Vision Science Graduate Research Conference 2019

You are invited to attend the 2019 Vision Science Graduate Research Conference, taking place on April 15th and 16thin OPT 1129. 

Monday April 15	Presenter	Abstract Title
11:00 - 11:20	Amy Chow	Dissociation between Form and Motion Perception in Dichoptic Plaids
11:20 - 11:40	Dania Abuleil	Modulation of binocular rivalry with non-invasive brain stimulation of the visual cortex
11:40 - 12:00	Richard Donkor	Primary visual cortex transcranial random noise stimulation improves contrast sensitivity in adults with amblyopia
12:00 - 1:20	AWARDS PRESENTATION AND LUNCH - Student Commons
1:20 - 1:40	Stephanie Wong	Comparison of meibomian gland dropout using two infrared imaging devices
1:40 - 2:00	Alan Yee	A radioactive labelling technique for evaluating the uptake and release of myristamidopropyl dimethylamine (MAP-D) from contact lenses
2:00 - 2:20	Ziqing (Jennifer) Li	Effects of temperature on fish and human lens epithelial cell proliferation and growth
2:20 - 2:40	Parisa Mirzapour	Interaction of Tear Inflammatory Markers with Contact Lens Materials
Tuesday April 16	Presenter	Abstract Title
11:00 - 11:20	Brianna Samson	First year University of Waterloo optometry students’ motivations, influences and expectations for choosing a career in optometry
11:20 - 11:40	Yara Mohiar	IOP and Space flight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS)
11:40 - 12:00	Lori Pollit	Colourimetric sensor to detect bacterial biofilms in contact lens cases
12:00 - 1:20	LUNCH with Dr. James Danckert - Student Commons
1:20 - 2:00	Heidi Patterson	The role of visual perceptual learning in the treatment of intermittent exotropia
2:00 - 2:20	Taylor Brin	Efficacy of vision therapy for children and teens with amblyopia: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
2:20 - 2:40	BREAK - Student Commons
2:40 - 3:00	Yutong Jin	Protocol development for reliable characterization and in vitro functionality testing of closed-eye neutrophils
3:00 - 3:40	Evelyn Zhang	Measurement of factors related to corneal edema after overnight orthokeratology
3:40 - 4:00	BREAK - Student Commons
4:00 - 4:40	Sana Owais	Exploring field enhancement in retinitis pigmentosa
4:40 - 5:00	Hussain Albuhayzah	Normal development of retinal structure and function, and comparison with children with HARS
5:00 - 5:30	BREAK - Student Commons
5:30 - 6:30	KEYNOTE:  Dr. James Danckert	Theme: Boredom and Perceptual Updating
6:30 - 7:30	RECEPTION - outside of Witer Learning Resource Center

Please RSVP by April 8th to this event by emailing Holly Forsyth: holly.forsyth@uwaterloo.ca - all are welcome! 

Larkworthy Memorial Lecture Keynote: April 16th 5:30pm

Updating Mental Models Following Brain Damage

James Danckert PhD

Professor, Cognitive Neuroscience Research Area Head, Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo

ABSTRACT: The world is chaotic and noisy and we are unable to accurately represent everything in it. To cope with the barrage of constantly changing information we create mental models that encapsulate the regularities in the environment to enable efficient decision making. Brain damage can have serious consequences for our ability to build and update these mental models. I will present behavioural work from stroke survivors and functional MRI in healthy individuals showing that a network of brain regions, including the inferior parietal, medial prefrontal and anterior insular cortex, is important for these abilities. Although our initial forays into this area suggested that the right hemisphere was more prominently responsible for mental model building and updating, more recent work in the lab suggests that both left and right brain damage impairs this function -- perhaps for distinct reasons.

BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Danckert was trained as a Clinical Neuropsychologist at LaTrobe University in Melbourne Australia, where he also earned his PhD in Neuroscience in 2000. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Western Ontario under Mel Goodale, before accepting a position as the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Cognitive Neuroscience at UW in 2002. During his Postdoc he also spent four months in Lyon, France under Yves Rossetti where he applied prismatic lenses as a way to rehabilitate patients with spatial neglect. He has published over 100 journal articles and book chapters on topics ranging from Alzheimer's Disease and schizophrenia, to blindsight and spatial neglect. He also has a research program aimed at understanding the cognitive and neural signatures of the experience of boredom.