Walsh Graduate Student Support Initiative Recipients

2026 Winners

Mikhail Kats

Mikhail Kats

Professor
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Mentee: Rabeeya Hamid

Rabeeya Hamid

Rabeeya Hamid

Graduate Student
Electrical & Computer Engineering
Mentor: Mikhail Kats

Thesis title: “Practical Upconversion Vision and Imaging”

Yuri Saalmann

Yuri Saalmann

Professor
Psychology
Mentee: Raghuram Holenarasipura Venkatasubbaiah

Raghuram Holenarasipura Venkatasubbaiah

Raghuram Holenarasipura Venkatasubbaiah

Graduate Student
Psychology
Mentor: Yuri Saalmann

Thesis title: “Neural Mechanisms of Visual Perception and the Implications for Theories of Consciousness”

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Karen Schloss

Karen Schloss

Associate Professor
Psychology
Mentee: Anna Chinni

Headshot of Anna Chinni.

Anna Chinni

Graduate Student
Psychology
Mentor: Karen Schloss

Thesis title: “Color semantics for object detection”

Xin Huang

Xin Huang

Associate Professor
Neuroscience
Mentee: Bikalpa Ghimire

Bikalpa Ghimire

Bikalpa Ghimire

Graduate Student
Neuroscience
Mentor: Xin Huang

Thesis title: “Mechanistic Investigation of Motion Segmentation and Integration”

Gillian McLellan

Gillian McLellan

Professor
Surgical Sciences / Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentee: Virginia Mathu

Virginia Mathu

Virginia Mathu

Graduate Student
Comparative Biomedical Sciences (CBMS)
Mentor: Gillian McLellan

Thesis title: “Disease Mechanisms at the Intersection of Glaucoma and Alzheimer’s Disease”

Ari Rosenberg

Ari Rosenberg

Associate Professor
Neuroscience
Mentee: Zikang ‘John’ Zhu

photo of Zikang Zhu

Zikang ‘John’ Zhu

Graduate Student
Neuroscience
Mentor: Ari Rosenberg

Thesis title: “Causal contributions of parieto-occipital cortex to 3D visual perception”

Freya Mowat

Freya Mowat

Assistant Professor
Surgical Sciences, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentee: Michael Salzman

Michele Salzman

Michele Salzman

Graduate Student
Comparative Biomedical Sciences, SVM
Mentor: Freya Mowat

Thesis title: “The Effects of Cadmium Exposure on the Retina in Outbred and Laboratory Animal Species”

 Shawn Green

C. Shawn Green

Professor
Psychology
Mentee: Mohan Ji

Emily Ward

Emily Ward

Assistant Professor
Psychology
Mentee: Mohan Ji

Mohan Ji

Mohan Ji

Graduate Student
Psychology
Mentor: C. Shawn Green & Emily Ward

Thesis title: “The Visual Perception of Animacy and Intentionality”

Ari Rosenberg

Ari Rosenberg

Associate Professor
Neuroscience
Mentee: Lowell W. Thompson

Lowell W. Thompson

Lowell W. Thompson

Graduate Student
Neuroscience
Mentor: Ari Rosenberg

Thesis title: “Hierarchical Neural Circuitry Supporting 3D Object Motion Processing”

Nader Sheibani

Nader Sheibani

Professor
Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentee: Yong Seok-Song

Yong-Seok Song

Yong-Seok Song

Graduate Student
Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor: Nader Sheibani

Thesis title: “CYP1b1 Expression, Iron Homeostasis, and Ocular Oxidative Stress.”