Speakers

Dr. Michna joined STAAR in April 2023 as Chief Clinical, Regulatory and Medical Affairs Officer. Previously, Dr. Michna served as Chief Global Clinical, Medical and Regulatory Affairs Officer of AcuFocus, Inc. from April 2018 until April 2023. AcuFocus was acquired by Bausch & Lomb in January 2023. Prior to AcuFocus, Dr. Michna served as Chief Clinical Officer at Presbia, PLC. From 2012 to 2017, Dr. Michna led clinical development for many premium intraocular lens and other surgical device technologies supporting the Alcon Surgical franchise. Dr. Michna’s industry career began as a Vision Scientist at VISTAKON®, a division of Johnson & Johnson Vision from 2008-2012, which she joined following an academic Research Fellowship with the Vision Research Group at McGill University’s Department of Ophthalmology from 2005-2008. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in optical physics and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Mr. Foust joined STAAR in April 2023 as Chief Operating Officer. Previously, Mr. Foust served as Worldwide President, Johnson & Johnson Vision, Surgical, since December 2019. At Johnson & Johnson, Warren managed the global surgical business with approximately 5,000 employees. Prior to Johnson & Johnson Vision, Surgical, Warren served as Worldwide President of Mentor, a leading breast reconstruction and aesthetics business unit of Johnson & Johnson from 2018-2019, and Vice President, U.S. Sales and Marketing from 2015-2018. Prior to Mentor, Warren held various sales leadership roles at DePuy Synthes, also a company of Johnson & Johnson. Mr. Foust started his career at Roche Pharmaceuticals as a sales representative in 1999. He holds an MBA in marketing and bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Alabama.

Dr. Barnes joined STAAR in October 2017 as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Barnes joined STAAR after a distinguished 30-year career with the military, retiring at the rank of Colonel in September 2017. From 2004 to 2017, Dr. Barnes served as Chief of Ophthalmology Services, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Soon after he joined Womack, he was asked to serve as the theater ophthalmology consultant and surgeon in Iraq and Afghanistan during 2005. In 2008, Colonel Barnes was awarded the Army Surgeon General's A designator, similar to the level of professor at a civilian institution. Dr. Barnes began his medical career in 1986 as a research assistant in the Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School/Children's Hospital in Boston and in 1991 became a general surgery intern at William Beaumont Army Medical Center. He went on to become a Special Forces (“Green Beret”) Battalion and Group Surgeon as well as the Deputy Surgeon for the US Army Special Operations Command. He completed an ophthalmology residency at the Wilford Hall/Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas in 1998. Colonel Barnes held numerous ophthalmology positions at a number of military bases and was asked to serve as the Deputy Commander for Clinical Services for all combat trauma, medical, veterinary, and dental care in Afghanistan during a 13-month deployment in 2011 to 2012. Dr. Barnes has given more than 200 presentations and lectures as well as led over 30 ophthalmology or refractive surgery research projects. He has been awarded Speaker of the Day at the Royal Hawaiian Eye Meeting ten times as well as numerous other awards and honors at industry meetings. In addition to earning his Bachelor of Arts degree from Wheaton College, and his doctorate degree from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago, Dr. Barnes' post-doctoral training includes a Cornea Fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary/Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Mr. Williams joined STAAR in July 2020 as Chief Financial Officer. He brings over 20 years of financial and operational management experience with public companies. Mr. Williams was most recently at Sientra, Inc., a medical aesthetics company where he initially served as the Chief Financial Officer before transitioning to the General Manager of the miraDry® business unit. Prior to Sientra, Mr. Williams was Chief Financial Officer of ZELTIQ Aesthetics, Inc., a publicly-traded medical device company that was acquired in 2017. Mr. Williams has also served as Vice President at NuVasive, Inc., a San Diego-based medical device company, in strategy, finance and investor relations roles. Mr. Williams received a MBA in Finance and Management from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.

