UC Berkeley Myopia Research Group
  • Home
  • People
  • Research
  • Links

Lab Members


Picture
Dr. Christine Wildsoet 
Professor in Optometry & Vision Science, PhD, Dip Appl Sc (Optom), BSc (Hons), FAAO, FARVO
I am an Australian-trained Optometrist with an honors degree in Pharmacology. I first became involved in myopia research with my PhD research undertaken under the mentorship of Professor Jack Pettigrew, Vision Touch Hearing Research Center, University of Queensland, Brisbane Australia. The title of my PhD thesis was "Retinal Control of Eye Growth and Refractive Error in the Chick."
After serving on the faculty member of the School of Optometry, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia for a number of years, I moved to the US, first to the New England College of Optometry in Boston (1996-1999), and later to University of California - Berkeley’s School of Optometry (2000-present).
Myopia and ocular growth regulation have remained the main focus of my research (both human- and animal-based), although I am also interested in intraocular pressure regulation, ocular therapeutics and ocular public health. I maintain research collaborations in the USA, Australia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Korea, UK, Canada and Spain.

Wildsoet Publications

Picture
Dr. Yan Zhang
Clinician Scientist, MD, PhD
I am a clinician by primary training with very strong interest in translational medical research, which is reflected in my decision to first pursue research as part of her M.S. in Ophthalmology and subsequent decisions to pursue research experience at the NEI/NIH. My primary interest in translational research leads me to join the multidisciplinary Vision Science Graduate Research (Ph.D.) Program at UC Berkeley in 2007. Currently, I am a clinician scientist in Wildseot Lab at University of California, Berkeley, and my research in eye growth regulation and refractive development is funded by NEI/NIH (2013 - present). 
Zhang Recent Research, Publications, Teaching & mentoring

Picture
Dr. Elise Harb
Clinician Scientist, OD, PhD, FAAO
My work is fueled by my work as a pediatric optometrist and the growing number of myopic children I care for. I am focused on better understanding how habitual human behaviors (e.g. near work and outdoor/indoor activity), measured in an objectively and dynamically way utilizing wearable technologies, might play a role in myopia development/progression.  I previously was on the pediatric faculty at the New College of Optometry (Boston, 2004-2015) and currently see patients at the UC San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital (Assistant Professor).

Harb Publications

Picture
Dr. So Goto
Clinician Scientist, MD, PhD
I am a postdoc at UC Berkeley School of Optometry, and an ophthalmologist at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan.  I have a background of ophthalmology. My PhD research was focused on choroidal vascular development. I am interested in the mechanism of myopia such as eye growth and refractive development. I hope to know what is happening in the choroid or sclera of myopic eyes. Is it a trigger or result? I am also doing the clinical research focus on the development of the new accurate IOL (intraocular lens) power calculation formula.​

GOTO PUBLICATIONS

Picture
Dr. Maria Liu 
Associate Professor of Clinical Optometry, Chief of Myopia Control Clinic, UC Berkeley Eye Center, OD, PhD, MPH, MBA, FAAO
I am an associate professor at UC Berkeley School of Optometry and the founder of UC Berkeley Myopia Control Clinic. I received my bachelor degree of clinical medicine from Peking University, my OD from Pacific University, my PhD and MPH from UC Berkeley. I am a clinical researcher in the field of myopia and the focus of my research is refractive development and myopia. More specifically, I'm interested in understanding a) what aspects of visual experience and associated retinal images underlie myopia; and b) Is it possible to inhibit myopic growth optically and pharmacologically in ways that may be suitable for use in humans? I'm also intensively involved in translational research aiming to answer the questions such as: a) Why does excessive near work increases the risks of myopia; b) Why are some individuals more susceptible than others; and c) What is the role of peripheral optical aberrations in myopia development.

Specialties: Specialized (keratoconus, orthokeratology, and post-refractive surgery as well as post-trauma) contact lens fitting; biostatistics( esp. data analysis in clinical research); subjects recruiting; and clinical teaching.

LIU PUBLICATIONS

Picture
​Dr. Sowmya Ravikumar
Clinician Scientist, PhD
My research focuses on the impact of poor retinal image quality on refractive error development and visual performance. In particular, I am interested in quantifying the quality of real-world retinal images and to use psychophysical data to test the predictive power of optical models. More recently I have worked on applying empirical biometry and high resolution retinal imaging, in collaboration with Roorda Lab to test hypotheses about ocular growth.
https://vision.berkeley.edu/people/sowmya-ravikumar-phd


Picture
Dr. Sarah Kochik
Clinician Scientist, OD, PhD, FAAO
I am a clinical instructor at the UC Berkeley School of Optometry and recently finished my PhD in vision science. I received my O.D. from UC Berkeley after which I completed a residency training in Pediatrics and Primary Care. During my residency, I became interested in myopia research through my work in the Myopia Control Clinic at Berkeley, and is currently interested in investigating the binocular vision status of patients wearing multifocal and orthokeratology lenses, as well as the combined effects of optical and pharmaceutical treatments for myopia. I am also the treasurer of her local optometric society, ACCCOS, and a fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. As a dedicated Cal fan, I am also happy to be in my second year serving as the on-call optometrist for the Cal football team.

