Thea (France) – 

TROPHY: a contest for residents or fellows in ophthalmology 

TO CITE THIS ARTICLE: Thea (France) – TROPHY: a contest for residents or fellows in ophthalmology. J.ophthalmol.(Ukraine).2018;2:73-4. https://doi.org/10.31288/oftalmolzh/2018/2/7374

The Chibrets is a famous name in the pharmaceutical ophthalmology, not only in Europe, but far beyond. Five generations of the family dedicated themselves to innovative research and development for advanced stability and sterility of eye drops and ointments, focusing on the search for new molecules for ophthalmic treatment. In addition, they are the founders and major contributors to a new area in ophthalmology, ocular toxicology and pharmacology.

Laboratoires Thea is a European pharmaceutical company, based in France and 100% specialized in ophthalmology. For about 20 years it has been closely working with European ophthalmologists not only by providing high-quality eye treatment products, but also by strongly supporting their education. Chibrets’ long tradition for education has been shared with Laboratoires Thea and is kept alive. Support of various educational activities for young ophthalmologists (like the European Board of Ophthalmology and the European Club of Ocular Surface and Glaucoma (ECOS & G)) constitutes a major task of the company.

For years Thea has been sponsoring educational programs for young ophthalmologists. Moreover, it encourages presentation of their findings at annual EVER congresses by sponsoring their trips.

In 2012, Thea launched its first annual International contest of clinical cases in pathologies of the eye, TROPHY. The contest is designed to encourage presentation and communication skills of young ophthalmologists. Participants submit a clinical case which is original from a scientific and practical standpoint. The clinical cases shall be related to a pathology which can be different from year to year. Any resident or fellow in ophthalmology from the following countries can participate in the Thea TROPHY contest: Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United Kingdom, and Ukraine.

Last year, the fifth annual TROPHY contest (that of 2016-2017) with the topic “Non-surgical treatment of corneal disorders” and 117 participants from 23 countries was successfully completed. National juries of experts in ophthalmology selected 32 cases for the international final of the fifth contest. An international jury comprising professors Ulf Stenevi (Sweden), Leopold Schmetterer (Austria), Francisco Figueiredo (UK), Marc Muraine (France), Elisabeth Messmer (Germany), Bernard Duchesne (Belgium), Iwona Grabska Liberek (Poland) et al. selected three international winners among the 32 contestants.

Professor G.I. Drozhzhina, Head of Corneal Pathology Department, Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy, was a member of the national jury of experts from Ukraine. At the national selection stage of the fifth annual TROPHY contest, 17 Ukrainian ophthalmologists (O. Vitovska, Kyiv; V. Golovkina, Dnipro; L. Dolmatova, Kyiv; E. Il’ina, Kharkiv; T. Zhmud, Vinnytsia; S. Kryvovets, Vinnytsia;  N. Malachkova, Vinnytsia; Ia. Maksymtsiv, Lviv; T. Manoilo, Kyiv; B. Medvedeva, O. Petrenko, Kyiv; A. Prokopets, Kharkiv; A. Salikova, Kyiv; K. Sereda, Odesa; L. Troichenko, Odesa; and M. Schadnykh, Kyiv) submitted their case reports to the national jury of experts. Of these case reports, three were selected to participate at the final stage and were placed among the 32 best cases of the international contest. The three case reports were submitted by K.V. Sereda (“A case of successful treatment for Acanthameba keratitis”; Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy), L.F. Troichenko (“Immunohistochemical markers of corneal re-epithelialization in the management of neurotrophic keratopathy involving topical autoserum drops”; Filatov Institute of Eye Diseases and Tissue Therapy) and M.A. Schadnykh (“Bilateral segmental marginal corneal pathology”; British Ophthalmological Center, Kyiv). Drs Laura Vermuso (“Childhood refractory ocular rosacea treated by Infliximab” from France, Eduardo Sebastian Arellano Arias (“Squamous cell carcinoma: an atypical presentation”) from Mexico, and Maria Poimenidou (”Corneal melting: An undesirable paradoxical event in the blocking of the interleukin-6 receptor”) from Germany have been named the first-, second-, and third-prize winners, respectively, of the 2016-2017 TROPHY contest. The three international winners were invited to present their case reports at Théa symposium during the ARVO 2017 meeting in Baltimore, USA (travel, registration and accommodation paid for by Théa). M.A. Schadnykh, the author of one of the best case reports from Ukraine submitted to the 2016-2017 TROPHY contest, was awarded a trip to Nice, by Laboratoires Thea, to participate in the EVER 2017 congress. The K.V. Sereda’s case report was awarded a special prize. We extend our hearty congratulations to our contestants on their interesting presentations, and we hope for their participation and success in TROPHY contests in future years!

The sixth annual TROPHY contest with the topic “Novel management of ocular surface disease” was launched in September 2017, and nine case reports were submitted to the national jury of experts from Ukraine. O.N. Ivanova and K.V. Sereda, ophthalmologists from Ukraine, were the two of the 38 competitors whose works were selected for the final round among hundreds of case reports from 19 countries participating in the 2017-2018 contest. We are looking forward to the decision of the international jury and to the announcement of the winners!