Hidetaka Matsumoto received an M.D. in 2001 and a Ph.D. in 2010 from Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan. He worked in the Angiogenesis lab at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School from 2011 to 2014. Dr. Matsumoto is currently an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine. His research area is retinal diseases, specifically age-related macular degeneration and pachychoroid spectrum diseases, and he has published numerous articles in this field. Dr. Matsumoto is a member of the Macula Society.

Masahiro Miyake is a Japanese ophthalmologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology at Kyoto University. He earned his Ph.D. from Kyoto University and an M.P.H. from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His previous professional experience includes positions at the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan and the Genome Institute of Singapore.
Dr. Miyake specializes in myopia/high myopia, age-related macular degeneration, pachychoroid neovasculopathy, and central serous chorioretinopathy. His research integrates clinical studies, genetic association analyses, and artificial intelligence/big data approaches. He has published extensively in high-impact journals and has an H-index of 42. He serves on the board of the Japanese Retina and Vitreous Society and the Japanese Society of Artificial Intelligence in Ophthalmology.

2006

Graduated from Osaka City University
Junior Resident, Kobe City General Hospital

2008

Senior Resident, Kyoto University Hospital and Tenri General Hospital

2011

Graduate Student, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine

2014

Visiting Scholar, Genome Institute of Singapore

2015

Expert Officer, Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
Graduated Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine (Ph.D.)

2016

Deputy Director, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
Graduated Harvard School of Public Health (M.P.H.)

2017

Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine

2021

Associate Professor/Lecturer, Department of Ophthalmology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine

2019 M.D., Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
2021 Resident in Ophthalmology, University of the Ryukyus Hospital

2023-

Professor and Chairman, Department of Ophthalmology, Asahikawa Medical University

2017-2023

Associate Professor, Division of Ophthalmology, Department of Visual Sciences, Nihon University School of Medicine

2013-2017

Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Asahikawa Medical University

2007-2013

Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Asahikawa Medical College

2005-2007

Research Scientist, Scott & White Eye Institute and Texas A&M University Health Science Center

2000-2005

Instructor, Department of Ophthalmology, Asahikawa Medical College

1994-1996

Resident Department of Ophthalmology, Asahikawa Medical College

2008: M.D., Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University
2018: Ph.D. in Medicine, Kagawa University Graduate School
2023-present: Visiting Researcher, VisionCare Inc. and RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe
2023-present: Lecturer, Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University

2009 M.D., Hirosaki University
2011 Residency in Ophthalmology, Chiba University
2018 Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Chiba University
2020 Posdoc fellow, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University
2022 Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Teikyo University Chiba Medical Center
2023- Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Chiba University

2011 Graduated from Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga, Japan
2011-2013 Resident, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga, Japan
2013-2015 Clinical Fellow, Department of Ophthalmology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga, Japan
2015-2017 Clinical Fellow, Department of Ophthalmology, Koka Public Hospital, Shiga, Japan
2017-2022 Clinical Fellow, Department of Ophthalmology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga, Japan
2019-2023 Graduate Degree, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga, Japan
2022-2024 Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga, Japan
2024-Present Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Shiga University of Medical Science, Shiga, Japan

Kyoko Ohno-Matsui is Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Ophthalmology at Institute of Science Tokyo. She is also the Chief of the Advanced Clinical Center for Myopia. Her research focuses on myopia, especially pathologic myopia. She established an international photographic classification of myopic maculopathy. As a method to visualize the shape of the entire globe in high myopes, she established a new technique ‘3D MRI of the eye’ and proposed a novel classification of staphyloma. She has authored or co-authored 423 manuscripts published in peer-reviewed journals. She has been awarded The J. Donald Gass Medal at the Macula Society in 2022, the Jose Rizal Medal at Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology in 2023, and the Duke Elder Medal at the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in 2025.

Akio Oishi is a professor at Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan. He received his MD degree and PhD degree from Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan in 2001 and 2009, respectively. He worked at University of Bonn from 2015 to 2017 as an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellow. His current interest includes treatment of neovascular and atrophic age-related macular degeneration, AI application to ophthalmic images, and genetics of inherited retinal dystrophy.

Shunsuke Osaki received an M.D. from Kochi University Medical School in 2023. He is currently a first-year resident in Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at Kochi University Medical School in Japan, where he is training in general ophthalmology. He is interested in surgical retina and is currently conducting research on ocular allergy.

