Robert Fariss, Ph.D.

Robert Fariss, Ph.D., was first introduced to the field of retinal cell biology in the lab of Dr. Steven K. Fisher during his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Fariss then pursued his Ph.D. in Dr. Fisher’s lab, with an emphasis in cell biology and neuroscience. His work utilized a retinal detachment model developed in Dr. Fisher’s lab to analyze the sub-cellular localization of proteins in normal and degenerating photoreceptors. This work also included TEM analysis of the rod and cone matrix domains in mammalian retinas and the relationship of these domains to the rod and cone-specific RPE apical microvilli ensheathing the outer segments. Following his graduate work, Fariss undertook his postdoctoral studies with Dr. Ann Milam, head of the Retinitis Pigmentosa Histopathology Laboratory at University of Washington in Seattle, where he utilized confocal microscopy to characterize neuronal plasticity in donor retinal tissues from patients with retinitis pigmentosa. In his second postdoctoral position, with Dr. Krzysztof Palczewski, University of Washington Department of Ophthalmology, Fariss used confocal and EM techniques to study mammalian photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium.

In 2000, Fariss came to the National Eye Institute as staff scientist, heading NEI’s new confocal microscopy unit. Since 2005, he has served as chief of NEI’s Biological Imaging Core, which has a wide range of advanced imaging instrumentation including confocal, multi-photon scopes and Airyscan super-resolution systems.