2023 Program

Download the full program [PDF]

Full list of abstracts [web]

THURS OCT 5  

17:30-19:30 Welcome reception

19:00-21:00 Software Carpentry Workshop I (Introductory)

Session I: Tidyverse R – This is an introduction to the Tidyverse, a collection of R packages that is designed for data science analysis and visualization. The lesson will focus on manipulating, analyzing, and visualization of tabular datasets. There will be food! Sponsored by UW eSciences. Register in advance here; drop-in space may be available on a limited basis.

FRI OCT 6

7:30-8:00 Registration opens

8:00-8:15 Welcoming Remarks

8:15-10:10 Invited session: 30 years of normalization in the visual system 

The modern view of neuronal normalization dates back to the late 80s and early 90s and in particular, to a paper published in 1992 by David Heeger entitled "Normalization of Cell Responses in Cat Visual Cortex" in which a single, elegant model of contrast gain control was shown to explain much of the then current literature on early visual processing. Thirty years later, normalization appears to be one of a set of fundamental 'canonical computations' that can used to explain how the brain works. This session features four speakers who have used neuronal normalization to explain different aspects of vision in a modern context including binocular combination, attention and adaptation.  

Moderator: Geoffrey M. Boynton, University of Washington

• John Reynolds, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies: Spatiotemporal fluctuations in E/I balance & their impact on perception 

• Marisa Carrasco, New York University: Testing and expanding the Reynolds & Heeger Normalization Model of Attention

• Preeti Verghese, Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute: Contrast normalization accounts for binocular interactions in healthy vision and amblyopia

• Justin Gardner, Stanford University: Exponentiation and normalization as mechanisms for efficient selection of sensory signals

10:10-10:30 Break

10:30-12:00 Contributed talks I

Moderator: Robert Cooper, Marquette University and Medical College of Wisconsin

• Ewelina Pijewska, Center for Human Ophthalmic Imaging Research (CHOIR), UC Davis Eye Center; EyePOD Imaging Lab, Dept. of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, UC Davis: Human cone response models for optoretinography with FF-SS-OCT and adaptive optics

• Teng Liu, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington: Correlating cone structure and function in retinitis pigmentosa using coarse-scale optoretinography (CoORG) 

• Hector Baez, Center for Visual Science, University of Rochester: Inner limiting membrane peel extends vivo calcium imaging of ganglion cells (RGC) beyond the fovea in non-human primate 

• Ezgi Irmak Yücel, Department of Psychology, University of Washington: The perceptual experience of optogenetic vision 

• Iona McLean, Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science: The effects of monocular and binocular retinal image minification on eyestrain  

• John Kruper, University of Washington: Specific and non-linear effects of glaucoma on optic radiation tissue properties

12:00-13:15 Lunch  (on your own - check out the full program [PDF] for local recommendations!)

13:15–15:10 Invited session: Retinal remodeling and regeneration

Regenerative therapies aim to restore light sensitivity to blind retina or prevent further vision loss by replacing compromised or degenerated retinal tissues with new healthy cells. While these approaches have the potential to deliver high quality restored vision they must also contend with anatomical and physiological changes that occur in the remaining retinal architecture after vision loss. This session will cover the latest advances in cell transplantation & regeneration and consider how native retinal circuits adapt and remodel in the face of retinal degeneration.

Moderator: Ala Moshiri, UC Davis

• Felice Dunn, University of California, San Francisco: Partial cone loss triggers differential modification of inhibition across retinal pathways

• Thomas Reh, University of Washington: Stimulation of functional neural regeneration in adult mouse retina

• Ruchi Sharma, National Eye Institute: Developing autologous iPSC-RPE therapy for the treatment of AMD patients

• Karen Tessmer, TUD Dresden University of Technology: Insights into retinal cell replacement: Optimising photoreceptor and RPE transplantation

15:10-15:30 Break

15:30-17:00 Poster Session I

17:00-18:30 Tillyer Lecture: Andrew Watson, Apple 

Computational modeling of vision: Ten lessons
Computational models are the means by which we test our ideas about how vision works. They have well-defined inputs, that bear some defined relation to the light impinging on the eyes. And they have well defined quantitative outputs, that relate to human judgements. Their success can be judged by how well they predict those human judgements, by how broad the range of conditions they encompass, and possibly by how well their internals match the neurophysiology. Tangentially, they may be judged by how useful they are in practical applications. In this talk I will share a few lessons that I have learned from my adventures in modeling of human vision.

18:30-20:30 Software Carpentry Workshop II

Session II: TensorFlow Python – This is an introduction to TensorFlow in Python, a library first developed at Google as a tool for machine learning applications. The lesson will focus on implementing, training, and evaluating a simple, convolutional neural network. There will be food! Sponsored by UW eSciences. Register in advance here; drop-in space may be available on a limited basis.

