Vision Science research at WashU is conducted by 34 faculty spanning 14 departments.
![Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Rajendra-Apte-280x386-1.jpg)
Rajendra Apte, MD, PhD
Paul A. Cibis Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
- Email: apte@wustl.edu
Innate immunity and immune effector mechanisms in the retina; oxidative stress and cell death; models of developmental angiogenesis and neovascularization; inflammation and photoreceptor survival; macular degeneration
![Ghazal Ashrafi, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Ghazaleh-Ashrafi-280x386-1.jpg)
Ghazal Ashrafi, PhD
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology & Physiology
- Email: ghazaleh@wustl.edu
Uncovering novel regulators of glycolytic and mitochondrial metabolism at the synapse and their role in the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease
![Steven Bassnett, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Bassnett-Steven_Ophth_final-1lgs5n8-280x386-2.jpg)
Steven Bassnett, PhD
Grace Nelson Lacy Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Science
- Email: bassnett@wustl.edu
Refractive development, exfoliation glaucoma, establishment and loss of lens transparency, structural and functional characterization of fibrillin polymers in the eye
![Andreas Burkhalter, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Burkhalter-Andreas_DSC0961-1-280x386-1.jpg)
Andreas Burkhalter, PhD
Professor of Neuroscience
- Email: burkhala@wustl.edu
Anatomical, physiological and optogenetic study of the visual cortex
Burkhalter Lab
![Valeria Cavalli, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Cavalli-Valeria-20210526_DSC06482-1-1-280x386-1.jpg)
![Shiming Chen, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Chen-Shiming_Ophth_01-tke9re-e1513356377525-280x386-1.jpg)
Shiming Chen, PhD
Dr. Bernard and Janet R. Becker Distinguished Professor in Ophthalmology
- Email: chenshiming@wustl.edu
Molecular mechanisms regulating photoreceptor gene expression in healthy and diseased retinas
![Zhou-Feng Chen, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Chen-280x386-1.jpg)
Zhou-Feng Chen, PhD
Russell D. and Mary B. Shelden Professor of Anesthesiology
- Email: chenz@wustl.edu
Affective touch, itch, pain, GPCR and prosocial behavior
![Brian Clark, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Clark-2myod0w-e1533135201165-280x386-1.jpg)
Brian Clark, PhD
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
- Email: brian.s.clark@wustl.edu
Analysis of the temporally regulated program of retinal cell type specification
![Joseph Corbo, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/CorboJ-280x386.jpg)
Joseph Corbo, MD, PhD
Professor of Pathology and Immunology
- Email: jcorbo@wustl.edu
(1) Transcriptional networks in the retina; (2) the mechanistic basis of color vision; (3) the cis-regulatory basis of human uniqueness and neuropsychiatric disease
![Aaron DiAntonio, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/aarond-2jigp0r-280x386-1.jpeg)
Aaron DiAntonio, MD, PhD
Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Developmental Biology
- Email: diantonio@wustl.edu
Neural circuits in development and disease
![Tom Franken, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/02/Tom-Franken-280x386-1-280x386-1.jpg)
Tom Franken, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor of Neuroscience
- Email: ftom@wustl.edu
Understanding how the primate brain processes sensory information to perceive the world as an organized collection of objects
![Geoffrey Goodhill, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/05/goodhill-cropped-280x386-1.jpg)
Geoffrey Goodhill, PhD
Professor of Neuroscience
- Email: g.goodhill@wustl.edu
Understanding the computational principles that underlie brain development, using a combination of experimental and theoretical approaches
![David Gutmann, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/David-Gutmann-280x386-1.jpg)
David Gutmann, MD, PhD
Donald O. Schnuck Family Professor of Neurology
- Email: gutmannd@wustl.edu
Leveraging neurogenetic disorders to study normal brain development, cancer, and autism
![Keith Hengen, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Hengen-Keith-280x386.jpg)
Keith Hengen, PhD
Assistant Professor of Biology
- Email: khengen@wustl.edu
We take a “big data” approach to understanding the self-organization of neurons and networks in behaving animals
![Tamara Hershey, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/hershey-2-280x386-1.jpg)
Tamara Hershey, PhD
James S. McDonnell Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in Psychiatry & Radiology
- Email: tammy@wustl.edu
Understanding the impact of metabolic and neurodegenerative conditions on the brain, particularly during development
![Erik Herzog, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Biology_Herzog_E_P1044395-280x386-1.jpg)
Erik Herzog, PhD
Viktor Hamburger Distinguished Professor of Biology
- Email: herzog@wustl.edu
Molecular, cellular and circuit analysis of circadian rhythms in mammals
![Shin-Ichiro Imai, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Imai-Shin-ichiro_DBio_02-29vtfjz-e1530121523386-280x386-1.jpg)