2024

MD, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan

2024-

Junior Resident, Juntendo University Hospital

2025- PhD Student, Department of Ophthalmology, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine
Minami Oshima, MD, is a junior resident / PhD student at Juntendo University Hospital. Her primary research interest lies in utilizing tissue clearing methods for high-resolution imaging of inherited retinal diseases.

1993 Graduated from Nagasaki University School of Medicine
1995 Entered the Doctoral Program, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University
1999 Research Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
2000 Research Fellow, Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University
2003 Chief Ophthalmologist, Beppu Medical Center
2005 Chief Ophthalmologist, Kitakyushu Municipal Medical Center
2008 Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University Hospital
2016 Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Fukuoka University Chikushi Hospital
2019 Chief Ophthalmologist, Saiseikai Fukuoka General Hospital
2021 Associate Professor, Section of Ophthalmology, Department of Medicine, Fukuoka Dental College
2022 Professor, Section of Ophthalmology, Department of Medicine, Fukuoka Dental College

Ayumi Ouchi, MD, PhD, graduated from Juntendo University School of Medicine in 2006 and completed her residency training in ophthalmology at Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital. From 2009, she conducted research on transcription factors and epigenetic regulation in retinal development at the Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, and obtained her PhD from Juntendo University in 2012.She later joined Scripps Research in San Diego in 2017, where she investigated molecular mechanisms underlying retinal angiogenesis. She currently serves as an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital, where her clinical and laboratory research focuses on diabetic retinopathy, particularly microglial activation and neuroinflammatory processes.

Yoko Ozawa M.D., Ph.D. works as a Professor of Department of Clinical Regenerative Medicine, Fujita Medical Innovation Center TOKYO, and Director of Eye Center, Fujita Health University, Haneda Clinic. She is a specialist of vitreal, retinal, and macular diseases, both as a clinician and a basic researcher. Her recent research interests are the aging and neuroprotection of the retina, and its association with oxidative stress and inflammation. One of her missions is to find neuroprotective and regenerative treatments for the retinal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinitis pigmentosa.

2007 M.D., Kitasato University School of Medicine
2009 Resident, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Hiroshima University
2017 Clinical Lecturer , Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Hiroshima University
2024 PhD, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University

2004: Graduated from Hokkaido University School of Medicine
2004: Junior Resident, Hokkaido University Hospital
2006: Resident, Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Hospital
2007: Medical Staff, Department of Ophthalmology, Tokeidai Memorial Hospital
2008: Medical Staff, Department of Ophthalmology, Sapporo Teine Keijinkai Hospital
2009: Medical Staff, Department of Ophthalmology, Hokkaido University Hospital
2013 Completed Doctoral Program, Department of Ophthalmology, Graduate School of Medicine, Hokkaido University
2014 Medical Staff, Hokkaido University Hospital
2017: Medical Director, Teine Keijinkai Hospital
2019: Assistant Professor, Hokkaido University Hospital
2021: Clinical Lecturer, Hokkaido University Hospital

Graduated from Juntendo University School of Medicine in 2006 and completed initial clinical residency at Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital. Joined the Department of Ophthalmology at Juntendo University in 2008 and was subsequently affiliated with Juntendo University Hospital and Tokyo Dental College Ichikawa General Hospital.
Appointed Assistant Professor at Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital in 2012 and promoted to Associate Professor in 2020. Conducted research at Washington University in St. Louis in 2023. Currently serves as Director of Sakanishi Eye Clinic, and as a part-time Lecturer at Juntendo University Urayasu Hospital.

Dr. Sayanagi graduated from Kobe University of Medicine in 2001 and completed residency training in ophthalmology at the Department of Ophthalmology at Osaka University Hospital. She gained clinical experience at hospitals in Osaka Prefecture before obtaining her Ph.D. from the University of Osaka Graduate School of Medicine. She then worked as an Assistant Professor at the same university. From 2007, she served as a Research Fellow at Cole Eye Institute in the United States for two years. She began myopia research during her graduate studies and continues to focus particularly on myopic macular neovascularization. Dr. Sayanagi is presently the Director of Sayanagi Eye Clinic and a Visiting Faculty Member at the University of Osaka Graduate School of Medicine.

