Description
This special Symposium is to recognize the impactful research and training undertaken by Prof. Kostadinka Bizheva, of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo. Prof. Bizheva recently passed away, at the height of her career. Prof. Bizheva’s research has had and will continue to have a substantial impact on the development of optical coherence tomography for high resolution imaging of the retina and the diagnosis and tracking of eye diseases. In addition, Prof. Bizheva had a tremendous impact on her many graduate students, to whom she provided unwavering support. Invited speakers will present the novel methods and the resulting impacts on the diagnosis and treatment of eye and other diseases. The Symposium will allow researchers, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students to gather in Prof. Bizheva memory while celebrating the use of novel physics techniques for diagnostic imaging, including those advanced by her research.
Ce symposium spécial vise à reconnaître l'importance des travaux de recherche et de formation menés par la professeure Kostadinka Bizheva, du département de physique et d'astronomie de l'Université de Waterloo. La professeure Bizheva est récemment décédée, au sommet de sa carrière. Ses travaux de recherche ont eu et continueront d'avoir un impact considérable sur le développement de la tomographie par cohérence optique pour l'imagerie haute résolution de la rétine et le diagnostic et le suivi des maladies oculaires. De plus, le professeur Bizheva a eu une influence considérable sur ses nombreux étudiants diplômés, auxquels elle a apporté un soutien indéfectible. Les conférenciers invités présenteront les nouvelles méthodes et leurs répercussions sur le diagnostic et le traitement des maladies oculaires et autres. Le symposium permettra aux chercheurs, aux Fellows postdoctoraux et aux étudiants diplômés de se réunir en mémoire du professeur Bizheva tout en célébrant l'utilisation de nouvelles techniques physiques pour l'imagerie diagnostique, notamment celles mises au point grâce à ses recherches.
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Khushmeet Kaur Dhaliwal (University of Waterloo)24/06/2026, 10:15Novel Imaging of the Retina of the Eye / Nouvelle imagerie de la rétine de l'œilInvited Speaker / Conférencier(ère) invité(e)
The retina is a highly metabolically active neural tissue in which the neuronal and vascular components work together to meet the high metabolic demands through a phenomenon known as neurovascular coupling. Neurodegenerative diseases such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa have been linked with disruption of this phenomenon. Understanding these alterations at a...
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Jennifer Hunter (University of Waterloo)24/06/2026, 10:45Novel Imaging of the Retina of the Eye / Nouvelle imagerie de la rétine de l'œilInvited Speaker / Conférencier(ère) invité(e)
Many cells in the retina can contain metabolic and visual cycle molecules with intrinsic fluorescent properties. As a result, adaptive optics single- and two‑photon excited fluorescence ophthalmoscopy offer powerful approaches for examining in vivo the health and function of individual retinal cells. By analyzing both the fluctuations in fluorescence intensity and their timing...
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Prof. Austin Roorda (University of Waterloo)24/06/2026, 11:15Novel Imaging of the Retina of the Eye / Nouvelle imagerie de la rétine de l'œilInvited Speaker / Conférencier(ère) invité(e)
Oz Vision is a new principle for visual display in which individual photoreceptors are directly stimulated to generate visual experience. An Oz Vision display bypasses constraints such as image formation by the eye’s optics and even the spectral sensitivities of the photoreceptors. To implement this principle, we use an adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscope (AOSLO), which corrects...
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Lyndsy Acheson (University of Waterloo)24/06/2026, 11:45Novel Imaging of the Retina of the Eye / Nouvelle imagerie de la rétine de l'œilInvited Speaker / Conférencier(ère) invité(e)
Introduction: We have previously demonstrated ex vivo, dye-free imaging of retinal protein deposits in the human retina which predict the presence of deposits in the brain of: 1) amyloid beta in association with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), 2) alpha synuclein in association with Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB) and Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) and 3) TDP-43 in association with ALS and FTLD-TDP....
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