December 9, 2024
3:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET
Riding the retinal wave through visual system development
This year's lecture is presented by Dr. Marla Feller, the Paul Licht Distinguished Professor in Biological Sciences and Member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley.
About the Lecture
Coordinated spontaneous activity is present in different sensory systems during the early stages of development. This activity is thought to play a critical role in developing sensory representations before the maturation of sensory experiences. Dr. Feller's lab studies this in the visual system, where, before the maturation of vision, the immature retina spontaneously generates propagating waves of depolarization, which they refer to as retinal waves. Retinal waves are the course of correlated depolarizations found throughout the developing visual system, where they play a critical role in the refinement of visual maps in the brain's retinofugal targets. Recently, Feller's lab has shown that mice lacking retinal waves fail to form the retinal circuits mediating the motion detection critical for driving the optokinetic reflex. Identifying the key signals encoded by the waves is likely to offer valuable insights into how interactions influenced by particular activity patterns shape connectivity throughout development.
Speaker Biography
Marla B. Feller, Ph.D., is the Paul Licht Distinguished Professor in Biological Sciences in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of California, Berkley, and a member of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute. Dr. Feller earned her Ph.D. in Physics from UC Berkeley, where her research centered on the characteristics of liquid crystal interfaces, employing nonlinear optical methods.
At UC Berkeley, Dr. Feller's research focuses on exploring the mechanisms of spontaneous activity in the developing nervous system and the role this activity plays in shaping neuronal circuits in the retina, employing quantitative imaging and physiological techniques. This research is vital for understanding the origins of certain neurological birth defects and investigating potential therapies to restore vision in deteriorating retinas.
Dr. Feller is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. Her distinguished honors include the Brian Boycott Prize for her Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing contributions. She has also received the Distinguished Faculty Mentor Award from the Graduate Assembly and a Distinguished Teaching Award, both from UC Berkeley.
About the Series
Sayer Vision Research Lecture and Award series provides an opportunity for honorees to explore areas of interdisciplinary collaboration, such as angiogenesis, that may lead to advances in diverse medical specialties with relevance to vision research.
Accommodations
Individuals with disabilities who need accommodations to participate in this event should contact Princess Alike at princess.alike@nih.gov least 3 business days prior to the event.