Program

Thursday, September 24

6:00pm Welcome Reception, David and Ilene Flaum Eye Institute Atrium (venue maps)
Tours of Adaptive Optics Labs, Center for Visual Science

Friday, September 25

8:30-9:00am Registration

9:00-9:15am Welcome

Invited Session I: Optoretinography

Optical imaging of activity in the living eye offers a promising alternative to the electroretinogram that is capable of linking retinal function to structural information. The imaging modalities being explored are largely label free and often provide data on the cellular scale. This session will highlight new advances in optoretinography ranging from the origin of functional signals, to new technical developments and applications on the path to clinical translation.

9:15-9:40am Optoretinography: From Retinal Physiology to Clinical Biomarkers
Ram Sabesan, University of Washington

9:40-10:05am Optoretinography and Beyond: Imaging Neural and Vascular Function in the Human Retina
Pedro Mecê, Institut Langevin, Paris

10:05-10:30am Techniques and applications of optoretinography in combination with adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy
Jessica Morgan, University of Pennsylvania

10:30-10:55am Differential Coherence as an Optoretinographic Tool
Lawrence Sincich, The University of Alabama at Birmingham

10:55-11:15am Panel Discussion

11:20am–1:30pm Posters and Coffee

1:30-2:30pm Lunch

Contributed Session I

2:30-2:45pm AO-SLO photopic optoretinography with silent substitution flicker
Sirui Liu, University of Oxford

2:45-3:00pm Adaptive optics imaging reveals transport dynamics of mitochondria in ganglion cell axons
Derek Power, University of Rochester

3:00-3:15pm Longitudinal AOSLO in vivo imaging reveals RGC dendritic remodeling in a mouse photoreceptor degeneration model
Soumaya Belhadj, University of Pittsburgh

3:15-3:30pm The Relationship Between Acuity and Cone Density Decline Across the Foveola
Krishnaveni Nagarajan, University of Rochester

3:30-3:45pm Frequency selective post-microsaccadic perceptual enhancements in the fovea
Zoe Stearns, University of Rochester

3:45-4:00pm Translating fixation stability measurements from lab to practice: Comparing clinical devices to a laboratory eye-tracker
Riley Wiland, University of Houston

4:00-4:30pm Coffee and Snacks

4:30-5:00pm Business Meeting

5:00-6:00pm Tillyer Award Lecture: Eero Simoncelli, Flatiron Institute and New York University

6:15pm Networking Reception at Grappa (Hilton Garden Inn)

Saturday, September 26

Invited Session II: Chromatic Mechanisms in Myopia

Emerging evidence seems to support that emmetropization may be critically dependent on chromatic mechanisms, such as environmental spectral content, chromatic aberrations of the eye, and wavelength dependent retinal signaling. Topics in this session will span animal models, human clinical studies, retinal and choroidal responses to chromatic cues, and novel optical interventions for myopia control.

9:00-9:25am Temporal Constraints on Antagonistic Chromatic and Achromatic Mechanisms in Emmetropization
Frances Rucker, New England College of Optometry

9:25-9:50am Developing chromatic signals as a therapy for myopia control
Safal Khanal, The University of Alabama at Birmingham

9:50-10:15am Longitudinal Chromatic Aberration as a Cue for Detecting the Sign of Defocus
Geunyoung Yoon, University of Houston

10:15-10:40am How could the eye use chromatic cues to guide refractive development?
Timothy Gawne, The University of Alabama at Birmingham

10:40-11:00am Panel Discussion

11:00-11:45am Coffee with a Mentor

Contributed Session II

11:45am-12:00pm Altered retinal light response in retinoic acid-induced myopic mice
Sabina Poudel, University of Rochester

12:00-12:15pm Task engagement modulates BOLD responses in early visual cortex
Philipp Kreyenmeier, National Institutes of Health

12:15-12:30pm Convexity biases persist in stereoscopically viewed structure-from-motion surfaces
Ryne Choi, York University

12:30-12:45pm The role of visuomotor contingency in stereoscopic depth perception
Jie Z. Wang, University of Rochester