Kochik Publications

Picture
Pabita Dhungel
​
I am a PhD student in Vision Science in University of California, Berkeley. I am from a clinical background with Bachelor's in Optometry degree from  Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu Nepal. My research interest started during the final year of Optometry with a  project on Visual Functions and Multifocal Electroretinogram in Age Related Macular Degeneration. After working as a consultant optometrist for few years, I moved to the United States and obtained my Master's in Vision Science degree from Pacific University, College of Optometry in Oregon . During my masters' degree I was working on a project with Prof. Patrick Caroline and Dr. Maria Liu to see the impact of scleral contact lens wear  on intraocular pressure and posterior ocular perfusion. I am a clinical researcher and working on understanding the IOP regulation and its effect on retinal and choroidal thickness using a scleral contact lens in Wildsoet’s lab at the  University of California, Berkeley. 

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pabita-Dhungel​
​

DHUNGEL Publications

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Myopia Research Group Researchers and Collaborators

Past Post-doctoral & Clinician Scientists
Caroline Blackie
Sigrid Diether
David Hammond
Liqin (Susan) Jiang
Yu-Chun Lin
Priya Mathur
Ravi Metlapally
Lisa Ostrin
Jodi Rymer

Visiting International Clinician Scientists & Graduate Students
Zhi (Peter) Chen                       ,
Ming Hu
Taixiang Liu
Huamao Miao
Yang Shen
Wulian Song
Kai Wang
Jun Xu
Jiexi (Jessie) Zeng
Hui Zhang
Fangkun Zhao
Feng Zhao
Jing Zhao
​
Past Graduate Students

Amanda Alvarez PhD
Patrick Carney PhD
Nevin El-Nimri PhD
Prema Ganesan PhD
Mariana Garcia PhD
Elise Harb PhD
Varuna Kumaran MSc
Maria (Yue) Liu PhD
Alan Lu MSc
Diane Nava PhD
Sarah Singh (Kochik) PhD
James Su PhD
Janice Tarrant PhD
Yibin Tian PhD
Lidia Tekie MSc
Kai-Lin Yew MSc
Yan Zhang PhD
 
Kaleb Asfaha (rotation)
Ethan Bensinger (rotation)
Elysia Mia Ison (rotation)
Victoria Fong (rotation)
Emelia Zin (rotation) 

Past OD Research Honors​
Emily Eng
Jennifer Hsieh
Jessie Lee
Jill Yuzuriha
Kevin Wang
Elysia Mia Ison

Past NEI OD Summer Trainees
2000: David West    
            Wendy Ni
            Daniel Vu
2002: Douglas Lee
            Min Yi
2003: Annie Chin
            Nina Tran
2004: Mary Kwong
2005: Gloria Chui
            Brian Petrecca
2006: Huanxian (Kandy) Guan
           Pei-Chen (Jennifer) Hsieh
2008: Kim (Thien) Nguyen
2009: Jessica Lee
2010: Theresa Vo
            Alice Au
2011: Jill Yuzuriha
2012: Kevin Wang
           Elaine Cheng
           Sharon Yang
2013: Christina Beltner
2014: Emily Eng
           Franklin Bui
           Sirena Huang
           Alina Pechko
2015: Nikita Katoozi
2016: Valerie Lim
           Ghazal Naseri
2017: Irene Tan
2018: Loukia Hadjiyianni
           Natalia Santizo
2020: Elizabeth Gove
           Elsie Sawai

Present & Past UC Berkeley Collaborators
Lisa Barcellos (Public Health)
Martin Banks (Optometry/Vision Science)
Debora Lee Chen (Optometry)
John Flannery (Optometry/Vision Science)
Kevin Healy (Bioengineering)
Dennis Levi (Optometry/Vision Science)
Maria Liu (Optometry/Vision Science)
Austin Roorda (Optometry/Vision Science)
Sarah Singh (Optometry/Vision Science)

