Program Entry Year: 2025
Previous Degrees and Institutions: BS Optometry, Bausch and Lomb School of Optometry, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Rajasthan, India; Post Graduate Diploma in Optometry and Vision Sciences, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Vision Science
Supervisor: Dr. Arathy Kartha
Research Interests: Quantifying functional vision and higher-order visual functions in individuals with cerebral visual impairment, visual neuroscience
Favorite Fact About the Eye: Seeing is not just about having healthy eyes; the brain plays a huge role in how we interpret and interact with the visual world. Two people can have the same visual acuity but experience and use vision very differently.
Research Summary: My research focuses on cerebral visual impairment (CVI), a condition in which visual deficits arise from how the brain processes visual information rather than from problems with the eyes themselves. I study how individuals with CVI use vision during everyday tasks like visual search, reading, eye-hand coordination, integration of visual information with other senses, etc. I also study their eye movement behavior, which gives us a lot of information about how the individual is using their vision.
Favorite Thing About SUNY Optometry: I love that SUNY Optometry has people who bring expertise in different areas of vision science research. The opportunity to learn from them and collaborate helps me explore my research from different perspectives.
What I Hope My Research Will Contribute: My research will help us better understand the everyday visual challenges experienced by individuals with CVI and develop assessments that capture how they use vision in real life. Ultimately, I hope this knowledge can guide support and accommodations tailored to each individual’s needs.
Research Inspiration: What drew me to this area was how differently each child with CVI can experience the visual world. My work with children with special needs made me want to understand these individual differences and why a task that is easy for one child can be challenging for another.
Program Entry Year: 2026
Previous Degrees and Institutions: MSE in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Vision Science
Supervisor: Dr. Sayan Ghosh
Research Interests: AMD, retinal disease biology, organelle dysfunction, organoids
Favorite Fact About the Eye: The lens is one of the oldest and most protected parts of our body. So old that, if exposed, our own immune system may not recognize it.
Research Summary: Cells contain tiny, specialized compartments called organelles, like lysosomes, mitochondria, and others, that must constantly create, fold, and recycle proteins to keep our body healthy. When these organelles get damaged or stressed with aging or in disease, protein manufacturing, maintenance, and degradation get altered, causing malformed proteins to accumulate uncontrollably like toxic trash. My research tries to understand the underlying signaling pathways linked to this buildup, the inflammation it triggers, and consequent retinal diseases.
What I Hope My Research Will Contribute: Develop therapeutic strategies to nullify altered accumulation of protein and macromolecular debris inside cells, which is key to several neurodegenerative diseases like age-related macular degeneration and Alzheimer’s disease.
Program Entry Year: 2026
Previous Degrees and Institutions: OD/MS, SUNY Optometry
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Vision Science
Supervisor: Dr. Stefanie Wohl
Research Interests: Molecular biology, retinal disease, therapeutics
Program Entry Year: 2025
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Doctor of Optometry, SUNY 2021, MS SUNY 2023
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Vision Science
Supervisor: Dr. Jose Manuel Alonso
Research Interests: Myopia, structure/function, psychophysics
Program Entry Year: 2024
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Doctor of Optometry (O.D.), University of Benin, Nigeria
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD
Supervisor: Dr. Jose-Manuel Alonso
Research Interests: Visual neuroscience
Program Entry Year: 2026
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Double B.S. in Biology and Applied Math & Statistics at Stony Brook University.
Program / Degree Being Pursued: Ph.D. in Vision Science
Supervisor: Dr. Stefanie Wohl
Research Interests: Retinal regeneration, optic nerve development
Favorite Fact About the Eye: Tears drain down the nasal cavity and into your throat, so you’re drinking your tears every day :0
Program Entry Year: 2025
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Bachelor of Optometry, Maharajgunj Medical Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Vision Science
Supervisors: Dr. Jose Manuel Alonso, Dr. Xiaoying Zhu
Research Interests: Myopia development and prevention, accommodation, visual diet, visuomotor behavior, and visual optics
Research Summary: My research focuses on understanding how visual diet and visuomotor behavior influence myopia development and how these factors can be used for myopia prevention and management. I am also exploring how the characteristics of visual stimuli, including color, may influence accommodation and visual function.
