Ufa Eye Research Institute has already held the annual International Conference on Ophthalmology "East–West"for the eleventh time on 3-4 June 2021. The Conference was held online on the ZOOM platform and was held in two channels.

The Conference got its name due to the location of the Republic of Bashkortostan at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Its borders continue to expand every year, and this year speakers from 16 countries took part in the Conference – Russia, Austria, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, USA, Turkey, Singapore, Algeria, Jordan, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan.

This year, the East–West forum was held offline and online, and , it is the most significant event among all medical forums and ophthalmological conferences held in Russia in terms of its international faculty.

            In total, more than 2,000 ophthalmologists from 27 countries of the world, from almost all continents, were registered at the conference. In particular, experts from other far abroad countries - Serbia, Turkey, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, Tunisia, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Germany, the Philippines, Poland, Switzerland, Sweden, India, the Czech Republic, Vietnam, and Jordan-were involved. The reports were attended by ophthalmologists from neighboring countries-Azerbaijan, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Georgia. Russia was represented by almost all regions - from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok, Nakhodka, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, as well as from Magadan to Cherkessk and Sochi.

            2021 will be anniversary year for the Ufa Eye Research Institute :

·         145th anniversary of the birth of Professor V. P. Odintsov, the founder and the first Director of the Ufa Eye Research Institute.

·           135th anniversary of the founding of the Ufa department of the Guardianship for blind people of Empress Maria Aleksandrovna

·           120th anniversary of the opening of the Ufa Eye Hospital

·           95th anniversary of the opening of the Ufa Eye Research Institute

And at the opening ceremony, the director of the Ufa Eye Research Institute , Professor M. M. Bikbov presented the main historical milestones of the institute's development, focusing on decent results in the past, excellent results in the present, and confidence in further development in the future.

The Institute has a remarkable tradition-awarding the title of "Honorary Professor of the Ufa Eye Research Institute" to well-known ophthalmologists who have made a significant contribution to the development of the specialty and carry out close scientific cooperation with our Institute. The Scientific Council of the Institute decided to confer this title to Professor Oner Gelishken (Turkey), President of the Turkish Republics Ophthalmology Society. At the opening ceremony, Professor M. M. Bikbov held a virtual ceremony of awarding the title and demonstrated the diploma and the mantle, which will be handed over to Professor Oner Gelishken. Honorary Professor of the Ufa Eye Research Institute Oner Gelishken presented his lecture on multimodal visualization of retinal pathology.   

            As always, the scientific program of the Conference was very rich – 11 scientific sessions and 7 satellite symposia were held, they were dedicated to various problems of diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases. A total of 110 reports were presented, 32 of which were presented by foreign speakers.

     The results of their research in the field of diagnosis and treatment of pathology of the anterior and posterior segments of the eye were presented by such leading specialists as Professor J.Jonas and Professor I. Kreissig from the University of Heidelberg (Germany), Professor H. Scholl-Director of the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology, Basel (Switzerland), Professor G. Zaidman-Vice-Chairman for Ophthalmology of the Corneal and Refractive Surgery Service, New York College of Medicine (USA), Professor Michael Stewart-Professor of the College of Medicine and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic (USA), Professor M. Al-Salem - Director of the Ophthalmology Clinic (Jordan), Wafa Turki – Head of Ophthalmology Department of the University Hospital of La Rabta (Tunisia).

Professor D. Milea (Singapore), Professor S. Mennel (Austria), Dr. M. Grieshaber (Switzerland), Dr. K. Carlevale and Professor P. Vinciguerra (Italy), Dr. Y. Le Mer (France), Professor F. Hafezi and N. Hafezi (Switzerland).

Professor Chin-Yu Cheng-Head of the Eye Disease Epidemiology Research Group at the Singapore Eye Research Institute and Professor T. Peto from Belfast Queens University(UK) presented excellent lectures on the modern possibilities of artificial intelligence in the field of diagnostics of diabetic retinopathy and other eye diseases. Professor R. Bourne from Cambridge University (UK) reported on the epidemiology and results of key clinical studies in closed- angle glaucoma.

Two sessions, which dealt with the diagnosis and treatment of posterior eye pathology and complex clinical cases in ophthalmology, were held with the participation of speakers from the Turkish Republics Ophthalmology Society. Speakers from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and the Ufa Eye Research Institute presented their reports.

The conference was attended by leading Russian ophthalmologists from many regions of our country, including specialists from specialized research institutes, heads of ophthalmological clinics, heads of ophthalmology departments of medical universities in Russian cities. All of them shared their work experience, presented new achievements and results.

The participants of the event were also interested in the virtual exhibition, where leading Russian and foreign companies presented new equipment and drugs, posted relevant and useful information about their products. A large number of visits to the exhibition shows the interest in the latest achievements of manufacturers of ophthalmic devices and drugs  

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            Thus, summing up the results of the XI International Conference on Ophthalmology "East-West", it can be noted that it was held at a high scientific and organizational level, as evidenced by numerous feedback from the audience with words of gratitude. Participation in the Online Сonference allows ophthalmologists from various regions of our vast country, near and far abroad to listen to the reports of leading experts, ask them questions and discuss the most important and pressing issues, gain knowledge about the most advanced technologies in the field of diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases for their application in clinical practice.