Event Speakers/Presenters

Dr. Akshay Patel is the co-Director of the Hartford Hospital Head and Neck Oncology Program. He is a co-founder of the Connecticut Institute for Head and Neck Surgery, a subsidiary of Connecticut Ear, Nose and Throat Associates. Dr. Patel also serves as a clinical assistant professor with the Department of Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. He completed residency training in Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery and Facial Plastics Surgery at NY-COM/Barnabas Medical Center and Head and Neck Surgical Oncology and Microvascular Reconstructive Surgery Fellowship at University Hospitals – Case Western School of Medicine in Cleveland, OH.

Dr. Peterson specializes in the medical management of retinal disease including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease, and other retinal disorders. Additionally, Dr. Peterson is a fully-licensed ophthalmologist providing comprehensive eye care. Raised in rural Nevada, Dr. Peterson is excited to live in the greener pastures of the Mid-West, especially the greater Minneapolis area where his wife was born and raised. After receiving his Bachelors of Science degree in Neuroscience from Brigham Young University, Dr. Peterson attended medical school at the A.T.Still University – Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Kirksville, Missouri. His internship and residency years were completed with Michigan State University at the Hillsdale, Michigan extension where he served as a member of the Resident’s Council with the American Osteopathic College of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, in addition to presenting his research at multiple national meetings. Most recently, after completion of his ophthalmology residency, Dr. Peterson completed further fellowship specialty training in medical retina at the Joslin Diabetes Center – Beetham Eye Institute, an affiliate of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. His work there included a full spectrum of clinical medical retinal care and participation in leading-edge research. Personal Dr. Peterson, his wife, and their two children cannot get their fill of the many parks, lakes, and outdoor recreation activities available. They enjoy all forms of art, music, culture, and food.

Dr. Hadley Phillips specializes Cataract Surgery and has established himself as one of the premier Cataract Specialists in the New York area. Dr. Phillips graduated from Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency at Detroit Osteopathic Hospital. As Board Certified Ophthalmologist, Dr. Phillips focuses on technological advances in eye care and the modern cataract surgery procedure. He has developed several eye facilities, including the Phillips Eye Specialists, Hudson Eye Specialists, and River Drive Surgery and Laser Center in Elmwood Park, NJ, where he has been in practice for 40 years.

Born: Grafton, Ohio Education: Undergraduate: Bachelor of Science – Exercise Science, Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY Medical School: Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Athens, OH Residency: Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dayton, OH Fellowship: Neurotology Swedish Neuroscience Institute, Seattle, WA Dr. Prueter completed residency in general ear nose and throat and fellowship in neurotology. He performs pediatric and adult sinus and head and neck surgery. His primary clinical interest is neurotology, the surgical and medical management for disorders of hearing, balance, and facial movement. He treats disorders of the ear canal, ear drum, middle ear bones, mastoid, inner ear (cochlea and vestibular labyrinth), and nerves traveling to the brainstem. He is part of a collaborative team of neurosurgeons and skull base surgeons who treat tumors of the lateral skull base, including acoustic neuromas. Dr. Prueter is the recipient of numerous awards including the AOCOO-HNS Council of Residents and Fellows Presidential Award. He has been published in various journals including the American Journal of Otolaryngology and Journal of Otology and Neurotology.

Attended medical school at Midwestern University, Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. Residency training, Otolaryngology Michigan State University, St John Providence Health System Fellowship training, Pediatric Otolaryngology, University of Alabama Birmingham- Children's of Alabama Currently, Medical director of the Cochlear Implant Center at Valley Children's Hospital, California

Clark Rosen, MD is a Co-Director of the UCSF Voice and Swallowing Center, Chief of the Division of Laryngology, Professor of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the F Lewis Morrison MD Endowed chair of Laryngology Dr. Rosen inaugurated modern laryngology at the University of Pittsburgh beginning in 1995 creating a dedicated center of excellence in Laryngology: University of Pittsburgh Voice Center. Dr. Rosen originated the outstanding Fellowship in Laryngology and Care of the Professional Voice at the University of Pittsburgh in 2002 and trained over 15 fellows in Laryngology and numerous visiting Otolaryngologists until 2018. He is now the director of the Laryngology fellowship at the UCSF Voice and Swallowing Center. Dr. Rosen has had amazing productivity as a clinician scientist. He has authored over 220 peer reviewed publications, 34 book chapters, 6 books including being the co-editor for Bailey’s Head and Neck Surgery-Otolaryngology which is one of two main textbooks in our field. Dr. Rosen also authored (with Blake Simpson MD) a key operative atlas, Operative Techniques in Laryngology which has international reach and has been translated into to Mandarin and Spanish. Dr. Rosen has been a co-Investigator on numerous NIH grants as well as grants from the Triological Society, the VA, and private industry. Dr. Rosen has been a sought-after speaker internationally and has had major service to multiple publications and professional societies. He is a founding member of the Fall Voice Conference, was the Vice Chair of the Annual Meeting Program Committee for the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAOHNS) and was the Treasurer and President of the American Laryngological Association (ALA).

