Exploring the Realm of Science and Compassion at the Visual Science Center
Susana Marcos has made history as the first woman to hold the position of director at the Center for Visual Science (CVS) at the University of Rochester. With a distinguished career in optics and vision research, Marcos is set to lead the renowned hub for vision science.
Before joining the University of Rochester, Marcos was the director of the Visual Optics and Biophotonics Lab and the director of the Institute of Optics at Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IO-CSIC) in Madrid, Spain. Her expertise in the optics of the eye and the interactions of light with the retina has earned her global recognition.
Marcos is not alone in her pursuit of vision research at CVS. The center, founded in 1963 by Robert M. Boynton, Ph.D., is composed of more than 40 labs, with faculty and trainees from various departments such as Neuroscience, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, the Flaum Eye Institute, Neurology, the Institute of Optics, Psychiatry, and Biomedical Engineering.
One of the associate directors at CVS is Krystel Huxlin, Ph.D., who was introduced to the centre as a trainee. Her research focuses on visual recovery after stroke and corneal wound healing, which is one of the major causes of blindness and currently lacks effective treatments. Huxlin emphasizes the importance of good industry partners to take research from the bench to actual product without neglecting the science during the refinement process.
Another notable figure at CVS is David Williams, Ph.D., who served as the sixth director of the center from 1992 until June 2021. Williams' research contributed to the development of laser refractive correction surgeries known as LASIK. His lab also developed an automated method to accurately measure aberrations in the eye, leading to the development of better corrective lenses and contacts. Williams introduced adaptive optics to the eye, enabling researchers to study the retina in a living eye and observe signals sent to the brain by single cells.
Under Williams' leadership, CVS also saw the development of a non-surgical alternative to laser refractive correction known as LIRIC (Laser-Induced Refractive Index Change). LIRIC changes the refractive index within the corneal matrix without a wound or surgical intervention.
Susana Marcos, as the new director and seventh leader of CVS, is poised to continue the centre's legacy of excellence in vision research and interdisciplinary collaboration. The University of Rochester, with its history of optics innovation, due in part to the technologies emerging from Kodak, Bausch + Lomb, and Xerox, provides a fertile ground for Marcos to advance her research and contribute to the field of vision science.
CVS is a hub for vision science, combining optics, ophthalmology, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, and other disciplines. With Marcos at the helm, the center is set to continue its role in driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of what is possible in vision research.
Read also:
- The Distinction Between Sexual Identity and Gender Identity
- Symptoms, Prevention Strategies, and Management Methods for Measles
- Climate Change Impact Mitigation in Health: Reducing the Disparity of the Health Sector's Exposure to Climate Change Challenges
- Increased measles cases Approaching 1,500 in the United States, with a new case detected in the Chicago metropolitan area.
