Shlomit Schaal, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Ophthalmology and the Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine, Worcester, MA, USA. Dr. Schaal is a clinician-scientist specializing in the cutting-edge medical and surgical treatment of complex vitreoretinal diseases. She earned her undergraduate, medical and doctoral degrees from Technion Institute of Technology in Israel, graduating as the valedictorian of both her undergraduate and medical school classes, before going on to an ophthalmology residency at Israel’s Rambam Medical Center and fellowships in Vitreoretinal Research and Vitreoretinal Surgery at the University of Louisville. She served on the faculty of the University of Louisville as the Director of Retina, and the Director of Vitreo-Retinal Fellowship, before being appointed as the Chair of Ophthalmology at the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Schaal actively serves on the Program Committee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the Translational Science Working Group, and the Professional Development and Education Committee for the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO). Dr. Schaal is an author of more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts, and has received numerous awards, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award, The American Society of Retina Specialists Senior Honor Award, the MOSAIC Award and the ARVO/Alcon Clinician-Scientist Research Award. Henry J. Kaplan, MD, is the Evans Professor of Ophthalmology, Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, and Director of the Kentucky Lion’s Eye Center at the University of Louisville. He has an associate appointment in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Dr. Kaplan is a vitreoretinal surgeon with expertise in age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, hereditary retinal degeneration,and uveitis. Dr. Kaplan received his bachelor’s degree from Columbia University (NYC) and his medical degree from Cornell (NYC). He served his residency in ophthalmology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (Iowa City, IA), and his retina-vitreous fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He was previously on the faculty of Emory University (Atlanta, GA, 1979-1988), where he served as Director of Eye Research, and Washington University (St. Louis, MO, 1988-200), where he served as Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology from 1988 to 1998. Dr. Kaplan has published almost 300 articles in scholarly journals. Among his accolades are the Alcon Research Institute’s Scientific Award and the editorship of the Journal of Ocular Immunology and Inflammation. He is a past president of the Uveitis Society and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons (FACS) and the Association for Research in Ophthalmology (FARVO). Drs. Schaal and Kaplan have delivered a series of scientific educational courses focused on the medical and surgical management of cystoid macular edema at international conferences, such as the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC), and the American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS).