2006:

Graduated from Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba

2008:

Resident in Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba

2014:

Graduated from School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba
Assistant Professor in Mito Medical Center Department of Ophthalmology

2017:

Assistant Professor in Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba

2019:

Research fellow in Vitreous Retina Macula Consultants of New York

2020:

Assistant Professor in Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba

Ayana Suzumura, M.D., Ph.D., is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Nagoya University Hospital. She graduated from Nagoya University School of Medicine in 2014 and began her ophthalmology residency at her alma mater in 2016. Concurrently, she initiated basic research on the mechanisms of diabetic retinal neuropathy and potential therapeutic approaches. In 2020, she completed her Ph.D. at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine. Her research earned her the 15th Young Investigator Award from the Japanese Society of Ophthalmic Diabetology. She has been continuing her research on diabetic retinal neuronal damage. Her clinical focus is diabetic retinopathy and uveitis.

Masayo Takahashi is an ophthalmologist who completed her doctoral program (Visual Pathology) at the Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University. She served as the leader of the Laboratory for Retinal Regeneration, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research from 2006 to 2022, conducting groundbreaking clinical research using the world’s first induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells in 2014. In 2017, she collaborated with the city of Kobe to establish the “Kobe Eye Center.” After leaving RIKEN in 2019, she became the CEO of Vision Care Inc. and subsequently founded two subsidiary companies dedicated to gene therapy development and cell therapy research.

Education ＆ Qualifications
2022- Ph.D student, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan
2017 M.D., Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan

Work Experience
2023- TMDU ophthalmology assistant professor
2022 Wills Eye Hospital international observership
2019-2022 TMDU ophthalmology department resident
2018 Internship at National Institute of Public Health (WHO, WPRO)
2017-2018 Tokyo Medical and Dental University(TMDU) clinical trainee

2007: Senior Resident, Department of Ophthalmology, Kagoshima University Hospital.
2014: Ph.D., Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima University.
2015: Research Fellow, Doheny Eye Institute, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).
2017: Retinal Fellow, Department of Ophthalmology, Kagoshima University Hospital.
2020: Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Kagoshima University Hospital.
2022: Lecturer, Department of Ophthalmology, Kagoshima University Hospital.
2024: Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Kagoshima University Hospital.
2025: Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Kagoshima University Hospital.

Professional Experience
2009-2013 Chief, Department of Ophthalmology, Nagaoka Chuo General Hospital, Japan
2013 Specially Appointed Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Niigata University Medical & Dental Hospital
2013-2020 Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Niigata University Medical & Dental Hospital
2020-2021 Hospital Lecturer, Department of Ophthalmology, Niigata University Medical & Dental Hospital
2021-Present Lecturer, Department of Ophthalmology, Niigata University Medical & Dental Hospital

Yohei Tomita, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Principal Investigator of the Laboratory of Chorioretinal Biology at Keio University School of Medicine in Tokyo, Japan. He completed his ophthalmology residency, vitreoretinal fellowship, and PhD in Medicine at Keio University, followed by postdoctoral and senior research appointments at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital. His clinical and research interests focus on diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, and retinopathy of prematurity, with particular emphasis on lipid metabolism, mitochondrial dysfunction, and metabolomics-based biomarker discovery. He has published widely in journals including Metabolism, Diabetologia, Angiogenesis, and Experimental & Molecular Medicine, and serves on the International Steering Committee (ISC) of the R3i Foundation. He has also received multiple national and international awards, such as the ARVO Foundation Bert M. Glaser Award, the Alcon Young Investigator Grant, and the Medical Research Encouragement Prize of the Japan Medical Association.

Graduated from Ehime University in 2012; serving as a VR Fellow at Kyorin University since April 2024.

University of Miyazaki, Junior Resident (April 2019 - March 2021)
University of Miyazaki (April 2021 - March 2023)
Miyata Eye Hospital (April 2023 - March 2025)
University of Miyazaki (April 2025 - Present)

2022

Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Aichi Medical University
Co-director and chief surgeon, Tsuboi Eye Center

2021 Senior Research Associate, Casey eye institute, Oregon Health and Science University
2019 Research fellow, Casey eye institute, Oregon Health and Science University
2016 Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, Aichi Medical University
2013 Senior Resident in Ophthalmology, Osaka Rosai Hospital Clinical Research Center for Occupational Sensory Organ Disability, Sakai, Japan
2012 Senior Resident in Ophthalmology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine
2010 Junior Resident, Osaka Rosai Hospital Clinical Research Center for Occupational Sensory Organ Disability, Sakai, Japan
2010 Graduation of Kochi University School of Medicine

Dr. Naoko Ueda-Arakawa is an ophthalmologist with a specialty in Medical Retina.
She completed her medical degree at the Faculty of Medicine, Kyoto University, and began her clinical career at Osaka Red Cross Hospital. She subsequently obtained her Ph.D. in Medicine from the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine. Her doctoral research involved advanced imaging studies focused on age-related macular degeneration (AMD).
Since 2020, she has been Assistant Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine.
Her recent clinical and research work has focused on AMD, pachychoroid spectrum disorders and macular telangiectasia.

