Vision Research

Please note: Words in italics are the official PIBS affiliations of the indicated faculty.

Goncalo Abecasis, Ph.D Development and application of statistical methods for complex trait gene identification. Active research areas include mental disorders and aging-related diseases. Biostatistics. Bioinformatics.

Radha Ayyagari, Ph.D Molecular genetics of retinal and macular degenerations and understanding the mechanism underlying the degeneration process. Cell and Developmental Biology. Ophthalmology and visual sciences.

Jonathan Demb, Ph.D. Cellular mechanisms of visual adaptation in the mammalian retina. Patch-clamp electrophysiology of retinal neurons stimulated by light, in vitro. Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology

Philip Gage, Ph.D. Genetic analysis of mammalian eye development; cell fate decisions in neural crest and mesoderm, transgenic mice, and gene targeted mice. Cellular & Molecular Biology, Cell & Developmental Biology
http://www.med.umich.edu/cmb/faculty/directory.htm#gage

Thomas M. Glaser, MD, Ph.D. Genetic analysis of mammalian eye development. Human Genetics.

Daniel J. Goldman, Ph.D. Acetylcholine receptor gene expression at the neuromuscular junction; synaptogenesis; sensory transduction processes; neuroreceptors; molecular mechanisms of nerve regeneration. Biological Chemistry. Human Genetics. Neuroscience. Pharmacology.
http://www.mbni.med.umich.edu/mbni/faculty/goldman/goldman.html

Peter F. Hitchcock, Ph.D. Developmental neurobiology; retinal neurobiology; vision research; neuronal regeneration in retina and ocular morphogenesis. Cell & Developmental Biology. Neuroscience.
http://www.med.umich.edu/cdb/sub_pages/People/hitchcock.htm

Bret A. Hughes, Ph.D. Structure, function, and regulation of ion channels in the retinal pigment epithelium. Ophthalmology. Molecular & Integrative Physiology.

W. Michael King, Ph.D. Motor learning and signal processing in the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR), binocular coordination and eye movement control, single cell recording. Neuroscience.

Thad Polk, Ph.D. Cognitive neuroscience; functional neuroimaging; computational modeling; environmental influences on cognitive architecture; reading; reasoning; unified theories of cognition. Neuroscience.

Donald G. Puro, MD, Ph.D. Physiology of ion channels in retinal cells and pathophysiology of glial cells. Ophthalmology. Molecular & Integrative Physiology. Sensory Neurobiology.

Pamela A. Raymond, Ph.D. Development and regeneration in the central nervous system of zebrafish, using genetics with molecular and embryological tools to uncover the molecular basis of cell-cell interactions that regulate retinal neurogenesis (the formation of neurons) and neuronal specificity (the expression of differentiated cellular features) during development and regeneration. Mechanisms of pattern formation and formation of precise arrays of cone photoreceptors in the zebrafish retina. Cell & Developmental Biology. http://www.med.umich.edu/cdb/sub_pages/People/raymond.htm

Anand Swaroop, Ph.D. Molecular genetics of inherited eye diseases; animal models for retinal degeneration; regulation of development and tissue-specific gene expression; expression mapping of human genome. Human Genetics. Cellular & Molecular Biology. Ophthalmology. Molecular and Chemical Neuroscience.
http://www.hg.med.umich.edu/facultyprofile.php?id=29

John Tesmer, Ph.D. Structural studies of heterotrimeric G protein signaling using X-ray crystallography and other biophysical techniques. Life Sciences Institute, Pharmacology.

Debra A. Thompson, Ph.D. Molecular studies of the function of the mammalian retina, including analysis of the mechanisms controlling signal transduction and tissue-specific gene expression in the retinal pigment epithelium. Biological Chemistry.