Michiko MANDAI, MD, PhD, is a director of Research Center, Kobe City Eye Hospital. She is an ophthalmologist and also actively conducting translational researches to develop new therapies. In the past 2 decades, she contributed to the development of iPS cell based regenerative therapies for retinal degeneration, first at RIKEN and now at Kobe City Eye Hospital, from the initial stages involving proof of concept and preclinical studies to the subsequent clinical application for retinal degeneration using iPS cell-derived pigment epithelium (RPE) and the neural retina.

Serge PICAUD, PhD, is the Director of the Paris Vision Institute (France), a leading centre in vision research and ophthalmology. He has worked on the physiology of photoreceptors characterizing their receptors and ionic channels. This knowledge has enabled him to develop strategies preventing their degeneration. Serge Picaud has also investigated the mechanisms of phototoxicity to propose filters protecting the retina. In parallel, he has contributed to the development of prostheses and optogenetic therapy for restoring vision at the retinal level by validating these approaches on non-human primates. Both strategies entered into clinical trials with great success representing a world premiere for the optogenetic therapy. Recently, he provided the preclinical proof of concept for restoring vision directly at the cortical level by sonogenetic therapy.

Masayo TAKAHASHI, MD, PhD, is the President and CEO of Vision Care Inc., as well as a Japanese ophthalmologist and stem cell researcher. After she received her M.D. and Ph.D. from Kyoto University, served as an assistant professor in the Kyoto University Hospital. Discovered the potential of stem cells as a tool for retina therapy when she moved to the Salk Institute, U.S. She joined RIKEN in 2006, her team launched a pilot clinical study using iPS cells first in human in 2013. She started a new carrier, a president of start-up company; Vision Care Inc., to proceed implement clinical therapy.

Juliette PULMAN, PhD, is a young French researcher working in gene therapy and gene editing for inherited retinal dystrophy (IRD). She developed a transient delivery method for CRISPR/Cas9 to the retina, reducing the toxicity compared to viral delivery while maintaining high efficacy.  She also used retinal organoids as a model to test the CRISPR/Cas9 potential. She aims to develop gene editing therapy to treat the genetic causes of IRDs and stop or delay the progression of many currently incurable IRD.

Sylvain FISSON (PhD) is professor of Immunology at Evry Paris-Saclay University (France), and heads the heads the Sino-French program (Bachelor and Master degrees) in Life Sciences and Health in partnership with HUST University (China). He is specialist in immune responses and mechanisms regulating inflammation in immune sanctuaries such as the eyes. His research at the Vision Institute mainly focuses on the inflammatory mechanisms subsequent to ocular gene transfer in human clinical trials, animal models (NHP and murine models), and in vitro organoid models. Currently secretary of the Immunology group of the ESGCT scientific committee, he has led several research projects on immunological biomarkers and immunopathology mechanisms, collaborating with academic and industrial teams to develop innovative therapeutic approaches.

Marion GHIBAUDO, PhD, is Chief Technical Officer Medical Devices at GenSight Biologics, a leading company developing and commercializing gene therapies for neurodegenerative retinal diseases and diseases of the central nervous system. Graduated from Ecole polytechnique (France), she holds a PhD at the Physics/Biology interface from Université Paris Diderot. She has 15+ years of experience in R&D at the crossroads of Physics, Biology and Engineering in various Life Science environments, including more than 7 years in Medical Device development. She is leading the development of GS030 program, with a particular attention on the medical device component.

Akiko MAEDA, MD, PhD is a physician-scientist and ophthalmologist in the area of inherited retinal dystrophy (IRD), who was trained in the US and Japan. She is an established PI for studying retinal biochemistry, pharmacology, therapeutic development including gene therapy and cell therapy. She developed an in vitro diagnostic (IVD)-IRD genetic testing with industries and her genetic test was successfully approved as the first IRD genetic testing covered by insurance in Japan.

Dr. Steven DEVRIES is the David Shoch, MD, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. He earned his PhD in Neurobiology in 1988 and his MD in 1991, both from the University of Chicago. His research focuses on retinal function, synaptic transmission, and visual processing. Dr. DeVries has made significant contributions to understanding how signals are processed differently at blue and green cone synapses and how these circuits are established in the retina.

Molecular architecture of the photoreceptor synapse

The molecular architecture of the planar synapses that transmit digital, all-or-nothing action potentials is increasingly well understood. In contrast, while many proteins involved in organizing analog photoreceptor synapses have been identified, their precise distribution within the 3-dimensional terminals is less clear. The distribution is important because it can inform us about the amplitude, kinetics, and efficiency of the synaptic response, synaptic maintenance during normal function and in disease, and strategies to help establish connections with transplanted photoreceptors. MINFLUX super-resolution microscopy when combined with DNA-PAINT can localize multiple proteins with 1-3 nm precision in XY&Z, enabling us to see how proteins are interrelated at the molecular level. Here, we use MINFLUX to examine the proteins involved in signal transmission at mammalian rod and cone synapses. Localized proteins include the presynaptic active zone proteins ribeye and bassoon, postsynaptic AMPA and kainate receptors on horizontal and Off bipolar cells, and mGluR6 and Trpm1 transduction channels in both rod and cone On bipolar cells. Transsynaptic proteins at rod and cone synapses are also imaged.