SAT OCT 7

7:30-8:00 Registration open

8:00-9:55 Invited session: Diversity in chromatic processing across the animal kingdom 

Color is an important feature of objects in the visual environment. While the neural transformations underlying color perception have received much attention in the primate visual system, the broader animal kingdom exhibits a diverse set of schemes for encoding and processing chromatic information. This session will survey the neural organization of color pathways in a selection of primate and non-primate species, and will examine how those pathways can be used to extract ecologically-relevant signals that guide behavior.

Moderator: David Brainard, University of Pennsylvania

• Rudy Behnia, Columbia University: Hue selectivity from recurrent circuitry in Drosophila

• Tom Cronin, University of Maryland Baltimore County: Color vision in stomatopod crustaceans

• Yeon Jin Kim, University of Washington: Comparative connectomics reveals noncanonical wiring for color vision in human foveal retina

• Anna Vlasits, Northwestern University: Color processing in the mouse retina

9:55-10:15 Break

10:15-11:45 Contributed talks II

Moderator: Robert Zawadzki, University of California, Davis

• Yiyi (Charlotte) Wang, Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of California, Berkeley: High-resolution assessment of saccadic landing positions for S-cone-isolating targets 

• Allie C. Hexley, Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford: The relationship between temporal summation at detection threshold and fixational eye movements 

• Benjamin M. Chin, Herbert Wertheim School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of California, Berkeley: Bringing color into focus: Dynamic accommodation responses to polychromatic stimuli 

• Federico G. Segala, Department of Psychology, University of York: Binocular combination of the pupil response depends on photoreceptor pathway 

• Carlos Rodriguez, University of Pennsylvania: Computational modeling of shift in unique yellow for small stimuli 

• Dina V. Popovkina, Department of Psychology, University of Washington: Neural correlates of serial processing during divided attention across multipart objects 

11:45-13:30 Lunch  (provided)

12:00-13:30 Poster Session II 

13:30-15:25 Invited session: Extended reality – Applications in vision science & beyond 

Extended reality display systems offer the unique opportunity to blend the precise stimulus control of laboratory-based psychophysical experiments with the detailed, naturalistic environments encountered in our everyday visual experience. This session will cover applications of extended reality in four broad areas – depth perception, gaze tracking, driving with low vision and assistive technology for low vision. 

Moderator: Jorge Otero-Millan, UC Berkeley

• Emily Cooper, University of California, Berkeley: Improving augmented reality through perceptual science

• Gabriel J. Diaz, Rochester Institute of Technology: Recent developments in head-mounted eye tracking for the understanding of natural(istic) behavior

• Alex Bowers, Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School: Using a driving simulator to evaluate the effects of vision impairment and assistive technology 

• Yuhang Zhao, University of Wisconsin-Madison: Augmented reality systems for people with low vision

15:25-15:45 Break

15:45-16:45 Boynton Lecture: Rachel Wong, University of Washington

Wiring specificity and plasticity of the vertebrate retina
Vision relies on the output of the many functionally distinct and precisely wired circuits of the retina. Using transgenic techniques, imaging methods and electrophysiology, we seek to uncover the developmental mechanisms that help establish the wiring specificity of retinal circuits in vertebrates. Moreover, because injury or disease can cause rewiring after maturation, we are also reconstructing primate retinal circuits impacted by the loss of input, in order to identify the challenges to circuit repair.

16:45-17:30 FVM Business Meeting (all welcome)

18:00-21:30 Lake Union Cruise  (dinner provided)

Meet at the dock (map) - boarding begins at 18:00, arrive before 18:20 or you'll miss it! Check out the full program [PDF] for details. 

Sun OCT 8

7:30-8:00 Registration open

8:00-9:55 Invited session: Binocular vision & interactions

Binocular vision shapes our ability to perceive and act on our environments, guiding our visuomotor interactions with the objects around us. Speakers in this session will discuss how stereo vision and 3D perception guide movement and support our ability to interact with the world, and how we can use clinical applications and augmented/virtual reality approaches to understand how the human visual system processes depth information under typical and atypical conditions.

Moderator: Deborah Giaschi, University of British Columbia

• Laurie Wilcox, York University: Depth perception in virtual environments: The role of experience

• Kathryn Bonnen, Indiana University: Binocular vision and the control of foot placement during walking in natural terrain

• Fulvio Domini, Brown University: The case against probabilistic inference: A deterministic theory of 3D visualprocessing

• Benjamin Backus, Vivid Vision Inc: Harnessing interactions within binocular vision to treat amblyopia

9:55-10:15 Break

10:15-11:45 Contributed talks III 

Moderator: Ravi Jonnal, University of California, Davis

• Angela M. Brown, Ohio State University: The naming and understanding of color: the Color Communication Game

• Ala Moshiri, UC Davis: AAV-mediated gene therapy for PDE6C achromatopsia: progress and challenges 

• Palash Bharadwaj, Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington: The Limits of resolution in the S-cone pathway 

• Lauren Welbourne, University of York: Measuring binocular combination of luminance and chromatic stimuli using fMRI 

• Paola Binda, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine, University of Pisa: Active vision shapes ocular dominance 

11:45-12:00 Concluding remarks