Welcome to our lab!
Current and former members of the lab have come from many different countries, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and scientific disciplines. We do our best research as a team, combining the expertise and perspectives that each individual brings to a project. See the Collaborations page for more information.
Members of the Retinal Circuits Lab
We are committed to diversity and inclusion.
Greg D. Field, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Joan and Jerome Snyder Vision Science Chair
Assistant Director of Research,
Jules Stein Eye Institute
Department of Ophthalmology
David Geffen School of Medicine
University of California, Los Angeles
[email protected]
I have a long-standing interest in how the retina converts light into electrical signals that are sent to the rest of the brain. I want to understand how this process contributes to vision and how we can leverage an understanding of retinal function to treat blindness.
Alex Gallego, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
A current Postdoctoral Fellow whose interests are understanding the remodeling of retinal circuits in early steps of physio-pathologies.
Marija Rudzite
Ph.D. Student
Project titles:
- Determining the signals sent by retinal ganglion cells to superior colliculus
- Determining how GABA inhibition shapes information processing in the retina
I'm a “bi-coastal” graduate student at Duke Neurobiology Ph.D. program working with the Sommer Lab to understand what visual signals the retina sends to different brain regions. I'm also interested in how the synaptic organization of retinal circuits relates to mathematical descriptions of neural code and visual processing. As a training retinal physiologist, I spend most of my time in the dark, but when I do see the light, I love to be outside hiking, gardening, or biking.
Learn more: Research projects
Bryant Cruz
Staff Research Associate
A driven science professional with a passion for understanding how our eyes and neural network work as one to explain what we see.
Nilou Ghazavi
Ph.D. Student
Kais Saradi
Staff Research Associate II
With a background in Biology and Computer Science, I am interested in computational biology and the development of precise models for studying biological systems. I am excited by the challenge of integrating data to understand retinal circuits.
In my free time, I like to go out and enjoy the outdoors, whether its hiking, snowboarding, or fly fishing.
Yasmine Tani
Staff Research Associate
A current SRA interested in the intersection between neuroscience
and data analytics.
Fun fact : I enjoy writing my own music and am an avid thrifter.
Rohan Joshi
Undergraduate
Major : Neuroscience
Fun Fact : I’m deep water SCUBA certified and have dove over 25 times
Interest in the lab : Using open-source software to generate 3D models of cricket hunting behaviors and quantify retinal degeneration of mice
Ziane Djenidi
Undergraduate
Major : Neuroscience
Fun Fact : My longest-running hobby is filmmaking which I have been doing since I was in 3rd grade. However, I only got my first real camera last year.
Interests in the lab : I am interested in learning about the mechanism that allows our eyes to adjust to different light situations.
Patience Okani
Undergraduate
Major : Physiological Science major
Hello! My name is Patience Okani and I am a 4th year Physiological Science major!
Interests in the lab : I am really excited to learn more about visual processing, as well as the components of the nervous system that help translate the world to what we see in person.
Fazil Onuralp
Undergraduate
Major : Electrical Engineering, minor in Neuroscience.
Fun fact : There is supposed to be a photo of my leg in a scientific paper somewhere
Interests in the Lab : I am interested in modeling retinal circuits with machine learning tools, improving my understanding of neuronal circuits and machine learning simultaneously.
Anushka Narasani
Undergraduate
Major : Neuroscience, Minor : Bioinformatics
Fun Fact : I play chess :)
Interest in the lab : Characterizing the morphology and physiology of retinal ganglion cells, specifically orientation-selective RGCs, using electrical imaging, histology, neuron tracing, and confocal microscopy!
Alumni
Miranda Scalabrino, Ph.D.
Current role:
Assistant Professor position in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at Medical College of Wisconsin
Previous:
Postdoctoral Fellow
Suva Roy, Ph.D.
Current role:
Assistant Professor position in the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at University of Utah
Previous:
Postdoctoral Fellow
Anthony Tarakji
Current: Medical Student, University of Chicago
Previous role: Staff Research Associate
Sarah Proctor
Current: Graduate Student, Biomedical Engineering, Duke University
Previous role: Staff Research Associate
Mishek Thapa
Current: Medical Student , University of CA, Los Angeles
Previous role: Staff Research Associate
Jon Cafaro, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow and Senior Research Associate
Sneha Ravi, Ph.D.
Graduate Student
Kiersten Ruda, Ph.D.
Graduate Student
Na Young Jun, Ph.D.
Graduate Student
Xiaoyang Yao, Ph.D.
Graduate Student
Wan-Qing Yu, Ph.D.
Graduate Student
Rod Shayesteh, M.D.
Research Technician
Teleza Westbrook
Research Technician
Emily Chen, M.D.
Undergraduate Student
Ashley Zhou
Undergraduate Student
Esther Zhang
Undergraduate Student
Benjamin Perry
Undergraduate Student