APSOPRS-NESOS Masterclass in Orbital Surgery
Kathmandu, 8th May 2026
Dr. Usha Kim
- Management of vascular tumours (Lecture)
- Medical management of thyroid eye disease (Lecture)
Round Table Meetings
Hyderabad & Bangalore, 24 & 26 April 2026
Dr. Madhu Shekhar, Chief, Intraocular Lens & Cataract Services, Aravind-Madurai, represented Aurolab at two round table meetings held in Hyderabad and Bangalore.
The first meeting, organised in association with the Hyderabad Ophthalmic Society, was held at Golkonda Hotels and Resorts Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, where he delivered the keynote address on the clinical outcomes of the Aurolab Magnus IOL. At the second-round table meeting, held at the Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway, Bangalore, he delivered a keynote address on the same topic.
Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2026
Denver, Colorado, USA, 3-7 May 2026
Scientists and research scholars from AMRF participated in the Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) 2026, held in Denver, Colorado, USA. The conference was attended by nearly 8,500 delegates from across the world.
Dr. P. Sundaresan, ICMR Emeritus Scientist, AMRF, Dr. Gowri Priya Chidambaranathan, Scientist, Immunology & Stem Cell Biology, AMRF and Dr. S. Senthilkumari, Scientist, Ocular Pharmacology, AMRF, presented papers and posters at the meeting. Sneha Nair, Junior Research Scholar, Department of Immunology & Stem Cell Biology, AMRF, received the Developing Country Eye Researcher Travel Fellowship (DCERF) 2026 to attend the conference.
The following presentations were made during the meeting:
Gowri Priya Chidambaranathan, Ravindran Kanthimathi, Arif Waseema, Lochan Aravinda, Math, Punitkumar, Devarajan Bharanidharan, Ayyasamy Vanniarajan, Radhakrishnan Shanthi, and Ramasamy Kim
- Spatial transcriptomic analysis identified the presence of stem-like cells in adult human peripheral retinal pigment epithelium (Paper Presentation)
Sneha Nair, Bharanidharan Devarajan, Vanniarajan Ayyasamy, Krishnadas S.R., Gowri Priya Chidambaranathan
- Integrated digital spatial transcriptomics and miRNA profiling identified molecular regulation of trabecular meshwork stem cells and their alteration in glaucomatous condition (Paper Presentation)
Dr. P. Sundaresan, Gowri Poigaialwar, and Maheshkumar Shanmugam
- Exploring the metabolomics signature of Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) for possible therapeutic targets (Poster Presentation)
Dr. S. Senthilkumari, Sharmila Rajendrababu, Vijayalakshmi Senthilkumar, Indira Durai, Fazil H., Krishnadas S.R., Dharmalingam Kuppamuthu, Eric Shultz, and Donald Schwartz
- TULIP™ – A non-invasive, office-based therapy to restore cellular and neural function in glaucoma (Poster Presentation)
Special Awareness Meeting at Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore
Coimbatore, 2nd May 2026
Dr. V. Narendran, CMO, Aravind-Coimbatore, and Dr. Kalpana Narendran, Chief, Paediatric Ophthalmology & Adult Strabismus Services, Aravind-Coimbatore, participated as chief guests at a special awareness meeting organised by Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, to celebrate the milestone of 400 skin donations through its Skin Bank initiative.
During the programme, Dr. Narendran spoke about Aravind’s eye care services, eye donation activities, outreach camps, and training programmes. Dr. Kalpana Narendran created awareness about the importance of eye donation and encouraged the public to support organ and tissue donation initiatives. During her talk, she also highlighted the inspiring organ donation of 8-year-old Miss S. Venbha from Coimbatore. After she was declared brain dead in February 2026, her family decided to donate her organs and tissues, highlighting the importance of the Hospital Corneal Retrieval Programme (HCRP).
36th Annual Conference of the Oculoplastics Association of India
Kochi, Kerala, 24-26 April 2026
Dr. Usha Kim
- Challenging and Complex Cases in Lid Reconstruction (Chairperson)
- Optic Nerve Sheath Fenestration (Talk – deferred live surgery session)
- Judge for the Non-Orbit Free Paper session
Dr. Meghana Tanwar, Medical Consultant, Orbit, Oculoplasty, Ocular Oncology & Ocular Prosthetic Services, Aravind-Madurai,
- Lacrimal sac tumour (Presentation)
- Lid tear repair (Presentation)
On-campus Visit to the Indian Institute of Management
Ahmedabad, 19-20 April 2026
A team from Aravind-Chennai undertook an on-campus visit to the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad as part of this year’s organisational theme, “Enabling Leadership at Different Levels,” under the Identify, Grow, Nourish, Improve, Tailor, Express (IGNITE) Leadership Development Programme.
The team, comprising heads of departments and clinical managers, participated in an intensive learning experience led by distinguished faculty, including Prof. Rajesh Chandwani, Prof. Ankur Sinha, Prof. Sunil Sharma, Prof. Amit Karna, and Prof. Viswanath Pingali.
Key sessions included Operations Management, which focused on improving efficiency and patient flow through data-driven decision-making, Strategy Implementation, which emphasised the translation of organisational vision into actionable outcomes, and Strategy Formulation & Design Thinking, which introduced structured approaches to innovation and problem-solving.
The programme also incorporated experiential learning and reflection sessions, enabling the team to connect theoretical concepts with real-time healthcare challenges, thereby strengthening leadership capabilities and fostering practical application within the organisation.
Sight for All Conclave 2026
Mastichak, Bihar, 5th April 2026
A team from Aravind participated in the Sight for All Conclave 2026, a national gathering of over 300 eminent experts and representatives from more than 30 leading eye care institutions. The conclave was hosted by Akhand Jyoti Eye Hospital at its Centre of Excellence in Mastichak, Bihar.
Centred on the theme, “Community Care as Market Intelligence: Enhancing Patient Acquisition in Eye Care Systems,” the conclave reflected a strong institutional commitment to advancing public eye health as a key development priority, particularly for underserved and marginalised communities.
The participation of distinguished institutions such as All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, Aravind Eye Care System, Sankara Nethralaya, Sankara Eye Foundation India, and Sitapur Eye Hospital highlighted a shared understanding that preventable blindness is not merely a clinical challenge, but also a systemic issue involving awareness, access, and timely intervention.
