Clarksville TN NFB Bell Academy and Drusen and Subretinal Drusenoid Deposits In Treating Macular Degeneration

National Federation of the Blind Tennessee

Dr. R. Theodore Smith (Mount Sinai - New York, NY)

Michelle Quinn, Tennessee state NFB coordinator, discusses the Tennessee NFB Bell Academy, which provides Braille and nonvisual skills instruction for blind children, which will take place at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville from May 30 to June 4, 2023.

Then, Dr. R. Theodore Smith, professor of ophthalmology, Icahn School of Medicine, at Mount Sinai, in New York, explains how drusen and subretinal drusenoid deposits (SDD's) affect the early diagnosis and treatment of age-related macular degeneration.

2/26/2023 Podcast (Click Image Below) 

Smart Walking Stick Using AI and Computer Vision and Lipid Nanoparticles Targeting Photoreceptors and Gene Mutations

Shivendra Agrawal (University of Colorado - Boulder, CO)

Dr. Renee Ryals (Oregon Health and Science University - Portland, OR)

Shivendra Agrawal, doctoral student in the department of computer science at the University of Colorado at Boulder, discusses a "smart" walking stick, which uses artificial intelligence, computer vision, algorithms, vibrations in the handle, and spoken directions, to guide the user.

Then, Dr. Renee Ryals, assistant professor of ophthalmology at Portland's Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine explains how lipid nanoparticles deliver messenger RNA to photoreceptors to edit gene mutations.

2/5/2023 Podcast (Click Image Below) 

Sonification In Astronomy and the ACE2 Enzyme in Gut Health and Diabetic Retinopathy Prevention

Sarah Kane (University of Pennsylvania - Philadelphia, PA)

Dr. Maria Grant (University of Alabama at Birmingham - Birmingham, AL)

Sarah Kane, an undergraduate research assistant, at the University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, discusses efforts to turn scientific data into interpretive sound for educational and research contexts called sonification.

Dr. Maria Grant, Eivor and Alston Callahan Endowed Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, explains the role of the enzyme, ACE2, in gut health and the prevention of diabetic retinopathy.

1/29/2023 Podcast (Click Image Below)

Muller Glia In Zebrafish For Retinal Regeneration and A Day In The Life A Blind Student

 

Dr. Soumitra Mitra (University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, MI)

Dr. Soumitra Mitra, a postdoctoral fellow, at the University of Michigan Neuroscience Institute, discusses how Muller glial cells regenerate zebrafish retinal cells, acquire stem cell properties, and offers theories as to why the same process does not occur in mammals.

Then, Ashley Neybert, accessbility specialist with ViewPlus and lead curriculum designer with Independence Science, explains what a day in the life of a blind student is like at Oregon State University.

1/15/2023 Podcast (Click Image Below)

Multiplexing To Interpret Multiple Objects In Image and AMD Drugs As Possible Candidate To Treat COVID-19

Dr. Jennifer Groh (Duke University - Durham, NC)

Dr. Vaithi Arumugaswami and Gustavo Garcia  (UCLA - Los Angeles, CA)

Dr. Jennifer Groh, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, explains how monkeys use a process called "multiplexing", which describes how visual cortex neurons swaps signals in and out between reporting on multiple objects in the same image. 

Gustavo Garcia, former UCLA staff research associate in molecular and medical pharmacology and Dr. Vaithi Arumugaswami, associate professor of molecular and medical pharmacology at UCLA, explain how a macular degeneration drug, verteporfin, could be a possible candidate to treat COVID-19.

12/19/2022 Podcast (Click Image Below)

Recognizing Words and Faces After Hemispherectomies and Significance of Adamts10 Gene In Glaucoma Formation

Dr. Michael Granovetter (University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh, PA)

Dr. John Kuchtey (Vanderbilt Eye Institute - Nashville, TN)

Dr. Michael Granovetter, a student in the University of Pittsburgh medical scientist training program explains how well children, who have undergone operations to remove one-half of their brains, are still able to recognize words and faces.

Dr. John Kuchtey, an associate professor of ophthalmology at Nashville's Vanderbilt Eye Institute, explains how a gene, Adamts10 plays an important role in retinal ganglion cell development mediated by TGF-beta signaling and whether glaucoma develops or not.

11/21/2022 Podcast (Click Image Below) 

Economic Burden of Vision Loss and Making Chemistry More Accessible To Those Who Are Blind and Visually Impaired

Dr. David Rein (National Opinion Research Center - Chicago, IL)

Dr. Bryan Shaw (Baylor University - Waco, TX)

Dr. David Rein, director of the Public Health Analytics Program, at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) in Chicago, goes over a study showing the economic burden of vision loss in the United States broken down by age, sex, and state in total loss and per person with vision loss and the sources of the economic burden.

Dr. Bryan Shaw, professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Baylor University, discusses a program that makes chemistry more accessible to those with blindness and low vision with the use of tactile graphics, esters, and a robot.

11/6/2022 Podcast (Click Image Below)