Thanks to the generosity of Aniridia Network, I was fortunate enough to attend the 8^th European Aniridia Conference. This three-day event brought together international clinicians, researchers and families to discuss all aspects of aniridia.

I am an ophthalmology registrar and PhD student to Professor Mariya Moosajee at UCL and Moorfields Eye Hospital.

I sucessfully applied to Aniridia Network to pay my expenses to attend the event in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The conference by Aniridia Europe covered not only the latest research being done in the field, but also aspects of clinical management and how these should be refined for different patients.

In a refreshing step away from the norm for conferences, we heard from patients about their experiences and what would be most beneficial for them.

Particularly interesting for myself, as a clinician and researcher, was hearing about some of the cutting-edge research that is being done with stem cells and targeted therapies to develop new treatments for aniridia-associated keratopathy. This included both repurposing existing drugs as eye drops and creating new types of drops, both of which show promising results and offer hope for the future. Research into stem cells grown from skin samples from aniridia patients is expanding our knowledge of the biological changes that underlie aniridia-associated keratopathy and offers more avenues for this too.

The best aspect of this fantastic conference was the opportunity to connect with other researchers from around the world, discuss the work we are doing and bounce around ideas to refine the focus and direction of our projects. I have come away from this with information that will benefit both my current research and also many ideas for future studies and collaborations.

I met Aniridia Network trustees James and Kaite at the event too. Thank you again, Aniridia Network, for providing me with this amazing opportunity. I have left the conference with not only new friends, colleagues and information, but also a resolution to give more time and thought to my patients, to ensure I am providing individualised support where and when it is needed.