USC Eye Institute Director Rohit Varma, MD, MPH, was the guest of honor and featured speaker recently at the Pacific Coast Oto-Ophthalmological Society Meeting in Hawaii.

The conference, now in its 99^th year, draws top otolaryngology and ophthalmology physicians and scientists from across the country.

Along with Varma, a dozen Keck School of Medicine of USC faculty members attended the conference, held in June at the Fairmont Orchid on the island of Hawaii. Among them were the society’s otolaryngology president, Dennis Maceri, MD, associate professor of clinical otolaryngology and neurosurgery.

During his featured discussions, Varma spoke about the impact of diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma on quality of life, the prevalence and risk factors for diabetic macular edema in the United States, and the use of an ab-interno gelatin stent for treatment of glaucoma.

— Douglas Morino