Legislation Altered To Protect Tennessee Blind Vendors and Penny Forward Financial Education Website

James Brown (National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee - Nashville, TN)

Chris Peterson (Penny Forward - Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN)

James Brown, President of the National Federation of the Blind of Tennessee, discusses state legislation that could have taken away business from blind vendors in the state of Tennessee.

Then, Chris Peterson, CEO and Founder of Penny Forward, talks about the online financial resource for the blind and low vision community offering online courses, financial calculators and tools, and one to one financial counseling.

6/29/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below) 

Disability Squeeze for BLV and Effect Of Long COVID On Eye and Neurological System

Dr. Zach Morris (Stony Brook University - Stony Brook, NY)

Dr. Manjot Gill (Northwestern Feinberg School Of Medicine - Chicago, IL)

Dr. Zach Morris, Associate Professor at Stony Brook University School Of Social Welfare, discusses the financial hardships caused by the "disability squeeze" for those who are blind and visually impaired.

Then, Dr. Manjot Gill, Professor Of Ophthalmology and Medical Education at Northwestern Feinberg School Of Medicine explains the effects of long COVID on the eye and what it might mean for the neurological system. 

6/22/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below)

Reserpine Experiment To Treat Retinitis Pigmentosa and Micro Speak Plus Voice Recorder

Dr. Anand Swaroop (National Eye Institute - Bethesda, MD)

Micro Speak Plus (LSSProducts.com - Buffalo, NY)

Dr. Anand Swaroop, Senior Investigator in the Neurobiology, Neurodegeneration, and Repair Laboratory, National Eye Institute, in Bethesda, Maryland, explains how reserpine, an old drug used for treating high blood pressure, is being repurposed in an effort to retinitis pigmentosa in mice.

Then, Melissa Balbach, President of LSSProducts.com, discusses the Micro Speak Plus, a talking digital voice recorder. 

6/1/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below)

Autonomous Vehicles' Ability To Predict Movements Of Blind Pedestrians And The Reasons Elevated Eye Pressure Can Lead To Glaucoma

Dr. Hernisa Kacorri (University of Maryland - College Park, MD)

Dr. Eshed Ohn-Bar (Boston University - Boston, MA)

Dr. Yi Hua (University of Mississippi - Oxford, MS)

Dr. Hernisa Kacorri, Associate Professor with joint appointment in the College of Information and the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, and Dr. Eshed Ohn-Bar, Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Boston University, discuss autonomous vehicles' ability to predict movements of blind pedestrians and BlindWays, the first multimodal motion benchmark for those who are blind.

Dr. Yi Hua, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, University of Mississippi, explains how elevated eye pressure, distorted blood vessels, and oxygen deprivation in the eye can lead to glaucoma.

5/25/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below) 

Assistive Technology Use In The Home and AI and Adaptive Optics Ophthalmoscopes

Lily Turkstra (University of California - Santa Barbara)

Dr. Johnny Tam (National Eye Institute - Bethesda, MD)

Lily Turkstra, PhD Student, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Bionic Vision Lab, University of California - Santa Barbara, discusses a study exploring the use assistive technology by those who are blind or have low vision in domestic settings.

Dr. Johnny Tam, Senior Investigator, Clinical and Translational Imaging Section, National Eye Institute, explains how artificial intelligence and adaptive optics have enhanced ophthalmoscopes to deliver clearer images of the retinal pigment epithelium.

 5/11/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below)

Orbit Research Assistive Technology Products and Study Determining At-Risk Populations For Glaucoma

Venkatesh Chari (Orbit Research - Wilmington, DE)

Dr. Josh Ehrlich (University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center - Ann Arbor, MI)

Venkatesh Chari, Founder and CEO, of Orbit Research discusses various assistive technology products including the Orbit Player, the Orbit Speak, the Orbit Speak Plus, the Orbit Q20 Reader, and the Orbit Q40 Reader.

Then, Dr. Josh Ehrlich, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center, explains a study that measured prevalence of glaucoma for specific at-risk groups based on race, gender, age, and geographic location.

 

4/27/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below)

iCare Home2 Tonometer and Creating Braille Tactile Labels On Clothing

Dr. Barbara Wirostko (University of Utah - Salt Lake City, UT)

University of Rhode Island (Kingston, RI)

Dr. Barbara Wirostko, Adjunct Professor Of Ophthalmology and Biomedical Engineering, John A. Moran Eye Center, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Entrepreneur, Drug Developer, and Glaucoma Specialist, discusses the iCare Home2 Tonometer that glaucoma patients can use at home to monitor their eye pressure multiple times per day.

Dr. Izabela Ciesielska-Wrobel, Assistant Professor, Department of Textiles, Fashion Merchandising, and Design, College of Business, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, explains how 3D polyjet printing can be used to create braille tactile labels on clothing.

 4/13/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below)

Gene With Possible Links To Alzheimer's and Retinal Dysfunction and Valacyclovir To Treat Ocular Shingles

Dr. Ashay Bhatwadekar (Indiana University School of Medicine - Indianapolis, IN)

Dr. Bennie Jeng (University of Pennsylvania Penn Medicine - Philadelphia, PA)

Dr. Ashay Bhatwadekar, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, discusses a gene, APOE4, that could be a possible link between Alzheimer's and retinal dysfunction.