What I Hope My Research Will Contribute: I hope my research will contribute to a better understanding of the visual and behavioral factors associated with myopia and help identify practical strategies for its prevention and management.
Program Entry Year: 2022
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Bachelor of Science in Chemistry & Biology. Midwestern State University.
Program / Degree Being Pursued: Vision Science, PhD
Supervisor: Dr. Alexandra Benavente
Research Interests: Myopia & Glaucoma
Program Entry Year: 2026
Previous Degrees and Institutions: B. Optom, Vasan Institute of Ophthalmology and Research, Chennai, India; PGDOVS, Brien Holden Institute of Optometry and Vision Sciences, L V Prasad Eye Institute, Hyderabad, India
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Vision Science
Supervisor: Lisa Ostrin
Research Interests: My area of research interest is in understanding the structural, functional, optical, and psychophysical aspects of myopia, with a focus on ocular growth, myopia progression, retinal function, near work, and light exposure.
Program Entry Year: August 2024
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Bachelor of Optometry, Institute of Medicine, Nepal
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Biological and Vision Science
Supervisor: Jose-Manuel Alonso
Research Interests: Myopia, visual psychophysics, pupil, mechanisms of eye growth regulation and refractive development, emmetropization.
Favorite Fact About the Eye: “The pupil is a window to the brain, small, dynamic, and revealing more about our nervous system than we often realize.”
Research Summary: I study how negative and positive defocus affect visuomotor functions using the Pupil Labs Neon eye tracker and the VEET, aiming to uncover how lens-modulated eye growth is mediated by changes in pupil size and retinal illumination. My results show that negative lenses cause pupil constriction, which could potentially induce human myopia by reducing retinal illumination, a form of visual deprivation akin to an absence of light. These results have the potential to cause a paradigm shift in myopia research and current approaches to myopia control.
Favorite Thing About SUNY Optometry: Coming to SUNY Optometry as an international PhD student, I’ve really valued being part of such a diverse community, the opportunity to grow through teaching as a TA, and, most importantly, having a supportive PI who has encouraged me to explore, learn, and grow as a researcher.
Research Inspiration: My clinical background in optometry sparked my interest in understanding what happens beyond what we can observe in routine eye care. This led me to study the mechanisms underlying visual perception, pupil responses, and ocular growth, with a particular focus on myopia, refractive development, and eye growth. I’m motivated by the opportunity to understand how visual experience shapes the developing eye and contributes to emmetropization.
Program Entry Year: 2022
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Bachelor of Optometry, Tribhuvan University
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Vision Science
Supervisor: Dr. Jose-Manuel Alonso
Research Interests: ON and OFF visual pathways, accommodation, pupil, myopia, psychophysics
Program Entry Year: 2024
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Master’s in Optometry and Vision Sciences, University of Hyderabad
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD
Supervisor: Lisa A. Ostrin
Research Interests: Light and spectral composition, emmetropization, and myopia
Favorite Fact About the Eye: The individualization, overlap, and integration of specific visual pathways from the eye to the brain.
Research Summary: My research investigates whether specific wavelengths of light can promote normal emmetropization of the eye. I am particularly interested in understanding how spectral composition influences ocular growth and refractive development. Additionally, I explore whether exposure to specific wavelengths of light can mitigate the effects of near work on myopia progression.
What I Hope My Research Will Contribute: To identify visual cues that delay or prevent the onset of myopia and discover new treatment modalities to control myopia progression, with the aim of reducing the burden of myopia on society.
Research Inspiration: I am fascinated by the role of light in visual development and its potential to influence eye growth and refractive outcomes.
Favorite Thing About SUNY Optometry: There’s always a fascinating research talk to attend, engaging discussions with colleagues, a game of ping-pong to play, and a view of the Empire State Building just outside the window.
Program Entry Year: 2025
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Doctor of Optometry, University of Benin, Nigeria
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Vision Science
Supervisor: Dr. Nicole M. Putnam
Research Interests: Vascular biomarkers of neurodegeneration, high-resolution adaptive optics in vivo retinal imaging, myopia and susceptibility to glaucomatous degeneration, emmetropization and retinal stretch in myopia.
