording)

09.30-10.00     Diagnostics in aniridia – Fabian Fries

10.00-10.30     Coffee break and Networking

10.30–11.00    Targeting insulin receptor substrate-1 delays disease progression in a murine model of aniridia-associated keratopathy – Ava Dashti

11.00-11.30      Antisense Oligonucleotide Eye Drops Against IRS-1 to Treat Pathological Corneal Neovascularisation in Aniridia-Associated Keratopathy – Mert Mestanoglu

11.30-12.00     Patient-scientist discussion and questions

All speakers, panelists and patient associations/patients and families

12.00-13.00     Closing remarks, Networking and Packed lunch