The 46th Annual Meeting of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society in Amelia Island, Florida

The North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society(NANOS) held its 46th Annual Meeting at the Omni Hotels and Resorts in Amelia Island, Florida from March 7-12, 2020 (Fig. 1). This year proved to be a particularly challenging, although rewarding, meeting as the pandemic of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, had recently begun to take root in the United States (Fig. 2). Many international and domestic attendees were unable to attend because of institutional travel bans. Despite the incredibly short notice, more than 20 presentations were given remotely through the use of telecommunication programs, such as Zoom.

Neuro-Ophthalmology News Section Editor: Kathleen B. Digre, MD The 46th Annual Meeting of the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society in Amelia Island, Florida FIG. 1. Omni Hotels and Resorts in Amelia Island, Florida. T he North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS) held its 46th Annual Meeting at the Omni Hotels and Resorts in Amelia Island, Florida from March 7- 12, 2020 (Fig. 1). This year proved to be a particularly challenging, although rewarding, meeting as the pandemic of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, had recently begun to take root in the United States (Fig. 2). Many international and domestic attendees were unable to attend because of institutional travel bans. Despite the incredibly short notice, more than 20 presentations were given remotely through the use of telecommunication programs, such as Zoom. The Frank Walsh Society meeting was co-hosted by St. Louis University and Washington University in St. Louis. Special experts included Manu S. Goyal, MD, MSc in neuroradiology (who was kept from traveling at the last minute and performed remotely through Zoom) and Joseph Corbo, MD, PhD in neuropathology both from the University of Washington in St. Louis. The best Walsh abstract by a fellow was presented by Tatiana Deveney, MD from the University of Michigan entitled "Look in the Back." Poster session I: "Clinical Highlights in Neuro-Ophthalmology" was held on the day of the Walsh meeting and included 169 posters. Seay and Digre: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2020; 40: e27-e28 The daily educational symposia were outstanding. Day 2 of the meeting brought "Hot Topics," which discussed issues such as empty sellas, dominant optic atrophy and Wolfram, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy precipitants, and vessel imaging for the diagnosis of giant cell arteritis. The use of telemedicine in neuro-ophthalmology was reviewed, which proved to be a very timely discussion, as institutions suddenly became reliant on telemedicine due to COVID-19 (see the following link:https://novel.utah. edu/about/telemedicine2020.php). Day 2 also included FIG. 2. NANOS Board members displaying disinfectants essential for a safe meeting amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the timing of early March 2020, this meeting occurred prior to the recommendations for masks and face coverings. e27 Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. Neuro-Ophthalmology News FIG. 3. Kevin Lai (Left) and Kimberly Winges received NANOS Merit Awards for their outstanding contributions to NANOS. riveting discussions in the first session of scientific platforms. Day 3 began with the second and third scientific platforms sessions, followed by an afternoon free for activities. The night concluded with "Meet the Legends of Neuro-Ophthalmology" (attended by Tom and Susan Carlow, Bob Daroff, David Knox, Jack Selhort, Klara Landau, and Jonathan Trobe) and poster session II: "Scientific Advancements", which included 306 posters. On day 4, Tariq Bhatti and Vivek Patel discussed "Skull base Disorders and Surgical Approaches" with Dr Amin Kassam, followed by "2020: What is New in Low Vision." On the final day, new treatments in neuro-ophthalmology, including those for thyroid eye disease, optic nerve regeneration, stem cells, and gene therapy, were discussed. The meeting concluded with Shannon Beres and Paul Phillips discussing "Strabismus: Image? Operate?" The Jacobson Lecture featured Dr. Steven Galetta's talk, "Optic Neuritis: Past, Present, and Future." This presentation was delivered virtually because Dr. Galetta was affected by an institutional travel ban. Dr. Galetta from New York University highlighted advancements in the diagnosis of optic neuritis, including the use of optical coherence tomography and the discovery of antibodies to aquaporin-4 and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, which are antibodies associated with distinct disease entities from multiple sclerosis. He then discussed the future of optic neuritis, including personalized medicine based on one's immune profile, gene therapy, and neuro-protective agents. The 2020 meeting had more than 700 registrants and was on track for record attendance. Despite many lastminute institutional travel bans, actual attendance exceeded 500 attendees. The annual banquet was held in the Amelia and Magnolia Ballrooms with dinner and dancing! This year's awardees were: James A. Sharpe Best Abstract by a Fellow Rahul Sharma, MD, MPH, FRCSC-"Prognostic Value of the Neurological Pupil Index in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH) Patients: The FOTO-ICU Study" e28 Best Abstract by a Resident Jenny Hepschke, MBBS, BSc (MED), PhD-"Is Visual Snow a thalamo-cortical dysrhythmia of the visual processing system-a magnetoencephalogram study" Best Abstract by a Student Elizabeth Saionz, PhD-"Time is vision: early training enhances vision restoration after occipital stroke" 2020 Pilot Grant Award Michael Dattilo, MD, PhD-"Tree shrew retinal venous pulsations: Toward a system to non-invasively measure intracranial pressure" Thomas and Susan Carlow Young Investigator Award Ahmara G. Ross, MD, PhD-"Development of a Retinal Ganglion Cell Specific Gene Therapy Using SIRT1 Signaling" 2020 Merit Award (for extraordinary contributions of time, energy, and resources to NANOS) (Fig. 3) Kevin E. Lai, MD Kimberly M. Winges, MD Hoyt Lecture Award John L. Keltner, MD for his presentation of the William F. Hoyt Lecture "CAR-Unexplained Vision Loss" J. Lawton Smith Award Melinda Chang, MD for her article in the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology with John Keltner-"Risk factors for fellow eye involvement in non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION)" Pilot Grant Leadership Development Award Sangeeta Khanna, MD Janel Fick, Trish Shomion, and Tara Thebeau hosted another very well-organized meeting. Onsite staff also included Ali Carlson and Katie Koston. The 47th NANOS Annual Meeting will be in Tucson, AZ from February 20- 25, 2021. Meagan Seay, DO Kathleen Digre, MD University of Utah Moran Eye Center, Salt Lake City, Utah Seay and Digre: J Neuro-Ophthalmol 2020; 40: e27-e28 Copyright © North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.