I'm excited to share a new paper from our lab showing how redox regulation of Ahcy, an enzyme involved in one-carbon metabolism allows rapid gene expression changes to protect Drosophila photoreceptors against retinal degeneration caused by light stress. doi.org/10.1073/pnas...

I am sincerely honored and excited to be named the Vice Chair for Vision Research at the @moraneyecenter.bsky.social at @utah.edu. I am thrilled to work with everyone to build upon the Moran's rich history in vision research. Stay tuned for much more to come - we will be growing!

Moran Eye Center Names Kristen M. Kwan, PhD, Vice Chair for Vision Research

The John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah has named Kristen M. Kwan, PhD, Vice Chair for Vision Research. In this leadership role, she will help guide the strategic direction of the Moran...

healthcare.utah.edu

The Odyssey... of the Eye Tracing the origin of human eyes to an ancient “cyclops” Evolution of the vertebrate retina by repurposing of a composite ancestral median eye🧪 www.cell.com/current-biol...

Are you blind or partially sighted? We're setting up a working group to help us develop some large 3D insect models, to be used as tactile resources in the Museum & we'd love you to join us! All the details are on our website. https://ow.ly/PUu550ZrmKX University of Cambridge Museums

I've got a new chapter out, Insights Into Retinal Remodeling In Retinal Degenerative Disease: bryanwjones.com/2026/07/insi...

It is official: The @moraneyecenter.bsky.social has named @blockintheback.bsky.social as the Vice Chair for Vision Research and Research Director. I could not be more happy for my former institution as they are in the best hands with Kristen. healthcare.utah.edu/moran/news/2...

Moran Eye Center Names Kristen M. Kwan, PhD, Vice Chair for Vision Research

The John A. Moran Eye Center at the University of Utah has named Kristen M. Kwan, PhD, Vice Chair for Vision Research. In this leadership role, she will help guide the strategic direction of the Moran...

healthcare.utah.edu

Vision Science makes the front page of NYT!! featuring work from @neurofishh.bsky.social and @denilsson.bsky.social with comments from Berkeley's own @karthikshekhar.bsky.social #visionscience www.nytimes.com/2026/02/23/s...

The Rise of Eyes Began With Just One

nytimes.com

A really nice new paper in Cell Reports from Kat Daly on M4 ipRGCs. One of the themes I've loved watching over the past decade is the transformation of melanopsin biology from a niche circadian photopigment into a major player in image-forming vision. 1/5 www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

New preprint! Another piece from @gaparicio.bsky.social thesis, now exploring the role of PALS1 (aka Nok, or MPP5) in lamination and photoreceptor progenitors positioning in the developing zebrafish retina and retinal organoids: tinyurl.com/yya754tf

Reduction of PALS1/Nok disrupts retinal lamination through altered cell positioning while preserving photoreceptor self-organization capacity

The vertebrate neural retina is composed of several neuronal types that precisely organize into layers, with photoreceptors facing the outer surface and the projection neurons, retinal ganglion cells,...

tinyurl.com

Interesting read in the New Yorker (and shameless self-promotion:)

The New Yorker@newyorker.com · last wk.

A new color called olo can be described as the “greenest green.” It can never be captured by a camera, but its development tells us a lot about how vision works. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

Cooooool @biorxivpreprint.bsky.social paper on gap junction plasticity and visual performance from the @obrien-lab.bsky.social: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Retinal electrical synapse plasticity is required for optimal visual performance

Abstract Most electrical synapses in the mammalian central nervous system are composed of Connexin 36 (Cx36). Electrical synapses are functionally plastic, changing their degree of coupling based on t...

biorxiv.org

Preprint for the first manuscript of the Angueyra Lab is out! We delve deep into cell-fate decisions during photoreceptor development and discover that the 𝘵𝘣𝘹2 paralogues play multiple roles to control the fate of the five photoreceptor subtypes in zebrafish.

bioRxiv Developmental Biology@biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social · 2w ago

Transcriptional regulation by Tbx2 paralogs creates diversity within photoreceptor subtypes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.07.20.739565v1

We are excited to share our collaboration with @pheereynolds.bsky.social, Robert Hindges & team on retinal plasticity, now out in Neuron! This work shows how visual experience during early development changes the anatomical and functional properties of amacrine cells and ultimately behavior!

Early visual experience elicits cellular and functional plasticity in the retina and alters behavior

The understanding of experience-dependent plasticity in the vertebrate retina is largely incomplete. Reynolds et al. discovered that raising animals in differently patterned visual environments change...

cell.com

Nice work adding to the mounting evidence that the ON-OFF division is not so straightforward. It could explain why we could change the ON-OFF selectivity of ganglion cells by changing the visual context in this paper: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Context-dependent selectivity to natural images in the retina - Nature Communications

Ganglion cells classically respond to either light increase (ON) or decrease (OFF). Here, the authors show that during natural scene stimulation, a single ganglion cell can switch between ON and OFF d...

nature.com

Tom Baden@neurofishh.bsky.social · 3mo ago

How is the ON and OFF pathway split in the visual system? 🤔 The textbook standard, that bipolar cells are separated simply by the glutamate receptors they express, might be due for an update....a short 🧵

At a low pals1a MO dose, we obtained a milder phenotype, in which retinal layers are again altered, but photoreceptors localize to the central retina where they polarize into rosette-like structures. Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) form a second layer on the apical side, as previously described

#Zebrafish for the win! Congrats to Jack Nicholls and this beautiful image of lamination in the zebrafish retina 🐟 🧪 See the rest of the Top 10 here: thenode.biologists.com/results-of-t...

