🚨 New preprint 👀! Led by Sohini Rebba in the lab, a collaboration with @clark-lab-retina.bsky.social & @macdonaldlab.bsky.social to improve the reference transcriptome for our studies of the killifish retina. 🐟

bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 2w ago

Long read sequencing of retinal RNA improves killifish transcriptome annotation https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.748420v1

mcw.wd503.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Extern... We are looking for someone with lab experience to join the team and help out with our studies of RGC genesis, survival and regeneration. Please share!

First paper entirely from our lab is out in the wild! We tested if reprogramming still works in the aged CNS and found the aged retina blocks neurogenesis both intrinsically in Müller glia and through exacerbated inflammation. Then point at some ways to overcome this. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

Many thanks to all keynote speakers, session speakers, discussion leaders, and attendees for making the 2026 GRC on Visual System Development the best one ever. Can't wait to see everyone again at the 2028 meeting in Il Ciocco, Italy

📣 The Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences @utah.edu is recruiting! We seek researchers addressing exciting questions in vision science using innovative approaches. Join our community @moraneyecenter.bsky.social! Repost and contact me with questions! utah.peopleadmin.com/postings/206...

I’m excited to share the newest publication from the lab where we charactize the zebrafish Atoh7 retinal lineage in wild type and Atoh7 mutants, discover an Atoh7 negative RGC population, and find lineage positive cells in the CNS outside of the optic tectum. iovs.arvojournals.org/article.aspx...

The 2026 GRS/GRC on Visual System Development begins tomorrow. It is going to be a great meeting. Jeremy Kay, Kristen Kwan, Robert Johnston and I are looking forward to seeing you in beautiful Maine. Safe travels to all attendees. See you in a day!

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

My Department is HIRING! If you're excited about building an innovative research program and joining a collaborative community of scientists, we'd love to hear from you. Come be my colleague! #AcademicJobs #BasicScience #FacultySearch#AcademicJobs More details here: recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07708

Assistant/Associate Professor- Cell Biology & Human Anatomy

University of California, Davis is hiring. Apply now!

recruit.ucdavis.edu

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 · 2mo ago

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

Join us on Saturday, August 8th, for Vision at the Arboretum, a free, educational science event exploring the fascinating world of bird vision! This event is free and open to the public. RSVP appreciated but not required. Add it to your Calendars here: vision.wisc.edu/vision-at/

Look Mom, my image made the cover slide!

Andrea Carlson’s son Joe had a myriad of unexplained symptoms. Seeking answers, she connected with Elena Semina, PhD, ophthalmology researcher at MCW. Dr. Semina identified an ultra-rare genetic condition that finally explained Joe’s symptoms. Learn more: www.mcw.edu/mcwknowledge...

For Families Facing Rare Diseases, Genetic Research Delivers Answers

Medical College of Wisconsin researcher probes gene variants for clues to the cause of congenital birth defects.

mcw.edu

Some people who suffer heart attacks fully recover, while others develop heart failure within months. At MCW, researchers linked polyploidy — or duplicated genetic material in cells — to worse post-heart attack outcomes. Learn more about their recent study: www.mcw.edu/mcwknowledge...

In New Study Researchers Connect Polyploidy in Heart Muscle Genes to Worse Outcomes

Using a new genetics tool at MCW, a research team found that cells with extra copies of their genome correlated with worse heart performance.

mcw.edu

Excited to share our new paper! This work explores how Sonic hedgehog signaling helps coordinate retinal patterning and neurogenesis, including regulation of both cell cycle exit and progenitor competence during mammalian eye development journals.biologists.com/dev/article/...

Roles of sonic hedgehog signaling in retinal patterning and neurogenesis during mammalian eye development

Summary: Temporal disruption of sonic hedgehog signaling reveals stage-specific roles in eye cup patterning and in regulating proliferation, progenitor competence and fate specification during retinal...

journals.biologists.com

#ARVO2026 was fantastic! I’m really honored to have been elected to the AMPC and STOKED to serve alongside one of my favorite scientist (and human), @blockintheback.bsky.social

It’s @aoiplab.bsky.social, @icanhasmiranda.bsky.social and company at #ARVO2026

Off to #ARVO2026 with @icanhasmiranda.bsky.social and Ross!

