Cornea Society

What Cornea Society does

The Cornea Society is an international nonprofit professional medical society founded in 1975 (originally as the Castroviejo Society, renamed in 2002) and headquartered at 655 Beach St., San Francisco, California. It is self-described as the single largest subspecialty society representing cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery, serving board-certified ophthalmologists who have completed cornea fellowships, current cornea fellows-in-training in AUPO-FCC compliant programs, and PhD researchers in visual science. The society operates a portfolio of membership-based services: two peer-reviewed journals (Cornea: The Journal of Cornea and External Disease, published monthly by Wolters Kluwer Health and recognized as the subspecialty's journal of record; and Cornea Open, a gold open-access complement), the quarterly Cornea Society News newsletter, the IC3D classification of corneal dystrophies in five languages, the members-only kera-net worldwide interactive forum, the Cornea Society University webinar series (including the Fellows Webinar Series), and a members-only video library.

The society's product surface includes four prestigious awards (the Castroviejo Medal and Lecture, the Dohlman Award, the Lindstrom Corneal Surgical Innovation Lecture and Prize of $10,000, and the Troutman Cornea Prize for Young Clinician Investigators of $5,000) and a calendar of educational events anchored by Cornea Subspecialty Day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Annual Meeting, the World Cornea Congress, the Fellows Educational Summit, the Fall Fellowship Director Meeting, and the Cornea and Eye Banking Forum. Revenue derives primarily from membership dues across Associate (complimentary for in-training fellows), Member, Fellow, and Member with Thesis tiers, event registration fees, publication royalties, and industry sponsorship prospectus revenue; specific pricing for paid tiers is not publicly disclosed. Strategic partnerships include a 5% malpractice insurance premium discount with OMIC (Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company), the AAO annual meeting co-presentation, and collaborative webinars with the Eye Bank Association of America, the Canadian Cornea Society, and PanCornea. The society is led by Executive Director Polina Sfard and Chairman Terry Kim, operates as a private nonprofit with no parent company or external funding rounds, and maintains an international scope despite its U.S. incorporation and headquarters.

Name

Cornea Society

Legal name

Cornea Society

Website

https://corneasociety.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Cornea Society is an international nonprofit professional medical society serving cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery specialists worldwide through membership services, two peer-reviewed journals, educational events, the kera-net forum, and awards programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Medical Society

NAICS

Professional Organizations (813920), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAKAKAF

Cornea, External Disease & Refractive Surgery (LASIK/PRK)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Specialist Medical Practice/Ophthalmology & Optometry

SECONDARYEDAGAFAK

Scholarly Society & Association Publishing

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Academic & Scholarly Publishing (Journals, Monographs)

SECONDARYMPAGAGAD

Academic & Scientific Conferences

Media, Entertainment & Sports/Live Entertainment & Events (Concerts, Theater, Festivals)/Conventions & Conferences (Business Events)

SECONDARYTHAHACAA

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies)

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Professional Conference Organizers (PCOs) & Meeting Planners

Keywords

• Ophthalmology professional society
• Cornea subspecialty education
• Medical journal publishing
• Continuing medical education
• Professional medical association

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: The society collects membership dues at various levels. Associate membership is complimentary for cornea fellows in training. Member, Fellow, and Member with Thesis tiers likely have associated fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Cornea Society is a nonprofit professional membership society that promotes the exchange of clinical and scientific information in cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery. It sells tiered annual memberships (Associate, Member, Fellow, Member with Thesis) that grant access to peer-reviewed journals (Cornea Journal, Cornea Open), the kera-net online discussion forum, the Cornea Subspecialty Day at AAO, and educational programs. It also operates awards programs (Castroviejo, Dohlman, Lindstrom, Troutman) and publishes the IC3D Classification of Corneal Dystrophies reference document.

