American Academy of Optometry 2023 annual meeting in historic NOLA

The 4-day program is extensive and includes workshops, lectures, popular ACE courses, Section and SIG Symposia, scientific program papers and posters, plus various special events. (Adobe Stock / Kevin Ruck)

The American Academy of Optometry (AAOpt) 2023 annual meeting will convene in the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in historical New Orleans from October 11-14.

The 4-day program is extensive and includes workshops, lectures, popular ACE courses, Section and SIG Symposia, scientific program papers and posters, plus various special events. Attendees can obtain CEE(TQ) credit by attending select CEE-approved lectures throughout the meeting. The extensive offering of educational opportunities covering all aspects of interest to optometry can be viewed in the online calendar of events here.

Those interested in attending can register here.

Each day’s program begins at 8:00 am. All times listed are expressed in Central Daylight Time.

Keynote addresses

The keynote address is scheduled during a plenary session on Wednesday, October 11 at 10 am. Keynote Speaker Brandon Marshall, will deliver the lecture titled, “Mental Health in Optometry.”

The Awards Ceremony and Prentice/Fry Lectures are scheduled for Friday, October 13 from 8:00-10:00 am.

Paper Sessions

In addition to the offerings mentioned above, the topics of the paper sessions sprinkled throughout the program are as follows:

Atropine & Myopia
Wednesday, October 11, 8:30-10:00 am

Glaucoma Supersession
Wednesday, October 11,1:00-3:00 pm

Myopia Clinical Trials and Predicting Progression
Wednesday, October 11, 3:30-5:00 pm

Clinical Dry Eye
Thursday, October 12, 9:00-10:30 am

Accommodation Responses and Effects
Thursday, October 12, 9:00-10:45 am

Ocular Surface Disease Mechanisms
Thursday, October 12, 10:45-12:00 pm

Optometric Education
Thursday, October 12, 11:00 am-12:00 pm

Keratoconus Biomechanics
Thursday, October 12, 1:30-2:30 pm

Mechanisms in Myopia
Thursday, October 12, 1:30-3:00 pm

New Ideas in Retinal Imaging and Choroidal Research
Thursday, October 12, 2:45-4:15 pm

Low Vision Rehabilitation
Thursday, October 12, 3:15-4:30 pm

Novel Antimicrobial Agents and Ocular Pathogens
Friday, October 13, 10:00-11:00 am

Spatial Vision and Perception
Friday, October 13, 10:00 am-12:00 pm

Meibomian Gland Imaging
Friday, October 13, 11:15 am-12:00 pm

Public Health
Friday, October 13, 2:00-3:00 pm

Traumatic Brain Injury
Friday, October 13, 2:00-3:15 pm

Retinal Disease Updates: AMD Management and DM Imaging
Friday, October 13, 3:15-4:45 pm

Visual Performance and Quality
Saturday, October 14, 8:30-10:00 am

Normal and Abnormal Oculomotor Function
Saturday, October 14, 10:15-11:30 am

Hot Topics

The always-popular discussions of hot topics in optometry are scheduled for Thursday, October 12, all from 8:00-9:00 am. Topics covered are: Evidence-Based Pediatric Eye Care, Low Vision, Ocular Surface, and Novel Techniques in Glaucoma.

Poster Sessions

Two sessions are planned:

Thursday Evening Poster Session
Thursday, October 12, 4:30-6:30 pm

Joint Scientific Program Poster Session
Friday, October 13, 1:00-3:00 pm

Exhibit Hall

Don’t forget to visit the Exhibit Hall to learn about the latest optometric technologies. The official show hours are:

Wednesday, October 11

5-7 pm--Exhibit Hall Welcome Reception

Thursday, October 12

Exhibit hall open from 10 am-6:30 pm

Student Focus Hour 10-11 am

Lunch at Exhibit Hall 11:30 am-1 pm

Friday, October 13

Exhibit Hall Open from 9 am-3 pm

Special Events

• The 2023 Comprehensive Eye Care Section Annual Ocular Photography Contest winners will be announced during the conference during the Awards Ceremony on Friday, October 12, 8:00-10:00 am. This year’s Photography Contest received 116 image submissions: 66 anterior segment submissions and 50 posterior segment submissions segment categories. Grand prizes were awarded for the anterior and posterior segment categories, followed by 4 honorable mentions from the combined submissions. Submissions were graded based on focus, exposure, field of view, difficulty of capturing image, absence of distracting elements, lighting, and visual impact (wow! factor). The total scores from 11 optometrist judges were averaged to determine the winners.
• EssilorLuxottica Eye Care Student Welcome Parade will take place outside of Hall E/F on Wednesday October 11 at 5:00 pm. A reception will take place offsite at Generations Hall from 7:00-9:30 pm.
• The VSP Residents Reception is slated for Wednesday, October 11 from 8:00-10:00 pm at the Hilton Riverside, Churchill C1. The Young ODs Reception is also on Wednesday October 11 from 8:00-10:00 pm at the Hilton Riverside, Churchill A1, A2.
• Johnson & Johnson Vision’s Empowering Diversity in Optometry event will take place on Thursday, October 12 from 6:00-8:30 pm at the Hilton Riverside; Churchill C1, C2.
• The EssilorLuxottica Academic Challenge is planned offsite at the House of Blues on Thursday, October 12 from 8:00-11:00 pm.
• The Academy Party will be held on Friday, October 13 from 9:00 pm-12:00 am at the Hilton Riverside, Grand Ballroom ABC.
• Two industry-sponsored events will be held on Friday October 13: Tarsus’s A Night to Remember will take place at The Sugar Mill from 6:00-8:00 pm and the CooperVision Bright Party will happen at the Hilton Riverside from 7:30-10:30 pm.