Research News
We strive to serve as the catalyst for vision research. Our highest priority is to foster interactive, interdisciplinary, and translational studies of how the visual system functions in health and disease.
McPherson ERI Newsletters: InSights and Point of View
2026
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Collaborative Study by MERI Members Published in PNAS
What are ‘ribbons’ doing in your eye?! A recent study by Sinha and Hoon labs uncovers new role(s) of these molecular components that fuel retinal visual processing. Every time we see, the…
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David Gamm featured on Wisconsin Public Radio
On September 15, 2026, MERI Director of Research David Gamm joined the Lee Rayburn Show on Wisconsin Public Radio to discuss ongoing MERI research and to answer questions from Wisconsin residents about…
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Discovery opens new path toward restoring vision lost to blindness
McPherson ERI researchers have identified a protein called CD166/ALCAM that allows scientists to identify and purify a critical type of retinal photoreceptor for the first time. The discovery, published in Stem Cell…
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MERI Member Curtis Brandt Awarded NIH R01
Congratulations to MERI Member Prof. Curtis Brandt (DOVS), who has been awarded a four-year R01 grant from the National Eye Institute to support his research in preventing herpes-related blindness. HSV-1 corneal infection…
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CRISPR roadblocks: Scientists identify genes blocking gene therapy success
A recent publication in Nature Communications explores the human genome to identify genetic barriers that limit nonviral CRISPR editor delivery. By using a new screening platform across 19,114 human genes, researchers identified 26…
2025
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MERI Member Donna Neumann Awarded NIH R01 to Advance HSV-1 Vision Research
MERI member Prof. Donna Neumann (DOVS) has been awarded a five-year R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to support her project, “A chromatin…
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McPherson Eye Research Institute Member Randy Bartels Featured in New Article on Quantum Imaging
We are pleased to share a newly published online article highlighting the work of McPherson Eye Research Institute member Randy Bartels. The article explores recent advances in quantum imaging and how this emerging approach could…
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McPherson ERI Fall 2025 InSights is out!
The latest issue of InSights features articles on a groundbreaking stem cell clinical trial, MERI’s Outreach accomplishments, and the establishment of the Alice R. McPherson Archives!
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MERI members nominated for 2025 WARF Innovation Award!
Big news! A groundbreaking eye therapy developed by MERI trainee Celia Bisbach and MERI Director David Gamm has been nominated for a 2025 WARF Innovation Award! Designed to treat retinal diseases, this…
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Congratulations to Grant Summit Program (GSP) Award Winner Curtis Brandt!
Congratulations to Professor Curtis Brandt, one of our latest recipients of the MERI Grant Summit Program (GSP) Award! Prof. Brandt’s winning research proposal was entitled ‘Mechanisms of Sensory Nerve Loss in HSV-1…
2024
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Gamm Lab Discoveries Culminate in FDA Approval of a Clinical Trial for the Treatment of Inherited Photoreceptor Diseases
BlueRock Therapeutics LP, a clinical stage cell therapy company and subsidiary of Bayer AG, today announced the clearance of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration…
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Gamm lab Discoveries Culminate in FDA Approval of a Clinical Trial for the Treatment of Inherited Photoreceptor Diseases
BlueRock Therapeutics LP, a clinical stage cell therapy company and subsidiary of Bayer AG, today announced the clearance of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application by the U.S. Food and Drug…
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Testing senses and motor skills in midlife may help predict later cognitive impairment
When researchers test motor skills, hearing, vision and smell in people in their midlife, they are better able to identify those who may develop cognitive decline or impairment 10 years later, according…
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Congratulations to the winners of our 2023 Walsh Graduate Student Support Initiative Award!
It is our pleasure to announce the recipients of our 2023 David G. Walsh Graduate Student Support Initiative (GSSI) Award! Made possible by the David G. Walsh Research Fellowship Endowment Fund, GSSI provides…
2023
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Gamm lab research featured in UW’s Science stories that stood out on campus in 2023
Research by MERI Director David Gamm’s laboratory has made the list of standout UW–Madison research in 2023! You can find more information about this work on lab-grown retinal cells here and in this article by Ludwig et…
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Congratulations to our 2023 Kenzi Valentyn Vision Research Award Winners!
It is our pleasure to announce that Theo Bucci, Bikalpa Ghimire, Jake Khoussine, Michele Salzman, and Tania Sharmin are our 2023 Kenzi Valentyn Vision Research Grant recipients! These one-year grants of $7500 each are funded by the Institute’s annual Cycle for…
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New MERI-funded research just published in Cell Reports
Congratulations to McPherson ERI members Ari Rosenberg and Lowell W. Thompson on their recent publication ‘Hierarchical computation of 3D motion across macaque areas MT and FST! This paper, which was published yesterday in Cell Reports, reveals that…
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Congratulations to the winners of our 2023 Vision Sciences Poster Presentation Competition!
Graduate student Jake Khoussine won this year’s Vision Sciences Poster Presentation Competition with his poster “Retinal output dysfunction in a model of congenital stationary night blindness”. Graduate student Michele Salzman and Research…
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Computational tool helps uncover gene networks of cell fate
Computational tool helps uncover gene networks of cell fate A recently published study from the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery (WID), titled Inference of cell type-specific gene regulatory networks on cell lineages from…
2022
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Fall 2022 Kenzi Valentyn Vision Research Grant recipients
The McPherson Eye Research Institute is pleased to announce the Fall 2022 Kenzi Valentyn Vision Research Grant recipients. These one-year grants of $7500 each are funded by the Institute’s annual Cycle for Sight event, which raises…
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Student Presentation Awards – Fall Vision Science Poster Session
The McPherson ERI was pleased to have its first back in-person Fall Vision Science Poster Session on Thursday, October 20, 2022. Best Student Presentation Award, Vision Science Zikang (John) Zhu, graduate student (Neuroscience;…
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Fall 2022 Walsh Research Travel Award recipients
The McPherson Eye Research Institute is pleased to announce the Fall 2022 Walsh Research Travel Award recipients. These awards are generously supported by the David G. Walsh endowment. Recipients will receive up to $1000 in registration and…
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McPherson ERI’s 14th Annual Vision Science Lecture and Fall Poster Session Draws a Crowd
Posted on December 30, 2022 McPherson ERI’s 14th Annual Vision Science Lecture and Fall Poster Session Draws a Crowd Dan-Erik Nilsson, PhD, spoke on The Evolution of Eyes and Vision.