12:45-1:00pm Perceptual inference of object motion and depth: how cueing one variable influences estimation of the other
Vitaly Lerner, University of Rochester

1:00-1:15pm High-Precision Stereoacuity Assessment in VR Using STRIVE (STereo Random-dot Interactive Virtual Environment)
Triya Belani, Rochester Institute of Technology

1:15-2:15pm Lunch

Invited Session III: Multisensory Cue Integration in Real and Virtual Environments

Perception depends on the integration of multiple sensory cues, including visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive signals, each with different reliability across contexts. While these processes are well studied under natural viewing conditions, emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality introduce new spatiotemporal constraints, cue conflicts, and display limitations that challenge established models of cue integration. This session brings together work on multisensory and visual cue integration across real and simulated environments, with applications ranging from depth perception and binocular vision to navigation, memory, and clinical populations. By combining insights from basic research and display engineering, we aim to understand how the brain weights and recalibrates sensory information, and how these principles can guide the design of next-generation visual and multisensory systems.

2:15-2:40pm Multisensory cue use during navigation in virtual reality: What role does vision play?
Sarah Creem-Regehr, The University of Utah

2:40-3:05pm Multisensory Integration Across Real and Simulated Environments: Applications to Aging and Clinical Populations
Jennifer Campos, University Health Network

3:05-3:30pm Vision, proprioception, and memory in naturalistic reaching: evidence from stroke, schizophrenia, and aging
Duje Tadin, University of Rochester

3:30-3:55pm Characterizing perceptual performance bottlenecks in virtual environments
Jovan Kemp, NYU Abu Dhabi

3:55-4:15pm Panel Discussion

4:15-4:30pm Coffee and Snacks

4:30-5:30pm Boynton Lecture: A metric for color space: Beating the curse of dimensionality
Karl Gegenfurtner, Giessen University

6:00pm Eastman Museum Reception

• Appetizers and opportunity to tour the George Eastman Museum

• Carving and pasta stations

Sunday, September 27

Invited Session IV: Visual Development and Plasticity Across Health and Disease

Vision is shaped by development but remains plastic throughout life. Across early disorders such as cortical visual impairment and later-onset retinal and cortical damage, the visual system reorganizes in ways that may limit functional recovery. This session brings together work on typical and atypical development, neural plasticity, and behavioral outcomes. By integrating basic and translational perspectives, we aim to clarify the mechanisms that shape visual development and plasticity, and to distinguish recovery from compensation.

9:00-9:25am Adaptive Plasticity After Vision Loss: Perceptual and Oculomotor Reorganization in Macular Degeneration
Marcello Maniglia, Rochester Institute of Technology

9:25-9:50am Developmental Neuroplasticity in Sight Loss and Sight Rescue
Tessa Dekker, University College London

9:50-10:15am Where and how is auditory motion represented within hMT+ in early blindness?
Woon Ju Park, Georgia Institute of Technology

10:15-10:40am Receptive field mapping of the developing visual streams and the role of visuospatial attention in childhood
Jesse Gomez, Princeton University

10:40-11:00am Panel Discussion

11:00-11:30am Coffee and Snacks

Contributed Session III

11:30-11:45am Colorimetric Awakening
Mark Fairchild, Rochester Institute of Technology

11:45am-12:00pm Reverse Accommodation in Eyes Implanted with Standard Monofocal IOLs
Austin Roorda, University of Waterloo

12:00-12:15pm Laser-written diffractive soft contact lenses for reversing ocular longitudinal chromatic aberration
Len Zheleznyak, Clerio Vision & University of Rochester

12:15-12:30pm Counterintuitively Enhanced Masking Performance in Adults Born Preterm
Zahide Pamir, Bilkent University

12:30-12:45pm Impact of Occipital Stroke and Recovery on Visual Metacognition
Matthew Cavanaugh, University of Rochester

12:45-1:00pm Adaptive optics reveals rare subset of immune cells that initiate uveitis
Kosha Dholakia, University of Rochester

1:00-1:15pm Presentation of Young Investigator Awards and Thanks

Lunch will not be provided. College Town is close by with several restaurants.