Eben L. Rosenthal is the Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He is a surgeon-scientist with an active oncologic and microvascular reconstructive surgery practice. Dr. Rosenthal became the Chair of Otolaryngology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Director of the Bill Wilkerson Center in 2021 where he works with a team of 65 faculty to delivery high complexity otolaryngology care across the Southeast. Between 2015 – 2021 he served as the John and Ann Doerr Medical Director of the Stanford Cancer Center where he worked collaboratively with Stanford Health Care leaders to set the strategy for the clinical delivery of cancer care across the Bay Area. Dr. Rosenthal has been continually funded by the NIH for the past 20 years to conduct bench to bedside translational studies in targeted therapy and molecular imaging. He has conducted over a dozen early phase clinical trials for diagnostic and therapeutic agents for the treatment of solid tumors. He is part of a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and basic scientists that perform preclinical and human studies to assesses near infrared fluorescent contrast agents for use in the operating room to make the cancer visible. The lab also focuses on molecular imaging of fluorescently labeled therapeutic antibodies to measure cellular delivery of therapies to tumors and adjacent tissues.

Alfredo A. Sadun, M.D., PhD. holds the Flora L. Thornton Endowed Chair at Doheny Eye Centers-UCLA and is Vice-Chair of Ophthalmology at UCLA. Dr. Sadun graduated from MIT (1972). He received his Ph.D. and M.D. at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1976 and 1978. He completed a residency in Ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School and, after a fellowship in Neuro-Ophthalmology, joined the full-time faculty at Harvard, Department of Ophthalmology in 1983. He was recruited to Doheny/USC where he was for 30 years. He helped lead Doheny in its transition to Doheny/UCLA in 2014. Dr. Sadun has received the greatest distinction in all three classical academic missions. His research in vision was honored by the lifetime achievement award given by Lighthouse International, the 1999 Pisart Award. His contributions to residency teaching in ophthalmology were honored by the AAO and AUPO highest award for education, the 2002 Straatsma Prize. In 2012, Dr. Sadun received the Hoyt Award, the highest prize offered in clinical neuro-ophthalmology, given jointly by the AAO and NANOS. He also received the prestigious Heed Award for Academic Excellence at the AAO meetings in 2014 and Albert Einstein Col. Of Medicine’s highest honor for contributions in science and medicine, the Purpura Prize, in 2016. He was a recipient of the AAO Life Achievement Award, 2017 in addition to 5 other AAO awards. Dr. Sadun is an international authority in neuro-ophthalmology and especially in diseases of the optic nerve. He has published over 400 peer-reviewed articles, 80 book chapters and co-authored or edited 5 books. He has been cited over 33,000 times with an H-factor of about 77. He has been an editorial board member for IOVS and Eye and Brain and peer-reviews for about 20 journals. He received funding from the NIH for over 25 years and holds 5 patents. His scholarly achievements have been recognized by several organizations including the Research for the Prevention of Blindness (RPB) James Adams Scholar Award, RPB Senior Investigator Award, AAO Honor Award, Senior Honor Award and Life Achievement Award, Secretariat Awards (2) and ARVO Gold Fellow Award. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfredo_Sadun Dr. Sadun served on and chaired the national Residency Review Committee (RRC) of the ACGME for ophthalmology. Dr. Sadun was an organizer for ophthalmology residency programs directors and became the first president of the AUPO Program Directors’ Council and was the inaugural recipient of the Straatsma Award. Dr. Sadun has a clinical practice in neuro-ophthalmology with a special emphasis on diseases of the optic nerve. Dr. Sadun maintains an active laboratory at the Doheny Vision Research Center. This research has centered on the clinical, psychophysical and laboratory studies of diseases of the optic nerve. In the 1980’s Dr. Sadun was one of the first to apply a new tract-tracing technique in order to establish nine anatomical pathways between the eye and various parts of the brain. He was the first to describe a human retinal projection to the hypothalamus that subserves the visual entrainment of the circadian rhythm. Dr. Sadun was the first to identify an optic neuropathy associated with Alzheimer’s disease. In 1993, he was selected and sponsored by the United Nations to lead an investigative team to determine the cause of an epidemic of optic neuropathy in Cuba. This work led to further investigations into the role of mitochondria in optic neuropathies due to injury from nutritional, toxic and genetic causes. Dr. Sadun has led seventeen yearly international field investigations for studying the world’s largest pedigree of LHON in Brazil. In these and other studies, he has investigated the role of mitochondria in the brain, optic nerve and retina.