Favorite Fact About the Eye: Optically speaking, the eye is a mess of aberrations, but our neural processing gives us stunning spatial resolution despite it.
Research Summary: I am using adaptive optics, a technology that corrects the eye’s optical imperfections to image cells down to 0.7 microns to investigate retinal stretching in young adults with myopia. By mapping the photoreceptor mosaic and microvascular template, I can precisely quantify how structural elongation alters these microscopic networks. Ultimately, this work aims to uncover how these myopic cellular and microvascular changes increase a patient’s susceptibility to glaucoma.
Favorite Thing About SUNY Optometry: Fellow graduate students
What I Hope My Research Will Contribute: Early detection of retinal neurodegeneration and, as an extension, systemic neuronal disorders.
Research Inspiration: The unwavering challenge of managing neuroretinal disorders when larger, clinically detectable structural defects and visual function loss precede clinical presentation. Simply put: Current clinical signs of retinal disorders appear after cellular and functional vision loss has already occurred, deterring the effectiveness of clinical therapeutics.
Program Entry Year: 2023
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Master’s in Vision Science from University of Houston College of Optometry
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD
Supervisor: Dr. Jingyun Wang
Research Interests: Clinical research in amblyopia, eye tracking
Favorite Fact About the Eye: Green eyes are less common than blue eyes, apparently. Only about 2% of people worldwide have green eyes.
Research Summary: My research explores how amblyopia affects children’s vision. I use OCT, eye tracking, and pupillometry to study fixation, eye movements, retinal structure, and pupil responses.
Favorite Thing About SUNY Optometry: Friendly people and being located so close to Bryant Park. Winter market access during Christmas is easy.
What I Hope My Research Will Contribute: Effective early diagnosis and treatment of amblyopia to reduce the long-lasting consequences.
Research Inspiration: My mom is amblyopic. My interest in amblyopia began close to home. My mother was diagnosed later in life, but her symptoms started earlier. She ignored the signs, but when it actually became a problem, it was too late for her because she was already 18.
Program Entry Year: 2022
Previous Degrees and Institutions: Bachelor of Optometry and Vision Science, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Vision Science
Supervisor: Dr. Alexandra Benavente-Perez
Research Interests: Myopia, emmetropization, optics, and retinal physiology
Favorite Fact About the Eye: The image projected onto our retina is upside down, yet we perceive the world upright.
Research Summary: My research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying myopia and visually guided eye growth. I investigate how retinal function and optical properties change during development and in response to altered visual experience.
Research Inspiration: My interest in myopia research grew from my clinical background in optometry, where I saw firsthand how common and increasingly important myopia is as a global public health challenge. This inspired me to look beyond correcting myopia to understanding why the eye becomes myopic in the first place. I became particularly fascinated by emmetropization, how visual signals guide the developing eye toward appropriate growth, and how disruption of this process can lead to refractive error. My research now focuses on understanding these retinal and optical mechanisms, with the long-term goal of contributing to better strategies for preventing and controlling myopia.
Favorite Thing About SUNY Optometry: The collaborative environment and opportunity to connect basic vision research with clinically relevant questions.
Program Entry Year: 2025
Previous Degrees and Institutions: MS, Columbia University; BS, University of Vermont
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD
Supervisor: Qasim Zaidi
Research Interests: Computational neuroscience and visual perception
Research Summary: My research spans topics from color-selective cells in the brain to reconstructing dance movements from drawings. Despite their diversity, these projects share one goal: using computational models to better understand how the brain processes visual information.
Favorite Thing About SUNY Optometry: Location. Near lots of good restaurants.
What I Hope My Research Will Contribute: Using rapidly advancing technologies, my research explores how higher-level areas of the brain process complex and abstract visual information.
Research Inspiration: I’m fascinated by the intersection of art, computation, and the brain, and how each can deepen our understanding of the others.
Program Entry Year: 2025
Previous Degrees and Institutions: M.S. in Ophthalmology, Capital Medical University
Program / Degree Being Pursued: PhD in Vision Science
Supervisor: Professor Jingyun Wang
Research Interests: Pediatric ophthalmology, amblyopia, myopia, and visual development