Faculty and ophthalmic personnel represented WashU Medicine at the AAO and ACE meetings in Orlando, sharing insights and advancing clinical education
Faculty, trainees and allied health professionals from the WashU Medicine John F. Hardesty, MD Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences attended the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and Allied Health/ACE conferences in Orlando, Florida, this past weekend. The department was strongly represented, with numerous presentations, lectures and posters highlighting clinical innovation, patient care, and the future of vision science.
Department Chair Aaron Y. Lee, MD, MSCI, joined other national leaders in presenting on advances in ophthalmic imaging and artificial intelligence, highlighting WashU Medicine’s impact in bringing cutting-edge data science to patient care.
Aaron Y. Lee, MD, MSCI presenting at the AAO meeting 
Tiffany Maslanka, COT, OSC, before her ACE presentation 
Aaron Y. Lee, MD, MSCI presenting at the AAO meeting 
Dr. Steven Couch with colleagues at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Orlando. 
Steven Couch, MD (right), with colleagues and industry partners at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting. 
Steven Couch, MD, with colleagues and industry partners at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting. 
Dr. Steven Couch with colleagues at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting in Orlando.
Several residents, fellows and staff members also presented educational sessions and attended professional development workshops throughout the weekend. At the ACE conference, Tiffany Maslanka, COT, OSC, delivered a lecture on improving accessibility and providing inclusive care during eye exams and testing for children and adults with diverse abilities. Her talk emphasized empathy, adaptability, and strategies that support every patient’s comfort and experience.
Together, the WashU Medicine Ophthalmology team’s participation across both meetings reflects the department’s deep commitment to education, collaboration and advancing vision care for all—bringing research, innovation and inclusion to the national stage.
About WashU Medicine
WashU Medicine is a global leader in academic medicine, including biomedical research, patient care and educational programs with 2,900 faculty. Its National Institutes of Health (NIH) research funding portfolio is the second largest among U.S. medical schools and has grown 56% in the last seven years. Together with institutional investment, WashU Medicine commits well over $1 billion annually to basic and clinical research innovation and training. Its faculty practice is consistently within the top five in the country, with more than 1,900 faculty physicians practicing at 130 locations and who are also the medical staffs of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals of BJC HealthCare. WashU Medicine has a storied history in MD/PhD training, recently dedicated $100 million to scholarships and curriculum renewal for its medical students, and is home to top-notch training programs in every medical subspecialty as well as physical therapy, occupational therapy, and audiology and communications sciences.