Present & Past Non-UC Berkeley Collaborators
Rigmor Baraas, University College of Southeast Norway, Kongsberg, Norway
Vivian Choh, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
Michael Collins, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Sally McFadden, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia
Sheldon Miller, National Eye Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD
Lisa Ostrin, University of Houston College of Optometry, Houston, Texas
John Liu, UC San Diego, San Diego, California
Joanne Wood, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
 ​
Current URAP and Honors Students
Vanessa Almaraz
Andreana Chou
Jacob Cunningham
Elham Shoi Ghalehshahi
Ellie Wang
Jessica Wu

Past Undergraduate Researchers (URAP/Honors)
Maya Aslam
Maya Aizenman
Pedro Amaral
Sara Azmoun (accepted into Tuft’s Univ. School Medicine)
Jenny Banh
Ipsha Banerjee
Anna Barcellos
Supriya Bhat (MD)
Mary Boland
Alina Boltunova (MD)
Carlo Castro (OD)
Michelle Chan (OD student, UC Berkeley)
Sabrina Chan (OD, UCBSO)
Divya Chandrasekar (MD)
Alice Chang
Atrouli Chatterjee (MSc, PhD student)
Elaine Cheng (OD, UCBSO)
Kiana Cheung
Yee Wan (Winnie) Cheung
John Chhoa (MD student)
Gloria Chiu (OD, UCBSO)
Joshua Chin (accepted into UCSF Pharmacy)
John Choa
Jeong Choi
Younjung (Gina) Choi
Grace Chuang (accepted Duke-NUS Medical School)
Elaine Chung (OD, SUNY)
Philip Chung
Dinasha Dahanayake
Simon Dardashti (MD)
Nevin El-Nimri (OD, MS, PhD (UCB))
Kerac Falk
Caroline Feng
Joanne Finn
Christine Giuliano
Julian Gonzalez
Huanxian Guan (OD, UCBSO)
Frewine Gugsa (MD)
Michelle Guillen
Abraham Hang (MD student)
Andrea He
Carol Ho (Pharmacist, UCSF)
Jessica Hoang
Michelle Hoang (OD student, UC Berkeley)
David Hua
Lisa Huang
Andrea Huerta (OD student, UC Berkeley)
Cindy Hwang (MD)
Miriam Inbar
Elizabeth Jovanovich (MD)
Pawanjot Kaur (OD student, UC Berkeley)
Rajpreet Kaur (OD, UCBSO)
Brandon Kim
Min Young Kim
Niathi Kona
Sucheta Korwar
Joshua Kuang
Kevin Kuo (MD)
Anna Kurianowicz
Jin Guen Lee
Peter Lee
Jacob Lewis (PhD)
Paul Li
Jingfeng Liang
Mary Limbo
Emily Liu (OD, UCBSO)
Lorraine Lopez
Aaron Low
Htoo Htoo Lu
Jason Luo (PhD)
Tatiana Lupashina
Vou Quien Luy
Alexander Ly
Ajay Manchandia (MD)
Shreya Malli (OD, UCBSO)
Laura Modilevsky (OD, UCBSO)
David Moore
Widya Mulyasasmita  (PhD)
Thien (Kim) Nguyen (OD, UCBSO)
Eileen Ng (OD, UCBSO)
Josephine Ni (MD)
Darien Noveir
Kacie O’Brien
Siddhant Parihar
Anish Patel
Eileen Phan (MD student; UC Davis)
Sahithi Rani (OD student, NECO)
Suravi Raychaudhuri (MD student, UCSF)    
Niathi Reddy (MD student)
Diamanda Rigas
Zaynab Sajjadi
Aaida Samad (MD)
Aarshi Sharma
Ava Shahi
Jianxun Shen
Kevin Shieh (MD)
Shoichi Shimamoto
Derrick Siao
Stephanie Stephanie (MD)
Daniel Sun
Jonathan Sun
Katie Sun
Sami Sweidan
Ashley Tang
Jack Thompson
Amanda Tran (OD student, UC Berkeley)
Leo Tran
Nina Tran (OD, UCBSO)
Albert Truong (MD, Virginia Tech)
Adelyn Tsu
Adley Wong
Gabrielle Wong (PhD)
Michel Wong (OD, UCBSO)
Wiggin Wu (MD)
Frank Yang
Wendy Yang
Melissa Yao
Brenda Yeh (OD, UCBSO)
Min Yi (OD, UCBSO)
Halee Yue
Jessica Yuen (current OD student, UC Berkeley)
Young In Yun
Gen Zhang
Stephanie Zhang
Jennifer Zhou  
Picture
Contact Us
588 Minor Hall, School of Optometry, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-2020

General Lab Phone: (510) 643-4471
Email: wildsoet (at) berkeley (dot) edu
Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • People
  • Research
  • Links