Dr Sophia Pathai is a member of the investment team at Peppermint VenturePartners GmBH, a private venture capital firm headquartered in Berlin, Germany.

She is an ophthalmologist with clinical and professional experience worldwide, including close to 10 years’ experience as a clinical ophthalmologist in the UK National Health Service, followed by clinical and translational research experience as a member of faculty at the International Centre for Eye Health, based at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine where she gained her PhD.

Dr Pathai then transitioned to the corporate biopharmaceutical and MedTech sector, where she was appointed to global leadership roles in clinical development and medical affairs at companies such as Roche, AbbVie, and Johnson & Johnson, working on high visibility drugs (>$20bn/year), and innovative surgical devices (>$1.5Bbn). She maintains a keen interest in global ophthalmology. In 2009 Sophia was a Staff Ophthalmologist onboard the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital and subsequently appointed to the Board of Trustees of Orbis UK in 2021. She also holds appointments as a scientific advisory board member for several early-stage biotech companies and non-profit organizations.

Dr Pathai holds a BSc (First Class Honours) in Tumor Biology from University College London; a MBBS (medical degree) from University College London Medical School; a Masters in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) and a PhD in ophthalmology and immunology and infectious diseases also awarded from LSHTM. She is Member of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (London), a Member of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Physicians and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. She is based in London.

Paul M. Karpecki, OD, FAAO, received his Doctor of Optometry degree from Indiana University and completed a fellowship in medical cornea and refractive surgery in Kansas City in affiliation with the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, now Salus University. He currently serves as Clinical Director, Advanced Ocular Surface Disease at Kentucky Eye Institute in Lexington KY.

Dr. Karpecki was appointed to the Delphi International Society at Wilmer-Johns Hopkins, which included the top 25 dry eye experts in the world and the National Eye Institute’s Dry Eye Committee to provide insights around dry eye and women. He also co-chaired the Dry Eye Summit for the profession, was a director in the CJO Optometric Dry Eye Guidelines for EyeCare, was recently selected for the DEWS II Diagnostic subcommittee and most recently appointed co-chair of the Tear Film and Ocular Surface Society Symposium in 2016 taking place in Montpellier, France. He has over two decades experience in running some of the largest dedicated dry eye clinics in the United States.

A noted educator and author, Dr. Karpecki has provided over 1000 lectures at various meetings covering 4 continents. He has also authored over 1000 papers in journals, book chapters, clinical eblasts and newsletters.

He has previously served the following roles: President of the Optometric Cataract, Cornea and Refractive Society, Chairman of the AOA Topical Interest Group in Refractive Surgery, Co-Chair of the Integrated Eyecare delivery task force for the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, Chair of the Kentucky Education Committee, Chair of the American Optometric Association Continuing Education Committee, the AOA Congress Committee and Vice President of the Ocular Surface Society of Optometry.

He currently serves as the Chief Clinical Editor for Review of Optometry, the most read journal in the profession, is director of clinical content and Chairs the New Technology and Treatment Conferences. He is also on the board for the charitable organization Optometry Giving Sight.

He is most proud of his faith, his wife Chandria and his three children including twin girls and a boy.

Carey Powers has more than 20 years of marketing leadership experience in the life sciences sector across a broad spectrum of verticals, including ophthalmology, aesthetics, diagnostics and therapeutics. Her commercialization expertise spans pre-clinical assets to billion-dollar brands, with deep experience in direct-to-consumer and professional marketing. As Principal for Powers & Company, Carey advises emerging companies in the areas of commercialization and strategic marketing. Previously, Carey served as the Vice President of Marketing for Visus Therapeutics, where she led commercial strategy for its emerging pipeline of ophthalmic drug candidates. Prior to Visus, Carey spent nine years at Allergan where she held a variety of commercial leadership roles, most recently as Director of Consumer Marketing for RESTASIS®. Carey’s industry accolades include Top 25 DTC Marketers from DTC Perspectives and Vision Monday’s Most Influential Women in Optical in 2014. She is a host for the Ophthalmology Innovation Source (OIS) Podcast. Carey holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Florida.

Dr. Rothman is a Founder and Managing Member of InFocus Capital Partners. He is a board-certified ophthalmologist and Clinical Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine and has 12 years of venture capital deal sourcing, structuring and investing experience. Dr. Rothman graduated from the Combined Seven-Year BA/MD Program at Boston University in 1993. He completed a residency in Ophthalmology on Long Island and a fellowship in Glaucoma at The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary. Dr. Rothman is currently a partner at OCLI/Glaucoma Consultants of Long Island. He is a member of the AAO, the AGS, and the ASCRS and is a past president of the Long Island Ophthalmological Society. Dr. Rothman’s background includes 20 years of clinical work, practice development, pharmaceutical and tech company consulting, surgicenter management, start-up corporate governance and health system business development. Along with his business partner Ron Weiss, MD, Dr. Rothman has been participating in venture capital funding in a variety of areas. Together, they have raised over $35 million for individual opportunities. They have partnered with the principals of a large hedge fund to create an international tech company that they oversee as members of the Board of Directors. Dr. Rothman also serves on the Board of Directors of Camras Vision and QURA, Inc, two of the portfolio companies of InFocus Fund I, and serves on the Executive Board of the Garden City Surgicenter. He is the past Director of Strategic Initiatives, Ophthalmology for the Northwell Health System.