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7th Sayer Vision Research Lecture to be held September 12, 2013
Wei Li, Ph.D.
Wei Li, Ph.D., chief of the Retinal Neurophysiology Unit at the National Eye Institute (NEI), will deliver the 7th Sayer Vision Research Lecture on Thursday, September 12, 2013. The lecture will take place at 10 a.m. in Lipsett Amphitheater, Building 10, on the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, MD. His talk is titled "Of Squirrels and Men: A Model for Studying Retinal Neurobiology." Dr. Li is the recipient of the first "Young Intramural Investigator" award which was always part of Jane Sayer's original intent in setting up the Sayer Vision Research Lecture and Award Fund.
Prior to joining the NEI in 2007, Dr. Li was a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Ophthalmology at Northwestern University School of Medicine. In 1997, Dr. Li earned a bachelor's degree in medicine from Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China and in 2003 he was awarded a Ph.D. in biomedical science (neuroscience) from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Dr. Li studies how the structure and electrical properties of cells in the retina influence communication with each other. Neurons in the retina communicate through structures called synapses. Dr. Li's long-term research goal is to understand how synaptic circuits are normally wired and how they are altered by diseases. Knowing these wiring diagrams is crucial for improving treatment of many blinding diseases.
Dr. Li's lab uses the ground squirrel retina as a model system because of two unique features that it possesses. First, photoreceptors in the ground squirrel retina are mostly cones, the type that is used for vision in daylight. This photoreceptor arrangement is very similar to the central area of the human retina, which is vital for our normal vision. Second, ground squirrels hibernate in winter, which puts their retina through a long period of metabolically challenging condition. In his lecture, Dr. Li will elaborate upon how his lab utilizes these features to study retina circuits for visual processing and adaptive changes of the retina during hibernation for coping with metabolic stress.
For more information contact: Mica Gordon, NEI Office of the Scientific Director, 301-451-6763, gordonmi@nei.nih.gov
Individuals with disabilities who need sign language interpreters or reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should contact: Mica Gordon, Office of the Scientific Director, 301-451-6763, gordonmi@nei.nih.gov.
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Last Updated: July 2013
