Dr. Karthik Shekar, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, UC Berkeley, will present an invited Vision Sciences and Ophthalmology Research (ViSOR) Lecture on February 13, 2025.
“Evolution and spatial patterning of retinal cell types”
Date: Thursday, February 13, 2025
Time: 10:00am
Location: 3000A Eye and Ear Institute, 915 Olentangy River Rd. (in-person, virtual option will be provided)
ABSTRACT. The basic plan of the retina is highly conserved across all vertebrates, yet species widely differ in their visual needs. How variation in cell types contributes to these adaptations is poorly understood. By combining large-scale single-cell genomic experiments with statistical inference across ~20 vertebrate species, we have uncovered an evolutionary connection between the prevalent “midget” neurons in the human eye and a rare neuronal type found in rodents. This finding challenges the notion that midget neurons are unique to primates, suggesting instead that they have a more ancient evolutionary origin. Since these neurons mediate over 90% of visual information processing, our results open new avenues for studying retinal degeneration in widely used animal models. I will also describe recent results where we have mapped the spatial organization of cell types in the ganglion cell layer in mice, which suggests that >75% of cell types are arranged with a significant topographic bias along the retinal surface. We have also identified cell types enriched in the perivascular niche that are involved in vascular development, and which exhibit some neuroprotection during axotomy.
BIO. Karthik Shekhar is the John F. Heil Jr Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the UC Berkeley. His undergraduate (IIT Bombay) and graduate (MIT) degrees are also in chemical engineering. His research as a postdoc was at the intersection of single-cell genomics and neuroscience (Broad Institute). His research group at UC Berkeley focuses on problems in neuroscience and biophysics through a synthesis of theoretical, computational, and data-driven approaches. He has received fellowships from the McKnight Foundation, Hellman Foundation, and the Glaucoma Research Foundation. He received the Douglas H. Johnson award from the BrightFocus foundation. He has received multiple teaching awards at Berkeley, including the Donald E. Noyce Prize for university-wide excellence in undergraduate teaching.
All OSU investigators with an interest in vision sciences research are invited to attend. Registration for new ViSOR participants
We have a limited number of slots for meetings with Dr. Shekar. If you would like to schedule a meeting with him, please contact Laura.VanArsdale@osumc.edu .