Shin-Ichiro Imai, MD, PhD
Professor of Developmental Biology
- Email: imaishin@wustl.edu
Understanding the molecular mechanism of aging and longevity in mammals
![Daniel Kerschensteiner, MD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/MicrosoftTeams-image-5-280x386.jpg)
Daniel Kerschensteiner, MD
Janet & Bernard Becker Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
- Email: kerschensteinerd@wustl.edu
Visual system neuroscience and vision restoration
Kerschensteiner Lab
![Qin Liu, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/QinLiu-280x386-1.jpg)
![Helen McNeill, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/McNeill-Helen_DevBio_01-1qorarz-280x386-1.jpg)
Helen McNeill, PhD
Larry J. Shapiro and Carol-Ann Uetake-Shapiro Professor of Developmental Biology
- Email: mcneillh@wustl.edu
Understanding how tissue growth and tissue organization are coordinately regulated during normal development, and how loss of this control leads to human disease
![Jeffrey Milbrandt, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/20190115_MM_Milbrandt024_v3-e1606853832690-280x386-1.jpg)
Jeffrey Milbrandt, MD, PhD
James S. McDonnell Professor and Head of Genetics
- Email: jmilbrandt@wustl.edu
Axonal degeneration, regulation of myelination, neuronal energetics and mitochondrial function in neuropathy and neurodegenerative disease
![Josh Morgan, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/joshm2b-280x386-1.jpg)
Josh Morgan, PhD
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
- Email: jlmorgan@wustl.edu
Using advanced cellular imaging techniques to investigate how neurons organize themselves into image processing circuits
![Erik Museik, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Erik-Musiek-280x386-1.jpg)
Erik Museik, MD, PhD
Charlotte and Paul Hagemann Professor of Neurology
- Email: musieke@wustl.edu
Molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration, with interest in circadian clock genes, glial function, and neuroinflammation
![Jeanne Nerbonne, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Nerbonne-Jeanne-rvcwpq-280x386-1.jpg)
Jeanne Nerbonne, PhD
Alumni Endowed Professor of Molecular Biology and Pharmacology
Molecular determinants of ion channel expression, distribution and functioning
![Rithwick Rajagopal, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/97d83661-e87f-498a-9d6c-a24a3ca201e6-280x386-1.jpg)
Rithwick Rajagopal, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
- Email: rajagopalr@wustl.edu
Pathogenic mechanisms in diabetic retinopathy and neuronal damage in diabetes mellitus
![Josh Rubin, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/profile-default-280x386-1.jpg)
![Alan Shiels, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/sheils-280x386-1.png)
Alan Shiels, PhD
Professor of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
- Email: shiels@wustl.edu
Molecular genetic mechanisms underlying lens development and cataract
![Lawrence Snyder, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Snyder_Lawrence_profile-280x386-1.jpg)
Lawrence Snyder, MD, PhD
- Email: larry@eye-hand.wustl.edu
Information processing in the cerebral cortex
![Paul Taghert, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Taghert-Paul-REV-20210519__DSC0815-1-280x386-1.jpg)
Paul Taghert, PhD
Professor of Neuroscience
- Email: taghertp@wustl.edu
Circadian physiology and behavior
![Fumihiko Urano, MD, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/fumihiko-urano-md-phd.jpg)
Fumihiko Urano, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine and of Pathology and Immunology
- Email: urano@wustl.edu
Identifying potential therapeutic targets by unraveling the molecular, genetic, and cellular mechanisms behind the Wolfram Syndrome phenotype
![Philip Williams, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/WFL_Header_Williams-2e7b4uo-e1531924152988-280x386-1.jpg)
Philip Williams, PhD
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
- Email: prwillia@wustl.edu
Strategies to improve outcomes of nervous system injury and disease, regeneration and preservation
![Andrew Yoo, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Yoo-Andrew_DB_02-1u8po0u-280x386-1.jpg)
Andrew Yoo, PhD
Professor of Developmental Biology
- Email: yooa@wustl.edu
Generation of human neurons by direct cell fate reprogramming and modeling late-onset neurodegenerative disorders
![Takeshi Yoshimatsu, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Face-photo-1024x1024-1-280x386.jpg)
Takeshi Yoshimatsu, PhD
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
- Email: takeshi@wustl.edu
Understanding the molecular and cellular basis of the functional development and regeneration of the vertebrate visual system and elucidating how disruption of these mechanisms leads to visual dysfunction
![Chao Zhou, PhD](https://sites.wustl.edu/visionscience/files/2023/01/Chao-Zhou-1.png)
Chao Zhou, PhD
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
- Email: chaozhou@wustl.edu
Developing novel optical imaging technologies for biomedical applications including cancer research and tissue engineering