President-elect SriniVas Sadda, MD, shares his strategies for engaging vision experts worldwide

Ahead of this year’s ARVO meeting, the Eye Care Network spoke with SriniVas R. Sadda, MD, ARVO’s president-elect. Dr. Sadda is director of artificial intelligence and imaging research, Doheny Eye Institute, and professor of ophthalmology, David Geffen School of Medicine, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

In conversation with David Hutton from Ophthalmological times, Dr. Sadda shared his goals for his upcoming term as president. They discussed the challenge of advancing global collaboration, advocacy around vision science research funding, and how this year’s ARVO meeting will strengthen relationships and drive innovation in ophthalmology.

Editor’s note: The transcript below has been lightly edited for clarity.

David Hutton: I’m David Hutton from Ophthalmological times. The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is holding its annual meeting in Seattle this year. At the end of the meeting, Dr. SriniVas Sadda will begin his term as president of the organization. Dr. Sadda is director of artificial intelligence and imaging research at the Doheny Eye Institute and professor of ophthalmology at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine.

Thank you so much for joining us. First, tell us a little about ARVO’s mission.

SriniVas R. Sadda, MD: David, first of all, thank you very much. It’s really great to be able to talk to you. Yes, I am really looking forward to serving my term as ARVO president. It’s really a great honor. ARVO’s mission is truly to foster this type of scientific exchange among vision science researchers from around the world to advance vision science research, ultimately with the goal of finding cures and treatments for patients.

DH: What are your goals for your term as president?

Stainless steel: It is a great honor and privilege to be president of ARVO. It is also a big responsibility. In fact, we spent (time) at the last ARVO meeting devising our next strategic plan for the next five years for ARVO, in an effort to expand our reach into our vision science research community, including internationally. That’s what I’d like to do. I would like to do it during my term to really promote vision scientists from around the world, try to be as inclusive as possible, try to energize and excite more people worldwide to join the meeting and contribute to the richness of what is there. the ARVO annual meeting. That is what I want to focus on during my term of office.

DH: What are some of the issues that ARVO may face in the coming year?

Stainless steel: There are always challenges when it comes to maintaining support for vision science research. We can only bring together a gathering of vision science researchers as long as there is vision science research going on in many ways, and for that we really depend on broad support for research.

Another goal of mine during my presidency, as you asked and something that I see as a challenge, is to really be an advocate for vision science research funding. I think it’s crucial. We all recognize how important vision is to all of us and to our patients. Those are the real challenges…the concern that, whether due to a recession or other budget constraints, there will be a reduction in the funding available for our vision scientists. I think this is a potential challenge, but I think it can be overcome through advocacy and by ensuring that the public as a whole is aware of the importance of supporting research in this area.

DH: How much impact can a president have during a term in office?

Stainless steel: As President, I truly serve at the pleasure of our broader ARVO community, and of course on behalf of the Board of Trustees. We have a phenomenal Supervisory Board for ARVO. They have been chosen. None of us get paid. These are all volunteers who give their time to people who really believe in the mission of ARVO and the importance of what we’re trying to do in terms of advancing vision science research.

Certainly, I think leadership as president is important in terms of directing the board or making sure that we stay on track in terms of achieving the goals in our strategic plan and things like that. Ultimately, as president you are really a member of a much broader team with our board of trustees, our executive vice president and the phenomenal staff that we have. One of the things that people often don’t fully appreciate is the amazing full-time staff that makes things happen at ARVO. As President, it is a pleasure for me to work with these individuals. It’s great to have the opportunity to influence the direction we go, but ultimately understand that we are truly carrying out a mission that we have all agreed to as members of ARVO.

DH: How will you measure the success of your term?

Stainless steel: There are many measures. Our annual meeting is the crown jewel of what we do at ARVO. I think the biggest part of success is obviously… well, what are the metrics? I mean, there’s a lot of metrics you could use. One of them is actually the number of attendees and the number of presentations that we have, because that’s what we really are. We are a platform for scientific exchange in vision scientific research. To me, the fact that more people are coming, that more great work is being presented, is really a sign of success. I have to say that COVID was a huge challenge for ARVO because you can imagine not being able to get together in person for a year, which is a big part of how corporate science research sharing happens. I think we’re just now starting to recover, in terms of our attendance numbers and things like that, as travel restrictions have been relaxed, even though there are some countries that were even under restrictions until recently. What we would like to see is a huge upswing and an increase and expansion in the number of attendees, and most importantly, the research that is presented. From my perspective, that’s a sign that there is real vibrant growth in research in vision science. That’s what I’d like to see. That would be a measure of success for me.

DH: And finally: what has ARVO meant to you during your career?

Stainless steel: ARVO has meant everything. My first ARVO was, I want to say, in 1991 or 1992, so I’ve been going to the meeting for… I think that amounts to 32 years, if I’m calculating correctly. That was really when I first went there, and I initially went there as a medical student. I really had no idea what to expect. It was a great honor, because everyone told me it was a great honor to present at ARVO, but I had no idea how valuable it would be. The collaborations that have emerged through friends and colleagues I’ve met at ARVO, a chance to sit at each other’s posters or presentations and talk about science and actually sort of brainstorm, are pretty incredible. Every year after ARVO I come back energetic with new ideas. ARVO is what really boosts the research direction for myself and my laboratory for the coming year. That’s what happens to me at every meeting. It’s clearly a meeting I’m really looking forward to and like I said, honestly I’ve come to depend on it to fuel what I do for the next year until the next ARVO. My research career would not have been able to develop and flourish without ARVO and the relationships, ideas and opportunities that ARVO has been able to create.