Gilles TESSIER is professor of physics at Sorbonne Université, and heads the "3D microscopies" research team at Institut de la Vision. He specializes in optics, and in the development of microscopic imaging techniques targetting biological and medical applications, particularly for retinal and neuronal imaging.  His research themes include digital holography and other wavefront-sensing and phase imaging methods, as well as wavefront shaping and temperature imaging techniques, in the context of multiplane neuronal activity monitoring, imaging in aberrating media, or live cell imaging.

Tual MONFORT, PhD, is a tenured INSERM Researcher at the Vision Institute in Paris, France. His work focuses on developing next-generation label-free, non-invasive, high-resolution, live, in vitro microscopy techniques to unravel disease mechanisms in unaltered 3D tissue such as the retina. Dr. Monfort's expertise spans various advanced imaging modalities. He obtained his PhD from the University of Southampton, UK, in 2018, where he developed and applied label-free nonlinear imaging techniques for cancer diagnosis (second-harmonic generation coherent Raman imaging, two-photon fluorescence, computer vision tools for automated diagnosis). Dr. Monfort is a co-founder and CTO of Lutèce Dynamics, a company aimed at commercializing Dynamic Full-Field Optical Coherence Tomography (D-FFOCT) technology for the microscopy field, a technology that he has extensively developed. His work at the Vision Institute continues to push the boundaries of optical imaging techniques, contributing to advancements in both fundamental research and potential clinical applications in vision science.

Marine DURAND, MSc, is Product Manager at Imagine Eyes, a leading pioneer in high-resolution retinal imaging. Shortly after graduating as an engineer from the Institut d’Optique Graduate School, she was awarded with a “VIE” grant by Imagine Eyes and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to conduct a mission in Japan, where she provided technical support to customers while working part-time as a foreign graduate student at the Nippon Medical School. Since joining Imagine Eyes’ headquarters in France, her work has been dedicated to the international deployment of the company's adaptive optics retinal imaging devices. She has managed various activities including new product specifications, clinical evaluations, post-market surveillance, marketing and communication events, and collaborations with leading ophthalmology centers.

Thierry Villette is a tenured R&D Director at EssilorLuxottica, based in Paris, who sets up collaborative research and innovation projects with academic or industry partners in the fields of eye and vision sciences as well as medical device technologies. He has pioneered for his Group upstream research in emerging fields such as blue light & eye photo/chrono/biology or myopia retinal mechanisms, involving in particular a strategic partnership with the Paris Institut de la Vision. Last year he initiated an ambitious 5-year consortium project “Premyom” on personalized myopia control ophthalmic solutions. His missions also include science outreach initiatives to share and value EssilorLuxottica scientific innovations. Prior to his 17+year at EssilorLuxottica, Thierry’s career spanned over the pharma and biotech industry with assignments in R&D – discovery on active molecules and immune-therapeutics, pharmaceutical development - and business development in France and in the USA in the fields of antibiotics, skin care, auto-immune diseases and ophthalmology. Thierry graduated from Ecole Supérieure de Physique et Chimie de Paris (ESPCI Paris PSL) and holds a PhD in medicinal organic chemistry and biochemistry from Sorbonne Université. He also holds an MBA degree from HEC business school, Paris.

Matías GOLDIN obtained Master Degree in Optics and PhD in Physics from the University of Buenos, Argentina. He completed 8-year postdoc first at Institut de Neuroscience Paris-Saclay (NEURO-PSI) France and Institut de la Vision in Paris. Matías holds a permanent CNRS research position in the team of Retinal processing and computations at Institut de la Vision. His work lies at the intersection of Systems Neuroscience and Machine Learning, where he combines large scale recordings of retinal cells, computational models of retinal responses and develops optics tools to manipulate the retinal circuits using optogenetics.

Annabelle RÉAUX LE GOAZIGO holds a Ph.D. in Neurosciences, and received postdoctoral training in Neurosciences at Semmelweis University in Hungary and Mc Gill University in Canada. She holds a permanent position at INSERM since 2002 and she has an international recognized expertise in pain. Since 2012 she leads the Vision Institute’s group dedicated to ocular pain. Her fundamental and clinical researches between the Vision Institute and the Clinical Investigation Center (Quinze-Vingts Hospital) have greatly contributed to understanding of the peripheral and central mechanisms of ocular pain and developed innovative treatment strategies to tackle corneal pain. Since 2022, she serves as the team leader. Throughout her career Dr. Réaux has secured numerous competitive national and international grants, along with academic activity. She is an active member of National and European councils and societies.

Serge PICAUD, PhD, is the Director of the Paris Vision Institute (France), a leading centre in vision research and ophthalmology. He has worked on the physiology of photoreceptors characterizing their receptors and ionic channels. This knowledge has enabled him to develop strategies preventing their degeneration. Serge Picaud has also investigated the mechanisms of phototoxicity to propose filters protecting the retina. In parallel, he has contributed to the development of prostheses and optogenetic therapy for restoring vision at the retinal level by validating these approaches on non-human primates. Both strategies entered into clinical trials with great success representing a world premiere for the optogenetic therapy. Recently, he provided the preclinical proof of concept for restoring vision directly at the cortical level by sonogenetic therapy.

Yasuo KURIMOTO, MD, PhD, is the Director of Kobe City Eye Hospital. He graduated from Kyoto University School of Medicine in 1986 and started his career as an ophthalmologist. During his postgraduate years, he began researching the regeneration of the central nervous system. Since then, while engaging in clinical practice as an ophthalmologist, he has been involved in retinal stem cell research. In 2014, he served as the clinical team leader and primary surgeon for the first-in-human iPS cell therapy, transplantation of iPS cell-derived RPE sheet for AMD.