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Dr. Leonor Afrima is a postdoctoral researcher at the Flaum Eye Institute, University of Rochester, working in the lab of Dr. Michael Telias. Her research explores how retinal degeneration triggers remodeling in the surviving retinal tissue, with a focus on retinal ganglion cells and their output to the brain. Using mouse models, she combines molecular, physiological, and behavioral techniques—both ex vivo and in vivo—to investigate therapeutic strategies aimed at preserving or restoring visual function.

Dr. Afrima earned her BSc in Animal Science (2009), MSc in Biomedical Science (2013), and PhD in Biomedical Science (2020) from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.

Karina Ascunce is a 3rd-year PhD student in Neuroscience at Yale University. She completed her AB in Neuroscience, with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy, at Harvard College. While at Harvard, Karina was a Peer Study Leader for Neurobiology and Physical Chemistry, as well as serving as an EMT. In college, she also worked on researching opioid use disorder at the public health level. Her current PhD research focuses on the molecular basis of planarian worm visual system regeneration, with a focus on how axons regenerate. In her free time, Karina teaches Stem Cell Biology through MITES @ MIT; she also likes to read, dance, or do anything that's even remotely crafty (painting, crocheting, etc)!

I am a PhD student at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and the University of Konstanz (IMPRS-QBEE). In my PhD project at the Bahl lab I investigate the neural mechanisms of visual and behavioural plasticity. I combine behavioural tracking and neural activity recordings across the visual system of larval zebrafish with computational modelling. My goal is to understand how visual information is represented in the brain to orchestrate behaviour and how these representations change with experience. More broadly, I am interested in theory-driven approaches to sensory processing and behavior to extract general principles governing the function of biological systems. Outside the lab I enjoy bouldering, hiking, playing music and reading books.

Tavita Garrett, PhD, recently completed her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Oregon Health & Science University in the lab of Dr. Benjamin Sivyer. Her dissertation work focused on characterizing intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells in mouse and non-human primate models. Tavita has a background in intersectional genetics, immunohistochemistry, confocal imaging, optogenetics, and whole-cell patch clamp recordings. Tavita is currently working in the Leffler laboratory at OHSU, developing multielectrode array and imaging analysis pipelines for characterizing NHP retinal ganglion cells. Outside of the lab, Tavita enjoys soccer, skiing, paddleboarding, and exploring the Portland food scene.

Anna is an incoming PhD student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she will be joining Dr. Raunak Sinha’s lab to study phototransduction in primates, with an emphasis on evolutionary principles of vision. Most recently, Anna worked as a research assistant in Dr. Jörgen Kornfeld’s lab at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB), contributing to the lab’s relocation from the Max Planck Institute in Munich and supporting research on machine learning-based identification of vesicles in Drosophila connectomics data. She earned her master’s degree in Basic and Translational Neuroscience from the University of Cambridge in 2024. Her research, conducted also at the MRC LMB under the supervision of Dr. Bill Schafer in collaboration with Dr. Eve Seuntjens at KU Leuven in Belgium, focused on monoamine GPCRs in the visual system of Octopus vulgaris. Anna holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Neurobiology and Chemistry (with a minor in Theatre) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. As an undergraduate, she worked with Dr. Meyer Jackson, investigating short-term synaptic plasticity of parvalbumin interneurons in mouse barrel cortex.

I am currently a 5th year Vision Science Ph.D. Candidate at University of Houston College of Optometry working with Dr. Christophe Ribelayga. My research focus lies within the intersection of neurovascular retinal development, ipRGCs, and circadian rhythms. Using a mouse model with developmental genetic ablation of ipRGCs (Opn4DTA line), I am currently uncovering the full influential scope of these cells on the developing retinal vasculature, and the neural retina itself, during postnatal development. The long-term goal of my project is to elucidate the intrinsic (OPN4 and circadian clock [Bmal1]) and extrinsic (rod/cone signaling) factors related to ipRGC biology and their function in neurovascular retinal development.

