Past Events

A neural population journey from visual cortex to the clinic

Marlene Cohen, Ph.D.
University of Chicago

Award Presentation and Lecture
Reception to follow

Bob Wurtz’s pioneering work profoundly influenced the field of neuroscience, challenging researchers to explore how individual neurons and neural circuits within the visual and oculomotor systems give rise to complex cognitive behaviors. Building on this legacy, recent technological advances in neural recording, manipulation, and computational modeling now allow researchers to study these circuits at an unprecedented level of detail. Dr. Cohen’s laboratory is leveraging these powerful tools to investigate how populations of visual and oculomotor neurons integrate information across multiple stimuli, tasks, and cognitive processes—revealing how this information is dynamically formatted within the brain. Dr. Cohen will share new, unpublished findings that highlight how these approaches are opening fresh avenues of discovery. They not only deepen our fundamental understanding of brain function—such as the distinct contributions of different regions to visually guided decision-making—but also hold promise for translational applications, including the diagnosis and treatment of cognitive disorders.

About

Dr. Marlene Cohen is a Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Neuroscience Institute at the University of Chicago, where her group studies the neural basis of vision and cognition. She received bachelor’s degrees in mathematics and brain and cognitive sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, completed her PhD at Stanford University studying how interactions between neurons depend on behavioral goals, and did her postdoctoral work at Harvard Medical School using attention to study flexible neuronal population codes. She started her laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh in 2011 and moved to the University of Chicago in 2022. She has received the Troland Award from the National Academy of Sciences, the Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology, a Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in the Neurosciences, a Whitehall Foundation Grant, a National Institutes of Health Pathway to Independence Award, an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, and a McKnight Scholar Award. Dr. Cohen’s laboratory uses a combination of behavioral, neurophysiological, and computational methods to understand neural coding and the neural computations underlying cognitively complex behavior. Most recently, her group has extended their work to use systems and computational neuroscience approaches to aid the early detection and eventual treatment of cognitive disorders like Alzheimer’s disease.

For videocast link and more information, see: 

• More information about the Robert H. Wurtz Award and Lecture in Systems Neuroscience
• NIH calendar event
• Information about visiting NIH
• Directions to the Lipsett Amphitheater once inside the Clinical Center (also called Building 10), NIH main campus, 9,000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD, 20892 

The seminar will be presented by Tiarnan Keenan, M.D, Ph.D., Stadtman Investigator in the Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications.

Dr. Keenan's research is focused on adult retinal disease, particularly age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of legal blindness in all developed countries. This includes research into the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of AMD, together with disease mechanism discovery.

His experience and research span multiple disciplines. In genetics, his research into genotype-phenotype relationships has suggested that AMD consists of multiple partially distinct disease entities. His biochemical and anatomical research has provided insights into how AMD arises at the molecular level. In the clinical arena, his research involves examining how AMD behaves over time and how its progression may be slowed. For example, he has completed a landmark study of geographic atrophy, the dry form of advanced AMD, and is currently undertaking a detailed study showing how particular dietary patterns can slow down AMD progression.

His lecture, titled “Geographic atrophy in age-related macular degeneration: a tale of two stages,” expands further on this ongoing research and the novel discoveries resulting from such studies.

Hybrid event (in-person and online)
Contact Princess Alike to request virtual link.

In accordance with updated NIH policy, all non-U.S. persons (visitors who are not a U.S. citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident) are required to complete a pre-registration form prior to arrival at NIH.

If this applies to you, please inform the NIH event organizer to add your name and email to our VisitNIH Pre-Registration Portal.

You will then receive an email from NIHvisitornotification@nih.gov, with a secure link to complete the pre-registration form. The form should take no more than 10 minutes to complete and should be completed ASAP to ensure we are able to process the details of your visit in a timely manner.

If you have any questions, please contact kathryn.demott@nih.gov. We are looking forward to your attendance!

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) and the National Eye Institute (NEI) are pleased to announce that Claude Desplan, Ph.D., from New York University, will deliver the third Joram Piatigorsky Basic Science Lecture and Award.

A light reception will follow the lecture.

Petr Baranov, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology
Associate Director, Ocular Regenerative Medicine Institute
Harvard Medical School

Tapas K. Kundu, Ph.D.
Professor
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR)
Bangalore, India

Ji-Xin Cheng, Ph.D.
2024 RDIG FARE Awardee
Professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Boston University

Krystal A. Orlando, Ph.D. 
2024 RDIG SIG Awardee
Postdoctoral Fellow, Eukaryotic Transcriptional Regulation Group 
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Michael Beauchamp, Ph.D.
Professor of Neuroscience
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Hybrid event (in-person and online)
Contact Princess Alike to request virtual link

Riding the retinal wave through visual system development

This year's lecture is presented by Dr. Marla Feller, the Paul Licht Distinguished Professor in Biological Sciences and Member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.

Yi-Rong Peng, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Jules Stein Eye Institute
University of California, Los Angeles

Gabriel H Travis, M.D.
Professor, Ophthalmology and Biological Chemistry 
Charles Kenneth Feldman Chair in Ophthalmology 
University of California Los Angeles

Irina Pikuleva, Ph.D.
Carl F. Asseff Professor and Vice Chair for Research
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

Hybrid event (in-person and online)
Contact Princess Alike to request virtual link

Carlo Rivolta, Ph.D.
Professor of Ophthalmic Genetics, Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB)
University of Basel, Switzerland

Please join the NEI Office of Data Science and Health Informatics for a session highlighting research opportunities through the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (OHDSI) program. OHDSI is a global collaborative network of researchers, healthcare professionals, data scientists, and informaticians dedicated to improving health outcomes through the analysis of large-scale, standardized healthcare databases. By generating real-world evidence, OHDSI helps uncover insights into disease patterns, treatment effectiveness, and safety profiles.

In this session, Dr. Michelle Hribar and Dr. Cindy Cai will present their research conducted using the OHDSI network and lead a discussion on future research opportunities it offers for the vision health community. A representative from OHDSI, Dr. Patrick Ryan, will present on the network's potential for expanding research collaborations. Additionally, NEI staff will be available to discuss the requirements for the NEI Expand OHDSI Initiative for Eye Care and Ocular Imaging Challenge.

This is a unique opportunity to learn how OHDSI can empower your research, enhance collaboration, and advance eye care. Don’t miss this chance to engage with OHDSI experts and NEI representatives to explore cutting-edge possibilities in data-driven ophthalmology research! 

Stephen H Tsang, M.D., Ph.D.
Laszlo Z. Bito Professor of Ophthalmology
Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology
Columbia University