2005 Graduated from Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
2005 Junior Resident, National Hospital Organization Osaka National Hospital
2007 Senior Resident, Ophthalmology, Osaka University
2008 Clinical Fellow, Sumitomo Hospital, Osaka, Japan
2011 Clinical Assistant Professor, Toyama University, Toyama, Japan
2013 Assistant Professor, Toyama University, Toyama, Japan
2015 Clinical Associate Professor, Toyama University, Toyama, Japan

1992-1998 Nagoya University School of Medicine (M.D.)
2001-2004 Clinical and Research Fellowship Program (Retina) at Nagoya University (Ph.D., Medical Science)
2005-2007 Research Fellow, Ophthalmology, Johns Hopkins University
2007-2022 Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology, Nagoya University
2022- Professor, Ophthalmology, Hirosaki University

2005: MD Toho University school of medicine
2011-2013: Research fellow in University of Louisville Kentucky Lions Eye center
2012: PhD Tokyo Medical University Graduate School of Medicine
2016: Assistant Professor in Tokyo Medical University
2023: Associate Professor in Tokyo Medical University

Taku Wakabayashi, MD, PhD, is currently a vitreoretinal and cataract surgeon at Wakabayashi Eye Center in Ishikawa, Japan. He is also a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Kanazawa University, Visiting Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Aichi Medical University, and a Visiting researcher at the Department of Vascular Physiology at Kanazawa University. He received his MD from Kanazawa University, completed his Ophthalmology Residency, Vitreoretinal Fellowship, and PhD in vascular biology at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, where he later served as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology. Dr. Wakabayashi also completed his post-doctoral fellowship at Mid Atlantic Retina, Wills Eye Hospital, Thomas Jefferson University, USA.
Dr. Wakabayashi has contributed over 180 original papers, editorials, and textbook chapters, with a focus on the surgical and medical treatments of vitreoretinal diseases, including high myopia-associated macular diseases, retinal detachment, proliferative vitreoretinopathy, trauma, age-related macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy, as well as research in vascular and stem cell biology.
He has received awards and recognitions including the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Achievement Award, American Society of Retina Specialist (ASRS) Honor Award and Senior Honor Award, Best Young Investigators Award at the International Vascular Biology Meeting (IVBM), and Japanese Ophthalmological Society Young Investigators Award. He is an active member of the AAO, ASRS, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), Retina Society, and Vit-Buckle Society.

2002 MD, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine
2003 Fujita Eye Clinic, Tokushima
2008 PhD, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine
2009 Medical lecturer, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine
2012 Senior Lecturer, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine
2022 Senior Lecturer, Osaka Metropolitan University Graduate School of Medicine

1991-1997 Yamaguchi University MD
1998-2003 Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine PhD
2002-2003 Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology, Yamaguchi University
2003-2007 Chief physician, Ophthalmology, Hospital Toyota-Central Hospital, Shimonoseki
2007-2009 Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology, Yamaguchi University
2009-2010 Associate Professor, Ocular Pathophysiology, Yamaguchi University
2010-2014 Associate Professor, Ophthalmology, Yamaguchi University
2011-2013 Research Fellow, Harvard University
2015-2023 Associate Professor, Ophthalmology, Yamaguchi University Hospital
2024-now Associate Professor, Ophthalmology, Tokushima University Graduate School

1992 M.D., Yokohama City University
1997 Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Yokohama City University
2001 Postdoctoral fellow, Stanford University
2006 Research Associate, Stanford University
2010 Assistant Principal Investigator, Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences
2012 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School Singapore
2013 Clinician Scientist, Singapore Eye Research Institute
2017 Lecture, Department of Ophthalmology, Fukuoka Dental University
2019 Associate Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, Kyushu University