Just 2 weeks left to apply: Tenure-track faculty position at the University of Pittsburgh for someone studying the mechanisms of pain. Looking for interactive colleagues. Please spread the word! Info here: cfopitt.taleo.net/careersectio...

“Our baby was born deaf, and now he can hear.” A new gene therapy is helping children with a rare form of hearing loss.

New Gene Therapy Enables Children With a Rare Form of Deafness to Hear

The treatment, the first of its kind, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday. “Our baby was born deaf, and now he can hear,” said one parent.

nyti.ms

Our new paper is out! 🎉 Let-7 doesn’t act through a single pathway: it controls neocortical neuron fate and migration via distinct downstream mechanisms, with RBX2 dedicated to migration. A new layer of post-transcriptional control shaping cortical development www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

New paper out 🚨! Excited to share this collab between my lab and @kerschensteiner.bsky.social's group, expertly led by Ning Shen. We used a genome-wide in vivo CRISPR screen to uncover novel neuroprotective strategies in the P23H mouse retina, with validation in a new human retina culture model.

Neuron@cp-neuron.bsky.social · 6mo ago

New study led by Ning Shen w/ @phruzycki.bsky.social: a genome-wide in vivo CRISPR screen in a retinitis pigmentosa mouse model identifies genes whose loss accelerates photoreceptor death. Overexpressing two, UFD1 and UXT, preserves photoreceptors, retinal function, and vision. 🧵

“The atoh7:iCre;ubi:Switch transgene combination successfully recapitulated the onset of endogenous atoh7 expression… We determined 79% of total RGCs in the wild type retina come from atoh7+ progenitor cells, a greater number than reported in the mouse retina” New from @joelmiesfeld.bsky.social 🐟

bioRxivpreprint@biorxivpreprint.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Lineage tracing reveals atoh7 positive and negative retinal ganglion cell populations in the zebrafish retina https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.03.19.712911v1

🌟 Meet the Scientific Committee: @blockintheback.bsky.social🌟 Kristen Kwan is a member of the Scientific Committee of #EZM2026, and we are thrilled to have her join us in Vienna! Stay tuned as we continue to introduce the outstanding scientists of EZM2026! 🐟🧬

In 2025, we captured stories that celebrated those that drive discovery, education, and community collaboration forward at MCW. As we reflect on the past year, we’re highlighting the top 10 most-viewed MCW feature stories of 2025. Learn more:

The Medical College of Wisconsin’s Top Featured Stories of 2025

A look back at the discoveries, people, and moments that captured interest and advanced MCW’s mission this year.

mcw.edu

The ARVO site is experiencing very high volume, affecting ability to renew membership and submit Annual Meeting abstracts. We are extending the abstract deadline to Dec. 8, 5pm US EST. Our site is operational, so please continue to submit today and over the next three days. bit.ly/4mJ2aRV

Ken Poss, who first discovered the fish could regenerate their heart tissue, moved his lab from Duke University to the Morgridge Institute at UW-Madison a year ago.

Zebrafish may teach us how to regrow our hearts, researcher at UW-Madison says

Ken Poss, who first discovered the fish could regenerate their heart tissue, moved his lab from Duke University to the Morgridge Institute at UW-Madison a year ago.

madison.com

The chemotherapy drug doxorubicin helps patients by killing cancer cells, but it has also been shown to damage heart cells. MCW’s Dr. Chun Liu has set out to find how to protect them from this toxicity. Learn more: www.mcw.edu/mcwknowledge... #CardiovascularResearch #Research

To Protect the Heart from Chemotherapy, Researcher Looks to Genes

The Chun Liu Lab examines why some heart cells survive the cardiotoxicity caused by chemo – and how that insight can help prevent heart disease.

mcw.edu

Interested in getting a PhD in biomedical sciences? Apply for the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences at the Medical College of Wisconsin! For full consideration please submit your application by December 5, 2025; www.mcw.edu/education/gr...