Bay Area Vision Research Day (BAVRD)

Dr. Coughlan's lab focuses on applications of computer vision for blind and visually impaired persons, including guidance at traffic intersections, hazard detection for blind wheelchair users, and wayfinding using machine-readable signage. His lab also focuses on Bayesian probability methods in computer and human vision, particularly the use of graphical models and belief propagation for visual search and segmentation, as well as psychophysical modeling of visual search, eye movements, and the integration of foveal and peripheral information.

Keynote Speaker
Meng Lin, OD, PhD
University of California, Berkeley

As the founding director of the UC Berkeley Clinical Research Center (UCB-CRC), Professor Lin established a research team of multi-disciplinary vision scientists, chemists, clinician scientists, biostatisticians, and certified study coordinators. Her research features interdisciplinary methodologies that make use of epidemiology, advanced statistical analyses, state-of-the-art laboratory techniques, and clinical skills. She conceptualizes, implements, and directs cutting-edge collaborative research studies that may have important implications for improved understanding of tear film and corneal physiology, dry eye, and the effects of contact lens wear on ocular surface integrity. As part of her commitment to research and the profession of optometry, Dr. Lin also mentors research fellows, research optometrists, and optometric residents.

Kalanit Grill-Spector, PhD
Stanford University

Dr. Grill-Spector's lab uses functional imaging techniques to visualize the living brain in action and understand how it functions to recognize people, objects and places and develops computational models, as well as topographic deep neural networks to both predict neural responses and elucidate why the visual system is organized the way it is functionally and structurally.

Tawna Roberts, OD, PhD
Stanford University

Dr. Roberts' lab studies vision development in infants and young children as well as binocular vision disorders in adolescents and adults with concussions. Her work focuses on identifying underlying mechanisms that will inform clinical treatment approaches and ultimately lead to the prevention of strabismus, amblyopia, and binocular vision disorders.

Natela Shanidze, PhD
Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute

Dr. Shanidze's lab is interested in how changes in visual and/or vestibular function affect eye-head coordination, balance, and mobility, particularly in aging. Her research focuses on the effects of central visual field loss on eye and head movements and stability, especially during everyday tasks such as locomotion, as well as the effects of lifetime noise exposure on vestibular function and how potential vestibular deficits affect balance and mobility across the lifespan.

Jun Zhu, PhD
University of California, Berkeley (Ji Lab)

Dr. Zhu develops biophotonics methods for in vivo imaging of neural structure and function, especially with two-photon fluorescence microscopy, OCT, and OCT angiography. Her research uses the retina as a well-defined neural circuit and clinically important target, linking depth-resolved optical measurements to tissue structure, blood flow, and neural activity in neuroscience and ophthalmology.

Stay tuned for more information on the conference schedule, speakers, and talk titles as we finalize our program.