1.    CMO of Refractive Surgery Service, Aier Eye Hospital Group
2.    Charter Fellow of the WCRS (World College of Refractive Surgery & Visual Sciences)
3.    Member of ICL China Key Expert Group
4.    Consultant to Chinese Ministry of Health for cetification training and examination
5.    Recipient of the ICL 500 award and ICL continuing education award in 2017
6.    Recipient of the ICL 1000 award and TICL 500 award in 2018
7.    The total number of ICL implants has exceeded 8,000
8.    Primary investigator of the research "low to moderate diopter adoption of ICL" in Aier Eye Hospital Group
9.  Establishing the ICL training system in Aier Group in 2019
 

Stephen G Slade is in private practice in Houston, Texas. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin (Summa Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and the University of Texas Medical School with a final, elective year spent at Guy’s Hospital in London. He completed his residency at the LSU Eye Center in New Orleans under Herbert Kaufman then fellowships at Baylor College of Medicine and Project ORBIS at Columbia University in New York City. Dr. Slade is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American College of Surgeons. He is an active teacher of surgical techniques and has certified several thousand surgeons in LASIK and lamellar refractive surgery. Several hundred eye surgeons have chosen him for their own surgery.

Dr. Slade is an active researcher and has served as Medical Monitor or Director for multiple technologies before the FDA including LASIK, laser cataract surgery, SMILE, wavefront and topography guided LASIK, ICLs, femtosecond lasers, Keratophakia and accommodating IOLs. He has the nation’s longest experience in LASIK, Femtosecond Laser LASIK, Accommodating IOLs, and Femtosecond Laser Cataract Surgery. He has received numerous awards with 24 named lectures including the Lans Award, the Ron Michaels Award, the Barraquer Award and the Kelman Innovation Lecture in 2021. Dr. Slade was selected by his peers for “Best Doctors”, “Best Doctors in America” and “Texas Super Doctors”. He has received the Senior Honor Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.  He is a regular presenter at medical meetings and has received several “Best Speaker” awards. He has twice won First Place at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Film Festival and was the first chair of the Refractive Surgery Committee of ASCRS.  He has served on multiple Editorial Boards including Chief Medical Editor of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today.

He was Founder/ Chairman of  the American European College of Ophthalmic Surgery (AECOS) and President of the International Intraocular Implant Club. Dr. Slade has produced many articles, book chapters and holds multiple patents or patents pending in the field. He has authored or co-authored nine textbooks on Ophthalmic surgery.  He has served on the corporate boards of several ophthalmic companies and has appeared on ABC, CBS, CNN and in the NYT, WSJ, and Vogue. Dr. Slade was the featured surgeon in the Emmy Award winning PBS documentary “20/10 by 2010?” narrated by Walter Chronkite.

Roger Zaldivar, MD, MBA is the CEO of the Instituto Zaldivar in Mendoza Argentina. He is a past-president for the Refractive Surgery Alliance from  2018 – 2021.

Dr Zaldivar graduated with honors from the University of Mendoza and completed a Fellowship in Ophthalmic Optics at The University of Arizona Department of Ophthalmology in Tucson Arizona.

In his desire to take the family business to the next level, Dr Zaldivar completed a Specialization in Management Skills at The George Washington University School of Business. Dr Zaldivar completed three separate programs at the ADEN Business School CPR, American Health Association including a Major in Finance, a Major in Management Development. He also attended the Lancaster Course in Ophthalmology, offered through the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Colby College.

Dr Zaldivar loves skiing and playing tennis in his free time. He had the pleasure to play in The Under 19 Rugby World Cup in France, playing for Argentina.

Dr. Blake K. Williamson, MD, MPH, MS is a third-generation eye doctor who continues the legacy of his family, which has been taking care of the great people of Louisiana for nearly 70 years.  Dr. Williamson serves as President Managing Partner for Williamson Eye Center. Within a few short years of private practice, Dr. Williamson has established himself as a nationally recognized surgeon, thought leader, and lecturer in the fields of advanced cataract surgery, laser vision correction, and micro invasive glaucoma surgery.

Dr. Williamson was born and raised in Baton Rouge and has placed strong emphasis on education and academic achievement throughout his life, first as a graduate from the Episcopal School and later going on to earn Master’s degrees from both Columbia University in New York City as well as the world renowned Johns Hopkins Medical Center where he completed an ophthalmology capstone. With a goal of taking care of the people of his home state, Dr. Williamson returned to Louisiana completing his medical school and ophthalmology residency training at LSU and Tulane respectively.

Frank is an Ophthalmologist and teacher since 25years. From 2011 he started with the FYEO Founder Paul Holtman as CMO and refractive surgeon. He has an extensive list of surgical subspecialties in ophthalmology (anterior segment surgery, adult and pediatric VR surgery and all-round refractive surgery), done a PhD, published scientific papers and is asked around the world to give lectures for his surgical experience and ideas. As doctor his goal for FYEO is innovation, improving surgery, increasing the surgical volume and teaching young FYEO colleagues to become the best refractive surgeons.