Dr. Bennie Jeng, Chair of Ophthalmology at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Director of Scheie Eye Institute, Penn Medicine, explains how the drug, valacyclovir, could be a possible treatment for ocular shingles.

 4/6/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below)

Antibodies Helping Mice With Glaucoma and Study To Explore Psychological Effects Of Vision Impairment In Children

 

Dr. Sarah Victor and Dr. Adam T. Schmidt (Texas Tech University - Lubbock, TX)

Dr. Raquel Lieberman (Georgia Tech - Atlanta, GA)

Dr. Raquel Lieberman, Professor Of Biochemistry and Chemistry, at Georgia Tech, discusses the development of antibodies to help with the breakdown of the protein, myocilin, in treating glaucoma in mice. 

Dr. Sarah Victor and Dr. Adam T. Schmidt, Associate Professors in the Clinical Psychology Program in the Department of Psychological Sciences at Texas Tech University, explain a study that will explore the physical and mental inequities among children who are blind or have low vision.

3/30/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below)

VR System Using Both Audio and Haptic Feedback and DNA Damage Being Factor In AMD

Fabiana Sofia Ricci (New York University Tandon School of Engineering - New York, NY)

Dr. Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk (University of California - Irvine - Irvine, CA)

Fabiana Sofia Ricci, PhD Candidate, New York University Tandon School of Engineering, explains a virtual reality system with a headset and belt that utilizes vibrations and beeps to alert the user to surrounding obstacles.

Dr. Dorota Skowronska-Krawczyk, Associate Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, Department of Ophthalmology, Center for Translational Vision Research, University of California - San Diego, goes over a study in mice showing how DNA damage could possibly be mitigated in the treatment of macular degeneration.

3/9/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below) 

Experimental Drug To Assist After Anti-VEGF Therapies With Wet AMD and Head Mounted Robotic Device To Help With Retinal Surgery

Dr. Akrit Sodhi (Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute - Baltimore, MD)

Dr. Paul Bernstein (University of Utah - Salt Lake City, UT)

Dr. Jake Abbott (University of Utah - Salt Lake City, UT)

Dr. Akrit Sodhi, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Wilmer Eye Institute and the Branna and Irving Sisenwein Professor in Ophthalmology at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, explains how an experimental drug, 32-134D, in mice prevented the increase of proteins, HIF-1 and angiopoietin-like 4, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which leads to the growth of abnormal blood vessels in the wet form of macular degeneration. 

Then, Dr. Paul Bernstein, Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the John A. Moran Eye Center, and Dr. Jake Abbott, Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Director of the Magnetic & Medical Robotics Laboratory, at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, discuss how a head mounted robotic device could assist surgeons with precise movements in retinal surgery.

3/2/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below)

Grant To Fund AI Research Into Uveitis and The Book, "A New History of Cataract Surgery"

Dr. Siamek Yousefi (University of Tennessee Health Science Center - Memphis)

Dr. Chris Leffler (Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine - Richmond)

Dr. Siamak Yousefi, Associate Professor in the Department of Ophthalmology, at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, in Memphis, discusses a grant from the National Eye Institute to fund research using artificial intelligence to better diagnose and treat different forms of uveitis, including posterior uveitis.

Then, Dr. Chris Leffler, Associate Professor of Ophthalmology, at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, in Richmond, explains how treating cataracts has changed over the decades and centuries in his book, "A New History of Cataract Surgery".

2/16/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below) 

Need For Better Predictive Glaucoma Models For Those Of African Extraction and The Association Between Visual Impairment and Glaucoma

Dr. Jennifer Chang-Wolf (Leiden University Medical Center - Leiden, Netherlands)

Dr. Pieter Bonnemaijer (Rotterdam Eye Hospital - Rotterdam, Netherlands)

Dr. Varshini Varadaraj (Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center - Baltimore, MD)

Dr. Jennifer Chang-Wolf, Physician Researcher at Leiden University Medical Center and Amsterdam University Medical Center and Dr. Pieter Bonnemaijer, PhD and MD, Glaucoma Specialist at Rotterdam Eye Hospital in the Netherlands explain the need to develop better predictive glaucoma risk models for those of African extraction to match the accuracy of those same models for those of European and Asian extraction.

Dr. Varshini Varadaraj, Research Associate and Director of Research at Johns Hopkins Disability Health Research Center in Baltimore discusses the association between visual impairment and dementia and the economic cost to older adults and their caregivers.

2/2/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below) 

Digital Multimodal Learning Tool, Inclusio, and Diagnosing Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Vision Problems

Dr. Jenna Gorlewicz (Saint Louis University - St. Louis, MO)

Dr. Tonia Rex (Vanderbilt University - Nashville, TN)

Dr. Jenna Gorlewicz, Associate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, at Saint Louis University in Missouri, discusses Inclusio, a revolutionary digital tool to translate graphic information into accessible formats for those with blindness and low vision. 

Then, Dr. Tonia Rex, Vice Chair For Basic and Translational Research and Professor Of Ophthalmology, at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, in Nashville, explains research into finding better ways to diagnose traumatic brain injury (TBI) related vision problems.

1/19/2025 Podcast (Click Image Below)