Dan & Ellie Albert Student Vision Research Awards
Supporting summer vision research projects for SMPH medical students through the Shapiro Summer Internship Program
2026 Winners
Rabia Ahmed
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Cat Burkat, MD
Project:
“Geographic Disparities in Specialized Ocular Burn Care”
Edna Basurto Gutierrez
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Judy (Yanjun) Chen, MD, PhD
Project:
“Characterizing impact of anisocoria on pupil reactivity in an epidemiologic study”
Caleb Pacheco
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Amitha Domalpally, MD, PhD
Project:
“AI-Enabled OCT Segmentation of Hyperreflective Foci in Age-Related Macular Degeneration”
Rishika Joshi
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Laura Kopplin, MD, PhD
Project:
“The impact of socioeconomic disparity as measured by the Area Deprivation Index (ADI) on the outcomes of uveitic glaucoma”
Emma Penfield
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Freya Mowat, BVSc, PhD
Project:
“Through a Dog’s Eyes: Longitudinal Changes in OCT Layer Thickness”
Chloe Stevens
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Yao Liu, MD, MS
Project:
“Genetics of Axenfeld-Rieger Syndrome with Secondary Glaucoma, Chronic Anterior Uveitis, and Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis”
Supporting summer vision research projects for SMPH medical students through the Shapiro Summer Internship Program
Parabhjot Singh
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Curtis Brandt, PhD
Project:
“Outlining the role of the microtubule-associated protein EML3 in HSV-1 Replication”
Elaine Botros
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Amitha Domalpally, MD
Project:
“Macular Tissue Integrity Index Project”
Britney Naolhu
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Mihai Mititelu, MD
Project:
“Retinal Fundus Flavoprotein Fluorescence in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: New Insights from Multimodal Imaging”
Carol Wann
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Suzanne Van Landingham, MD
Project:
“Investigating the Impact of Tobacco Vaping and Marijuana Use on the Development of Thyroid Eye Disease in Patients with Graves’ Disease”
Asha Jain
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Roomasa Channa, MD
Project:
“Evaluating the long-term retinal changes in patients with youth-onset type 2 diabetes”
Katriel Williams
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Cat Burkat, MD, FACS
Project:
“Efficacy of IPL for Treatment of Ocular Rosacea”
Tammy Zhong
Medical Student
Depts. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Yao Liu, MD, MS
Project:
“Assessing Return on Investment of Teleophthalmology for Diabetic Eye Screening”
Hoang Johnson
Medical Student
Dept. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Yao Ling
Project:
“Implementing Teleophthalmology in an Urban Federally Qualified Health Center to Prevent Blindness Among African Americans”
Claire Vanden Heuvel
Medical Student
Depts. of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences
Mentor:
Julie Mares
Project:
“Retinal thickness in middle-aged adults who were breastfed vs. formula-fed in infancy”