Keynote speakers
Angela Arends-Tjiam
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.
Michael Blair
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.
Jean Luc Fauquert
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.
João Pedro Marques
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
Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Professor and head of dept Plastic Surgery Erasmus MC since 2016.
Main clinical and research focus on congenital craniofacial anomalies.
Coordinator of the European Reference Network Craniofacial Anomalies and ENT Disorders since 2017.
Vice-president of International Society for Craniofacial Surgery
MBA-Health in 2016
Lead of the committee for development of the guideline on craniosynostosis
Past president of the Dutch Society for Plastic Surgery
Sjoukje Loudon
Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Peter Campbell
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.
Şengül Özdek
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.
Ameenat Lola Solebo
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
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
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
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 is involved in the development of all rigid contact lenses as a Focal points Designer. Charles way of thinking is: what if we can fit RGP's that are just as comfortable as Soft contact lenses?
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.
EPOS 2025 brings together paediatric ophthalmologists and related specialists from around the world to share knowledge, explore new insights, and foster collaboration. This year’s theme, "Team- and Network in Paediatric Ophthalmology," highlights the importance to joining forces for optimal organization of paediatric eye care.
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