Past Events

We are pleased to announce that N-NRL and RDIG will host their annual Retreat on July 9–10, 2026. Invited speakers include Drs. Pedro Rocha (NICHD), Marc Ferrer (NCATS), Di Huang (NLM), and Karthik Shekar (University of California, Berkeley), along with researchers from N-NRL and NEI.

This event will bring together experts from a variety of disciplines to discuss recent advances in retinal biology. Scientific sessions will focus on:

• Chromatin Biology and Gene Regulation
• Organoids and 3D Tissue Bioprinting
• Retinal Diseases and Interventions
• Post-Translational Modifications
• Computational Biology

The retreat will be held at NIH Building 31, 6C Rooms F–G.

Event Schedule

• Thursday, July 9th - 08:00 AM - 05:00 PM
• Friday, July 10th - 08:00 AM - 02:00 PM

Event Program

We look forward to your participation. If you have any questions, please contact Charles Drinnan at charlie.drinnan@nih.gov.

For more information on RDIG, please visit: https://www.nei.nih.gov/RDIG.

Individuals with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should contact Charles Drinnan, PhD at charlie.drinnan@nih.gov.

Qin Liu, PhD
Full Professor
Washington University in St. Louis

Dr. Qin Liu’s research focuses on the neural components of allergic and infectious diseases. Her group aims to dissect the neuronal populations and circuits that drive allergic and infectious symptoms, including itchy, watery eyes, excessive sneezing, rhinorrhea, and coughing.

Shane Liddelow, PhD
Associate Professor
NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Dr. Shane Liddelow's primary research focus is on understanding the complex roles of astrocytes in the brain. Astrocytes are a type of glial cell that play crucial roles in maintaining brain homeostasis, supporting neuron function, and responding to injury. His work has particularly centered on a subtype of reactive astrocytes that we discovered, which release toxic factors capable of killing specific neurons.

Steven L. Bernstein, MD, PhD
Professor, Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
University of Maryland School of Medicine

Dr. Steven Bernstein and his laboratory interests center on age-related and genetically associated optic nerve diseases, in particular nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), which is a stroke of the optic nerve, and the most common cause of sudden optic nerve-related vision loss. During the last five years, his laboratory has developed new ways to identify stem cells that may both contribute to normal nerve function, and aid in repair of optic nerve injury.

King-Wai Yau, Ph.D.
Professor of Neuroscience
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Download event program:

Light Detection by Retinal Rods and Cones

In this talk, King-Wai Yau of Johns Hopkins University presents how retinal rods and cones detect and process light at the most fundamental level. Drawing on decades of pioneering basic science research, he explains the molecular and cellular mechanisms of phototransduction, including how individual photons can be reliably detected by rod photoreceptors and how cones support vision across a wide range of light intensities and colors. The lecture highlights key experimental discoveries that shaped our current understanding of visual signaling and illustrates how fundamental research in sensory biology reveals general principles of neural function.