Older News
2021
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New Research Grants: Mezu-Ndubuisi & Gamm Labs
We’d like to note two substantial new research grants recently received by McPherson ERI member PIs. Congratulations to Olachi Mezu-Ndubuisi, MD, OD, who was recently awarded a five-year K08 Career Development Award…
2020
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New McPherson ERI Expanding Our Vision (EOV) grant recipients announced
The Expanding Our Vision (EOV) grant program was started this year to provide awards of up to $10,000 to researchers performing vision-related research in visual communication, visual cognition, visual perception/performance, data visualization,…
2019
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Kevin Eliceiri receives grant to improve software for automated microscopes
Kevin Eliceiri, professor of medical physics and biomedical engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, plans to improve the architecture and infrastructure of μManager, an open-source software package for control of automated microscopes.…
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MERI-at-a-Glance 2019
McPherson ERI’s MERI-at-a-Glance event, which highlighted the breadth of vision research conducted by MERI members, took place at WID on Friday, November 22nd. Eight McPherson ERI members gave short scientific presentations, alongside…
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Vision Science Poster Session Award Winners
Thank you to all who attended and to all who displayed posters at the 11th annual McPherson Eye Research Institute Vision Science poster session on October 24th, including the sixteen students/trainees whose…
2018
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Supporting the McPherson ERI’s Greatest Needs
Roger and Lynn Van Vreede have been married for 35 years and have also counted 35 years of supporting charitable causes together. Their interests align well—both are lovers of the arts, and…
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MERI Member Akihiro Ikeda awarded NIH NEI grant
Prof. Akihiro Ikeda Dept. of Medical Genetics, SMPH Timothy William Trout Professor in Eye Research Congratulations to MERI member Prof. Akihiro Ikeda (Dept. of Medical Genetics, SMPH; Timothy William Trout Professor in…
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MERI Research Committee member Andreas Velten wins SIGGRAPH’s 2024 Test of Time Award
Andreas Velten, PhD, Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Medical Informatics, has received a 2024 Test of Time award from SIGGRAPH, the international meeting on graphics research. The award, which was for Velten’s…
2017
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MERI-at-a-Glance Draws Researchers on December 8th!
MERI-at-a-Glance featured short presentations by eight McPherson ERI-affiliated researchers on Friday, December 8th. Friday, December 8th 2017, 11:45 am to 2:00 pm DeLuca Forum, Wisconsin Institute for Discovery “MERI-at-a-Glance” was a program…
2016
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8th Annual McPherson ERI Vision Science Poster Session Draws a Crowd
The McPherson ERI’s annual poster session, held on Tuesday, October 4th in the atrium of the School of Medicine and Public Health, attracted close to 100 McPherson ERI members and affiliated researchers. …
2015
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McPherson ERI researchers investigate vision across species
Gillian McLellan (Ophthalmology) is shown here checking out the eyes of a rare human/Mustelidae hybrid at a Badger hockey game in November. The creature, fully recovered, later posed with McPherson ERI Director…
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Major Study on Age-Related Macular Degeneration Shows that L-DOPA can Significantly Delay Onset of the Disease
In a study released today, researchers from a variety of institutions – including the Marshfield Clinic, whose director, Dr. Murray Brilliant, is the lead author of the study – have announced that…
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McPherson ERI Study
A New Study from McPherson ERI Members & Collaborators Shows That Patients Taking the Drug L-DOPA are Significantly Less Likely to Develop Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD). Read more
2014
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AMD Research Grant Awards
Two McPherson ERI members from the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences were the recent recipients of $25,000 grant awards from the James Christensen Estate Macular Degeneration Research Fund. The fund, established…
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Metabolism Research in AMD Grant Award
Drs. David Gamm (Director, McPherson Eye Research Institute), Brad Schwartz (CEO, Morgridge Institute for Research), and Terri Young (Chair, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences) are pleased to announce the recipient of…
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Hilldale Research Fellowship Awards
We are pleased to announce Anna-Lisa Doebley as the recipient of the 2014-2015 McPherson ERI-sponsored Hilldale Undergraduate/Faculty Research Fellowship. This award provides a grant of $3,000 to the student and $500 to…
2013
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American Academy of Ophthalmology Award
Dr. Daniel Albert, Founding Director of the McPherson ERI, received the prestigious Laureate Recognition Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the highest honor given by the Academy. The award to…
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Bikash Pattnaik Funded for Pediatric Blindness Research
Dr. Bikash Pattnaik, PhD, McPherson ERI member and past holder of the RRF Rebecca Meyer Brown Professorship, has received a $1 million-plus gift for the study of novel therapy approaches for Leber…
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Dietary Supplements: Do They Help with AMD?
Drs. Barbara Blodi, Ronald Danis, and Suresh Chandra are among the authors of the long-awaited AREDS2 study, which examined the effect of various dietary supplements (including omega-3 fatty acids, lutein and zeaxanthin)…