Dr. Sibia has received training at the finest institutions. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry at the University of Miami. He received his medical degree from Nova Southeastern University. Dr. Sibia completed his Ophthalmology residency at Michigan State University, followed by an oculoplastics fellowship at the Beraja Medical Insitute in Miami, Florida. As an accomplished surgeon, Dr. Sibia draws on his vast clinical experience along with his dedication to leading edge technology and advanced surgical techniques. He strives to provide the care that he would expect for himself and his family. Dr. Sibia educates his patients about their condition and creates a custom management plan in every case. For over fifteen years, Dr. Sibia has performed thousands of surgical eye procedures. Dr. Sibia has volunteered several times on mission trips to India where he provided much needed surgery and care for the less fortunate, as well as teaching the local ophthalmologists his surgical techniques. Dr. Sibia is a national speaker and gives lectures on multiple topics to his peers. He has served many years as a Board of Governor for the American Osteopathic Colleges of Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and has held the offices of Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President and is currently the President of the colleges. He has traveled many times to Washington, D.C. to meet with policy experts and Members of the U.S. Congress on healthcare issues. In his free time, Dr. Sibia enjoys spending time and traveling with his family.

Undergraduate- Bachelor of Science, University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, 2010 Medical School- Midwestern University College of Osteopathic Medicine, 2015 Residency- Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, McLaren Hospital/Michigan State University Hospital Systems, 2020 Fellowship- Advanced Otology and Lateral Skull Base Surgery, Dr. Douglas Backous/Puget Sound ENT, 2021 Century Ear, Nose and Throat- Current Employment in Private Practice

Libby Smith, D.O., FAOCO, is Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. She is the Director of the University of Pittsburgh Voice Center. Dr. Smith received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and her medical degree from Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. She received her Otolaryngology training at Grandview-Kettering Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio, and completed a fellowship in Laryngology and Care of the Professional Voice in Philadelphia, PA. A board-certified Otolaryngologist, she specializes in the treatment of voice, airway, and swallowing disorders. Her research interests include laryngeal electromyography, vocal fold paralysis, and surgical ergonomics.

Prior to joining the SCO faculty in 2015, Dr. Squier was a staff optometrist at The Chicago Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Illinois Eye Institute in Chicago, IL. Dr. Squier is the Chief of Low Vision Services and is also the Instructor of Record for SCO’s Vision Rehabilitation Course. Dr. Squier teaches interns and residents in the Low Vision Service as well as Adult Primary Care Clinic. She is the co-director of the Low Vision/Ocular Disease Residency. Her research interests include low vision rehabilitation as well as public health aspects of visual impairment. Dr. Squier is a Diplomate of the Low Vision Section of the American Academy of Optometry and is the Section Chair Low Vision Section. She is also a member of the American Public Health Association, Tennessee Public Health Association and the American Optometric Association. Dr. Squier has lectured and presented her research at local and international conferences on low vision and public health.

Donny W. Suh, M.D., FAAP, MBA, FACS works at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), Gavin Herbert Eye Institute and at Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). He is Professor and Chief of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Eye Mobile Program in the Department of Ophthalmology, UCI. He completed his pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus fellowship at The Wilmer Eye Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and his ophthalmology residency at The Eye Institute, Medical College of Wisconsin. He received his medical doctorate from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and he also received his Bachelor of Arts in biochemistry from Rice University in Houston, Texas. Dr. Suh is an active volunteer faculty of ORBIS Global Health Programs since 2000, and has traveled to South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa to provide medical and surgical services to the underserved as well as to teach the local ophthalmologists. In December 2021, he became an Orbis’ Medical Advisory Committee member. He is a Chief Editor for Medscape Online Reference since March 2016 and has published over 100 articles in major journals and chapters in major textbooks. Also, he is an Associate Editor of Frontier In Ophthalmology and is on the Editorial Board. He is actively involved with teaching medical students and residents in pediatrics and ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) School of Medicine and Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC). He is currently involved in multiple Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved research projects and actively working with UCI and Creighton medical students, residents in Pediatrics and Ophthalmology. Dr. Suh was a Chairman of the Annual Meeting Program Committee in pediatric ophthalmology for the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) and the President of Polk County Medical Society in Iowa in 2014 representing over 1,200 physicians in Central Iowa advocating for the patients and medical professionals. He was also Annual Meeting Program Committee Chair for The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) in his subspecialty. Previously, he worked at the Children’s Hospital of Omaha as the Chief of Ophthalmology Service and Interim Surgeon-in-Chief. He was John and Irene Graether Endowed Chair and Professor at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences. He was also the Director of Fellowship in Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Suh is actively involved with research with the Pediatric Eye Disease Investigation Group (PEDIG), which has been sponsored by the National Eye Institute (NIH) since 2000. He has numerous inventions with patents for surgical equipment and medical devices. He is an Executive Committee member and a Chair-Elect for Section on Ophthalmology (SOOp) of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). He helps to establish guidelines and to advocate for pediatricians for pediatric eye care. He is also the Chairman for Membership Committee for American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Ophthalmology Section, and he has been voted “Best Doctor in America” and “America’s Top Ophthalmologist” since 2003 to present. He has been inducted to American Ophthalmological Society (AOS), which was founded in 1864, and have been voted “Inventor of the Year” in 2019 at University of Nebraska Medical Center. In 2022, he was nominated and selected as the Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award from National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness. He enjoys golf, traveling, and spending time with family.