Advancing Vision Summit Program

Meet The Experts

Research at the International Myopia Conference and the American Academy of Optometry Professional Career Development Award. She is a Silver Fellow of ARVO as well as a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.

Rudrani (Rani) Banik, MD is a board-certified neuro ophthalmologist, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at Mount Sinai, and founder of a private practice in New

Rahim Bhaloo, OD, FAAO is an Assistant Clinical Professor at SUNY College of Optometry.

York City. She earned her MD from Brown University,

completed residency at UC Irvine, and fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute/Johns Hopkins.

A Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry, Dr. Bhaloo oversees the clinical externship placements for fourth-year optometry students and instructs across multiple laboratory, clinical, and elective

Also certified in Integrative and Functional Medicine, Dr. Banik takes a root-cause approach to eye health, integrating evidence-informed nutrition, lifestyle strategies, botanicals, and supplements into patient care. Her expertise has been featured by Good Morning America , The New York Times , TODAY , CBS , NBC , ABC , FOX , and The Washington Post. She has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor and New York Magazine Best Doctor in Ophthalmology annually since 2017. She is the bestselling author of Beyond Carrots and Dr. Rani’s Plant-Based Visionary Kitchen , founder of The Eye Summit™, and host of The Eye-Q Podcast , where she explores eye health, vision, and migraine.

courses, including serving as an instructor of record for the third year Optometric Telehealth & AI seminar. His clinical and research background is primarily focused on insights into early detection of glaucomatous progression. Dr. Bhaloo frequently lectures on the integration of artificial intelligence in clinical practice and education, and he serves as a consultant for the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education (ACOE) and a course reviewer for COPE when not spending time with his wife and two sons.

Alexandra Benavente-Perez, MCOptom PhD FAAO FARVO

Christine Chang, BA serves as Director at Artesian Capital, a global impact investor spanning clean tech / agtech

is a Research Professor at the SUNY College of Optometry and Principal Investigator of her federally and industry-funded research lab, focused on

to healthtech/medtech — from digital health and AI enabled care to wellness

identifying the mechanisms that lead to myopia and associated blinding consequences. She has served as Chair of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting Program Committee (Anatomy section) and is an appointed member of the Scientific Committees of the American Academy of Optometry and the International Myopia Conference. She has received the Josh Wallman Memorial Award/Zeiss Young Scientist Award in Myopia

technologies and eye disease diagnostics. Her role includes origination, operational due diligence,

compliance, and board advisory across these portfolios. Christine brings 25 years of experience in institutional asset management and deep expertise in alternative and specialty finance. She advises family offices and their portfolio companies as Board Chair, CEO, COO, and CCO, guiding management teams through the full

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