2024 Winners

Kushin Mukherjee

Graduate Student
Psychology
Mentor: Timothy Rogers

Paper title:
“Using drawings and deep neural networks to characterize the building blocks of human visual similarity”

Postdoctoral researcher
Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Mentor: Shaoqin Gong

Paper title:
“Micromolded honeycomb scaffold design to support the generation of a bilayered RPE and photoreceptor cell construct”

Graduate Student
Life Sciences Communication
Mentor: Nan Li

Paper title:
“When Science Meets Art on Instagram: Examining the Effects of Visual Art on Emotions, Interest, and Social Media Engagement”

Postdoctoral researcher
Dept. of Pediatrics, SMPH
Mentor: Bikash Pattnaik

Paper title:
“Nonviral base editing of KCNJ13 mutation preserves vision in a model of inherited retinal channelopathy”

Postdoctoral researcher
Dept. of Medical Genetics, SMPH
Mentor: Akihiro Ikeda

Paper title:
“Transmembrane protein 135 regulates lipid homeostasis through its role in peroxisomal DHA metabolism”

Graduate Student
Dept. of Comparative Biosciences, SVM; Waisman Center
Mentor: David Gamm

Paper title:
“Re-formation of synaptic connectivity in dissociated human stem cell-derived
retinal organoid cultures”

Postdoctoral researcher
Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, SMPH
Mentor: Gillian J. McLellan

Paper title:
“Aqueous Humor TGF-β2 and its Association with Intraocular Pressure in a
Naturally Occurring Large Animal Model of Glaucoma”

Graduate Student
Department of Psychology, L&S
Mentor: Karen Schloss

Paper title:
“Unifying Effects of Direct and Relational Associations for Visual Communication”

Graduate Student
Dept. of Cell Biology, Neurobiology and Anatomy, Medical College of Wisconsin
Mentor: Daniel Lipinski

Paper title:
“Prostaglandin-Based rAAV-Mediated Glaucoma Gene Therapy in Brown Norway Rats”

Graduate Student
Dept. of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Public Health
Mentor: Ari Rosenberg

Paper title:
“Parallel Processing, Hierarchical Transformations, and Sensorimotor Associations Along the ‘Where’ Pathway”

Graduate Student
Dept. of Computer Sciences, College of Letters and Sciences
Mentor: Vikas Singh

Paper title:
“Equivariance Allows Handling Multiple Nuisance Variables When Analyzing Pooled Neuroimaging Datasets”

Graduate Student
Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, SMPH
Mentor: David Gamm

Paper title:
“Human Retinal Organoids Harboring IMPG2 Mutations Exhibit a Photoreceptor Outer Segment Phenotype that Models Advanced Retinitis Pigmentosa”

Graduate Student
Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, SMPH
Mentor: Colleen McDowell

Paper title:
“A20 Attenuates the Fibrotic Response in the Trabecular Meshwork”

Graduate Student
Dept. of Neuroscience, School of Medicine and Public Health
Mentor: Raunak Sinha

Paper title:
“Cone Photoreceptors in Human Stem Cell-Derived Retinal Organoids Demonstrate Intrinsic Light Responses that Mimic those of Primate Fovea”