Statements
Official ARVO statements on critical issues impacting the eye and vision research community.
New Orleans Statement
The ARVO Board of Trustees understands the impact of the recent Supreme Court ruling which has caused some members to be uncomfortable participating in a meeting in affected states because of their personal views. ARVO confirms our Annual Meeting many years in advance and selects venues based on logistical factors including the convention center, cost to attendees, ease of travel and appeal/walkability of the downtown area. The Board of Trustees considered all aspects of the meeting and concluded that ARVO must continue to choose meeting sites based on objective logistical factors that best serve a global membership.
The meetings industry has been discussing these issues since many organizations are facing these challenges. There is work being done to help individuals attending meetings in a state with laws or regulations that he or she does not support to take personal action. This information can be found at https://socialoffset.com/. While ARVO as a nonprofit organization will not contribute to these offsets; we will be able to provide this information to attendees who would like to exercise this option.
Data Standards in Ophthalmology
March 18, 2021 - The Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) stands in full support of the AAO’s position on vendor compliance with the DICOM standard. If our ophthalmic imaging device partners could fully embrace this standard, it would undoubtedly lead to substantial progress in eye and vision research and clinical care. Read full statement.
Social Justice
June 7, 2020 - ARVO leadership shares in the dismay, rebuke, and call to action over the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others who have suffered at the hands of targeted violent acts around the world. This social injustice is not acceptable and must change. Read full statement.
Immigration Executive Order
Feb. 1, 2017 - As the world’s largest eye and vision research community, the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) is deeply concerned about the effects that the recent presidential executive order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States” will have on the free exchange of knowledge among our members and scientists in all fields around the globe. Read full statement.
March for Science
Feb. 24, 2017 - ARVO has joined with other scientific societies in partnering with the March for Science, a mass outpouring of non-partisan support for science and the scientific community. "The goals of the March, and certainly the intent of ARVO, is to humanize science, partner with and engage the broader public, advocate for open, inclusive, and accessible science, support scientists, and affirm science as a vital feature of a working democracy." Claude Burgoyne, MD, FARVO, ARVO president-elect. Read full statement.
New NIH Definition of Clinical Trials
Aug, 16, 2017 - Our members' research, much of it funded by NEI, encompasses a broad range of eye and vision science, from basic to clinical to translational. Many member scientists conduct basic research, using humans as experimental observers. These studies are not 'clinical trials' in the conventional usage and common understanding of the term; but the new NIH definition could put that label on a substantial body of work in our field. Read full statement.