My name is Cory Knox, a second year PhD graduate student in the Kwan Lab at Cornell University. I am pursuing my PhD in Biomedical Engineering, with the mentorship of Dr. Alex Kwan. In the Kwan Lab I am characterizing the hallucinogenic effects of the psychedelic, psilocybin (commonly known as magic mushrooms) in the primary visual cortex, specifically using in vivo extracellular electrophysiology with Neuropixels recordings in mice. Additionally, I am leading a secondary project characterizing the effects of psilocybin on dendritic spine growth in a chronic restraint stress model using multiphoton imaging also in mice. Outside of the lab, I love powerlifting, snowboarding, and fishing!

I am an evolutionary biologist seeking to understand how selective pressures interact with developmental and functional constraints to shape divergence across biological scales (e.g., molecular, cellular, organismal). I primarily study two different biological systems: (1) The evolution of the vertebrate retina and (2) The evolution of reproduction in rodents. My work integrates cutting-edge genomics and transcriptomics techniques with phylogenetic comparative approaches to understand molecular and trait evolution. I am currently an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow in Nathan Clark's lab at the University of Pittsburgh. I did my Ph.D. with Jeff Good at the University of Montana.

Taylor Rau is a second year graduate student in the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Neuroscience Doctoral Program. I am in Dr. Miranda Scalabrino’s lab, primarily investigating retinal circuitry and cellular rewiring in neurodegenerative inherited retinal diseases. My current research focuses on bipolar cell plasticity following photoreceptor death during retinitis pigmentosa. In my free time I like to crochet, go on walks, and watch reality TV.

I received my Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the Institute of Neurobiology at UNAM in Mexico. My undergraduate and doctoral work focused on the role of synaptic KCa and CaV3 channels in the basal ganglia, as well as the complex effects of a microtubule-stabilizing compound on hippocampal excitability and synaptic function in a tauopathy model. My core expertise lies in the electrophysiological analysis excitable cells. Currently, my research interests center on the contributions of CaV1.4 and 3.2, and HCN channels to oscillatory activity and signal processing in the healthy and diseased retina. Outside the lab, I enjoy playing video games, reading, going to the cinema and exploring new food spots with my wife and friends.

A physicist by training, I completed my PhD at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Dr Kevin O'Holleran. I worked on super resolution light field microscopy amongst other projects. I moved to Paris to carry out my postdoctoral research Valentina Emiliani’s team at the Vision Institute. My postdoctoral research has been focused on the development of advanced optical approaches (two-photon voltage imaging and optogenetics) to record and manipulate brain function. During my postdoctoral research I also spent six months as a visiting research scientist at Janelia Research Campus working on programmable microscopy to enable whole brain imaging in freely moving zebrafish. I will now transition slightly and apply these approaches to study how neural circuits in visual cortex adapt following vision deprevation and restoration.

I’m a rising fourth year Ph.D. student in Neuroscience at University of California, Berkeley working in Prof. Karthik Shekhar’s lab. I am applying single-cell genomic methods to investigate the evolution of retinal neuronal types across vertebrates. Additionally, I have been assisting with two other collaborations, namely analyzing immune cell signatures in mouse models of neurodegeneration, and classifying displaced amacrine cells using patch-sequencing. This past year, I have been collaborating with Prof. Teresa Puthussery to validate some of our computational predictions using wet-lab experiments.

I am a PhD candidate in biology enrolled in a joint program between the NIH and the University of Maryland Baltimore County. My thesis research explores the different types of regional specializations found in the retina and how they form during embryonic development. My primary focus is on investigating disorders affecting the fovea. I currently use different species of lizards (geckos and anoles) to explore how the fovea develops and use gene-editing techniques to recapitulate disorders found in humans. Outside of the lab, I enjoy spending time in nature and caring for my host of exotic pets. I have kept numerous species of lizards, snakes, and invertebrates, including octopuses and cuttlefish! I have also had the pleasure of being a giant Pacific octopus trainer at the National Aquarium in Baltimore for a decade!