Ocular versus extraocular neovascularization: mirror images or vague resemblances.

The First ARVO/Pfizer Ophthalmics Institute meeting was held Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30, 2005, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in conjunction with the 2005 ARVO Annual Meeting. The Institute meeting was funded by The ARVO Foundation for Eye Research through a grant from Pfizer Ophthalmics. The goal of the Institute is to develop strategies to improve research and clinical care in areas of ophthalmology related to preventable vision loss and blindness. The specific topic and organizer were selected by an independent selection committee which reviewed proposals received through an open call for proposals related to angiogenesis, neovascularization, and vasoproliferation. The proposal organizer solicited an international, interdisciplinary panel of expert speakers that comprised the First ARVO/Pfizer Ophthalmics Institute Working Group. One outcome of the Institute is publication of the research presented and discussions that followed to share possible new opportunities for research with the vision community and its partners in other disciplines.