Young Embryologist Network@yen-network.bsky.social · last mo.

We are excited to announce the results of the YEN 2026 Image Competition! Thanks to all who submitted an entry. This year amazing work has been shared with us complementing our perspectives talks on art+science. We congratulate the winners of the YEN and public votes! #yen2026 #yenimagecompetition

Remembering the great Jerry Lutty, fantastic mentor to so many of us, pioneer in the study of the choroid, and warm and wonderful human being.

@csmarcum.bsky.social , @nickhartphd.bsky.social , @clairemkbowen.bsky.social , and I are speaking with this panel at #JSM2026 in Boston with @amstatnews.bsky.social and @asa-scipol.bsky.social . #opendata #feddata #defenddata #defendresearch #statsky

Early registration deadline for ISER 2026 in Valencia, Spain is on June 3rd! Take advantage of the discounted rate and attend an exciting program in the beautiful city of Valencia. #ISER2026 #Valencia #EyeResearch iserbiennialmeeting2026.org/program/regi...

Registration - ISER 2026

Registration Deadlines Early Registration Deadline 03. June 2026 Standard Registration Deadline22. July 2026 Late Registration Feefrom 23. July 2003 Closing of Online Registration 21 August 2026 Onsit...

iserbiennialmeeting2026.org

We are hearing that vision scientist extraordinaire Paul Witkovsky has passed away on the evening of May 25, 2026. Paul was a phenomenal retinal scientist, and an artist. His trainees have gone on to do amazing work that carries on his scientific legacy. He will be missed.

Early registration deadline for ISER 2026 in Valencia, Spain is on June 3rd! Take advantage of the discounted rate and attend an exciting program in the beautiful city of Valencia. #ISER2026 #Valencia #EyeResearch iserbiennialmeeting2026.org/program/regi...

Registration - ISER 2026

Registration Deadlines Early Registration Deadline 03. June 2026 Standard Registration Deadline22. July 2026 Late Registration Feefrom 23. July 2003 Closing of Online Registration 21 August 2026 Onsit...

iserbiennialmeeting2026.org

Let's talk about the surprising world of trout vision & what it says about how these aquatic hunters find prey. We start with a literal 'fish eye lens', which in trout is spherical, magnifies objects on the edge of their visual field by 3X. Like inverse telescopes, magnifying /peripheral/ vision.

And @beccapfeiffer.bsky.social gets a shout out (and photo) in the article!

Virginia Gewin@virginiagewin.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Scientists shared their standout days for this @nature.com feature. Thx to @nicoleackermans.com @bwjones.bsky.social @aishikghosh.bsky.social @peixotoraquel.bsky.social & others for their stories! If you have a story, please send it my way for part 2!

It’s @michaelfchiang.bsky.social talking at the end of the #ARVO2026 closing keynote about the NIH / NEI mission and regenerative medicine.

Come by the @iser.bsky.social booth at #ARVO2026 to hear about the next meeting in Valencia, Spain. Soooooo many travel awards to trainees to participate!

Hey, does anyone at #ARVO2026 know who this is? Found phone. I’d like to get it back to them.

All ISER members who check in at the ISER booth at #ARVO2026 will be entered into a raffle to win free registration to the ISER Biennial Meeting in Valencia, Spain. Visit us at Booth #7053 Stop by, say hello, and visit! Enter to win registration to Valencia.

Our featured image this #FluorescenceFriday is from @drbjcarr.bsky.social. The image shows the rod and cone photoreceptor outer segments from a tadpole retina. Check out our post to learn more about the image and Brittany’s research: focalplane.biologists.com/2026/04/24/f...

Featured image with Brittany Carr - FocalPlane

Featured image with Brittany Carr - News

focalplane.biologists.com

Our study, spearheaded by grad student Meet Patel, explores an often-overlooked aspect of photoreceptor physiology, the calyceal process, and uncovers a novel molecular mechanism of outer segment homeostasis. -Dr. Jakub Famulski elifesciences.org/articles/102...

Cdhr1a and pcdh15b may link photoreceptor outer segments with calyceal processes revealing a potential mechanism for cone-rod dystrophy

Zebrafish cone photoreceptor outer segment integrity may be regulated by the interactions between the outer segments and calyceal processes mediated by retinal cadherins cdhr1a and pcdh15b.

elifesciences.org

Cdhr1a and pcdh15b may link photoreceptor outer segments with calyceal processes revealing a potential mechanism for cone-rod dystrophy

Cdhr1a and pcdh15b may link photoreceptor outer segments with calyceal processes revealing a potential mechanism for cone-rod dystrophy

Zebrafish cone photoreceptor outer segment integrity may be regulated by the interactions between the outer segments and calyceal processes mediated by retinal cadherins cdhr1a and pcdh15b.

buff.ly