Ocular Microbiology and Immunology Group
59th Annual Meeting
October 17, 2025
Moderators: Bhupesh Bagga, DOMS, FRCS, and Rachel Wozniak, MD, PhD
-AGENDA-
Click on titles to view abstracts
NOTE: All times are EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME
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CLICK on titles to view abstracts
Time
#
Title / Presenter
6:45 a.m.
Registration
7:30 a.m.
Introduction by Moderators
7:35 a.m.
2024 Harry Hirsch Leiter Award Recipient: Infectious Etiologies of Conjunctival Tumors Michael Antonietti, MD
7:42 a.m.
Herpes vs OSSN: Infection vs Neoplasia Despoina Theotoka
7:49 a.m.
Chemo-Immunotherapy Resistant Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia Managed with I-125 Brachytherapy Pragat J. Muthu
7:56 a.m.
Ocular Exposure to a Murine Coronavirus Induces a Subclinical and Protective Immune Response in Mice Jana Livingston
8:03 a.m.
Dysautonomia and Ocular Symptoms in Long-COVID Patients Sakina Qazi
8:10 a.m.
Patients With Neurotrophic Keratopathy with Autoimmune Markers Have Worse Quality of Life Compared to Autoimmune Negative Neurotrophic Keratopathy Patients Ana Balbuena-Pareja, MSc
8:17 a.m.
Exploring the Relationship Between Serum Autoantibodies and Longitudinal Changes in Dry Eye Disease Shyamal Raolji
8:24 a.m.
Localizing Retinal Vessel Density Changes Associated with the Presence of Activated Dendritic Cells Using Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Alex Hattenhauer
8:31 a.m.
Descemet’s Membrane Anterior Keratoplasty (DMAK) Outcomes in Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency Assessed with Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography – A Case Series Neslihan Dilruba Koseoglu
8:38 a.m.
Therapeutic Penetrating Keratoplasties in the Last 3 Years: A Subgroup Analysis for a Pilot Corneal Ulcer Clinic Nicholas Joseph DeLuca
8:45 a.m.
Real World Deployment of an AI Model for Potassium Hydroxide Smear Interpretation Reveals Critical Implementation Barriers Jad F. Assaf, MD
8:52 a.m.
Characterization of Endosymbiotic Microbiota, Mycotoxigenic Potential, and Metabolic Profiles of Fusarium Keratitis Isolates: Correlation with Clinical Outcomes Salomon Merikansky, MD
8:59 a.m.
Clinical Outcomes and in vitro Susceptibility Analysis of Fungal Keratitis Treated with Adjunct Rose Bengal Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy (RB-PDAT) at the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) Aileen Miwa Tabuse
9:06 a.m.
Photochemical Interactions Between Rose Bengal Photodynamic Therapy and Topical Antifungals Against Filamentous Fungal Keratitis Isolates Brandon Chou
9:13 a.m.
Strain-Specific Impact of Melanin Pathway Inhibition on RB-PDAT Efficacy in Aspergillus Keratitis Isolates Heather Durkee, PhD
9:20 a.m.
BREAK and Poster Viewing
9:40 a.m.
Activity of Photoactivated Rose Bengal Alone or Combined with Standard Treatments in Trophozoites and Cysts of Acanthamoeba: In vitro Study Talita Trevizani Rocchetti
9:47 a.m.
Standard, Repeat, and High Fluence Rose Bengal Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy in Clinical Acanthamoeba Keratitis Isolates: In vitro Cysticidal Effect
Juan Carlos Navia
9:54 a.m.
Innovations in Cataract Surgery Techniques Darlene Miller, DHSc
10:01 a.m.
Clinical and Genomic Profile ofStaphylococcus aureus ST398 in Ocular Infections
Humza Qureshi
10:08 a.m.
Dual Antibacterial Silver-Vancomycin Nanoparticles for the Treatment Experimental Bacterial Endophthalmitis
Ashok Kumar, PhD
10:15 a.m.
Over-the-Counter Artificial Tear Formulations Differentially Influence Microbial Growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates
Felipe Echeverri Tribin
10:22 a.m.
External Validation of a Multi-Regionally Trained Deep Learning Model for Trachomatous Inflammation – Follicular Detection
Hady Yazbeck
10:29 a.m.
Investigating the Combination of Salinomycin and Ophthalmic Antibiotics in Treating Bacterial Keratitis and Preventing Corneal Scarring
Rebecca Li
10:36 a.m.
Combating Multidrug-Resistant Pseudomonas Aeruginosa Keratitis: In vitro Synergy Between Cefiderocol and Moxifloxacin
Eric Romanowski, MSc
10:43 a.m.
Antimicrobial Efficacy, Ocular Surface Toxicity, and Cytokine Expression with Povidone-Iodine and Chlorhexidine
Anam Ahmed
10:50 a.m.
Vision-Related Quality of Life Outcomes in Patients Treated for Microbial Keratitis in the SCUT II Trial
Alejandro Arboleda
10:57 a.m.
OPEN QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS
BREAK and Poster Viewing
10:57 a.m.
Introduction — Thygeson Lecture 30th Thygeson Lecture: “Following the Mutations – Adventures in Bacterial Keratitis, Predators, and Virulence Factor Regulation”Robert M. Q. Shanks, PhD
11:50 a.m.
Questions, Closing Comments, Awards
12:00 p.m.
Adjourn
12:15 p.m.
Business Luncheon – Salon 11 (Level 2)
POSTER PRESENTATIONS
Predictors of Visual Acuity Improvement in Fungal Keratitis: A Multivariate Analysis Mamta Agarwal
Diagnostic Yield of Direct vs. Indirect Corneal Cultures in Infectious Keratitis Kyle S. Chan
ABSTRACT TITLE Ashlin Joye
Post-Transplant Cyclophosphamide Modulates Immune Responses and Prolongs Graft Survival in a Murine Model of High-Risk Corneal Transplantation Ali Khodor
Referral Trends and Clinical Features of Neurotrophic Keratopathy Before and After Cenegermin Introduction Onur Olcucu
Vancomycin is Poorly Active Against Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilms Formed by Endophthalmitis Isolates Lucas Sejournet
Retrospective Review of Late-Onset Interstitial Keratitis in Post-Treatment Acanthamoeba Keratitis Grace Tu
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