Product overview

The Cornea Society is a professional medical society rather than a product company. It offers a portfolio of membership-based services including two peer-reviewed journals (Cornea Journal and Cornea Open), the quarterly Cornea Society News newsletter, the kera-net online discussion forum, the Cornea Society University webinar series, and the IC3D classification publications. The society also administers four prestigious awards in cornea research and education. Educational events include Cornea Subspecialty Day at AAO and various meetings throughout the year.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• kera-net: Official online resource of the Cornea Society providing a worldwide interactive forum for subscribers to exchange clinical and scientific information related to cornea, external disease, eye banking, and refractive surgery.
• Cornea Society University

Products and services

• Cornea Journal Peer-reviewed journal serving as the journal of record for cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery, published in partnership with Wolters Kluwer Health and available to Society members and subscribers.
• Cornea Open Open-access companion publication to Cornea Journal, published in partnership with Wolters Kluwer Health, providing open access to cornea subspecialty research.
• Cornea Society News Quarterly email newsletter distributed to Society members, providing updates on Society activities, educational programming, and subspecialty news.
• kera-net Online member-only discussion forum enabling Society members to post and respond to clinical questions, case discussions, and subspecialty topics in cornea and external disease.
• Cornea Society University Sessions Webinar-based educational series providing on-demand and live continuing medical education on cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery topics for Society members.
• IC3D Classification of Corneal Dystrophies Authoritative reference publication presenting the International Classification of Corneal Dystrophies (IC3D), used by ophthalmologists, pathologists, and geneticists to classify and diagnose corneal dystrophies.
• Cornea Subspecialty Day Annual in-person and virtual educational event co-presented with the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), providing concentrated subspecialty education in cornea, external disease, and refractive surgery; members receive discounted registration.
• Video Library Curated online collection of corneal surgical procedure recordings available to Society members for study, technique review, and surgical training.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered secondary and core.

• PanCorneasecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2026Collaborative webinar partnership for 'Cornea Case Files: A Collaborative Webinar with PanCornea' scheduled for December 8, 2026.
• Canadian Cornea SocietysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 November 2026Collaborative webinar partnership for 'Cornea Case Files: A Collaborative Webinar with the Canadian Cornea Society' scheduled for November 10, 2026.
• OMIC (Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerOMIC provides a 5% premium discount for ophthalmologists who maintain active membership in the Cornea Society. Members can apply the discount at policy renewal by updating their society membership on their OMIC profile.
• American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAAO partners with the Cornea Society to present Cornea Subspecialty Day at the AAO Annual Meeting. This is an annual full-day educational event focused on the latest advances in corneal and ocular surface disease. The Cornea Society also holds its scientific symposium during the AAO annual meeting.
• Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative webinar partnership for 'Cornea Case Files: A Collaborative Webinar with the Eye Bank Association of America' scheduled for September 8, 2026.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO): The overarching professional body for all ophthalmologists in the U.S. and a major international membership organization. AAO is the society's most important distribution partner via Cornea Subspecialty Day and overlapping journals/events.

Direct peers

• Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA): U.S. association coordinating corneal tissue supply and partner on the Cornea and Eye Banking Forum and collaborative webinars. Closely aligned mission around cornea transplantation and external disease.
• American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS): U.S. subspecialty society overlapping heavily with Cornea Society on refractive surgery and anterior segment. Competes for member attention, sponsorship, and conference attendance in the same clinical territory.
• European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS): European counterpart to Cornea Society's refractive/anterior segment mission, serving the same clinical specialty through journals, congresses, and fellowship support. Direct competing society internationally.
• American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS): Peer subspecialty society serving vitreoretinal specialists, structured similarly to Cornea Society with membership tiers, an annual meeting, journal, and fellowship support. Strong operating-model comparable.
• American Glaucoma Society: Other large U.S. ophthalmology subspecialty society with the same membership/dues/journal/events business model targeting a different subspecialty. Closest structural comparable for operating a society of this type.
• International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS): International subspecialty body within ISRS/AAO focused specifically on refractive and corneal surgery — the third leg of Cornea Society's mission. Most direct international overlap on refractive surgery content.

Regional players

• PanCornea (Latin American Corneal Society): Latin American cornea society that partners with Cornea Society on joint webinars. Same subspecialty focus in a different geography — analog to Canadian Cornea Society as a regional collaborating peer.

Emerging players

• Ocular Microbiology and Immunology Group (OMIG): Smaller subspecialty group overlapping with cornea and external disease on infectious/inflammatory ocular surface conditions. Adjacent membership and overlapping educational programming.
• Tear Film & Ocular Surface Society (TFOS): Niche society focused on ocular surface disease, a domain that overlaps materially with cornea and external disease. Competes for ocular surface clinicians' membership and publishes influential reports/workshops.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/corneasociety
• Facebookfacebook.com/thecorneasociety

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Cornea Society