Retina International World Congress 2024 Speaker Spotlight: Dr. Tiarnán Keenan

Our Retina International World Congress (RIWC24) takes place from the 5th – 8th June 2024 in the Dublin Royal Convention Centre, in the heart of Dublin city centre.

Our Scientific Committee has been working relentlessly to secure an impressive lineup of outstanding speakers for RIWC24. As part of our Meet the Speaker series, we are delighted to introduce another esteemed speaker for our Retina International World Congress (RIWC24), Dr. Tiarnán Keenan, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Keenan is a staff clinician in retinal disease within the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications at the National Eye Institute (NEI). He is also currently a member of the program committee for ARVO, section editor for Eye, grant reviewer for Fight For Sight (UK) and contributor to the Ryan Initiative for Macular Research.

Dr. Keenan’s current research focus is Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD); the diagnostics, prevention and treatment of AMD. Dr Keenan’s research on AMD involves genetic and clinical studies as well as the use of Artificial Intelligence. Overall Dr. Keenan’s aim is the study of the mechanisms through which AMD develops to design more efficient therapies and you can learn more about his work in his full bio below.

Headshot of Dr. Tiarnán Keenan on a blue background image. Text: Retina International World Congress. Dublin Royal Convention Centre, Dublin, Ireland. RIWC24. DUBLIN: Targeting the Cure. JUNE 5-8, 2024. DR. TIARNÁN KEENAN, Staff clinician in retinal disease in the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications, National Eye Institute (NEI). At the bottom of the image, there are the Fighting Blindness and Retina International logos

We are delighted to have Dr. Tiarnán Keenan with us at the Retina International World Congress presenting on AMD.

Stay tuned for more updates and registration details as we draw closer to this incredible gathering of the latest scientific research and innovation, set to take place in 2024.

Dr. Tiarnán Keenan bio

Dr. Keenan’s current research focus is age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of severe vision impairment and blindness in people over 65 years of age. His research spans from the diagnosis to the treatment, and prevention of AMD. Overall Dr. Keenan’s aim is the study of the mechanisms through which AMD develops to design more efficient/effective therapies, based on the below three approaches:

  • Analysis of the genetic background of AMD: investigating the disease’s causes in a molecular level through biochemical and anatomical studies.
  • Clinical studies: examining the progression of AMD patients to discover methods of delaying it.
  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AMD: using tools of AI to automate and therefore speed, the diagnosis and risk prediction of AMD from simple retinal photographs/scans.

Dr Keenan completed his undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Oxford, followed by his Ph.D. at the University of Manchester for biochemical analyses of human macular tissue in relation to AMD. He conducted further research on AMD as a Fulbright scholar at the Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, USA and he was admitted as a fellow (FRCOphth) into the UK Royal College of Ophthalmologists. Finally, Dr Keenan completed his fellowship training in medical retinal disease at NEI, where he is currently based.

More info about Dr. Keenan can be found here.