Colloquium - Jennifer Hunter

Dr. Jennifer Hunter

Associate Professor
School of Optometry and Vision Science,
University of Waterloo
Waterloo, Canada

A journey into the living eye: imaging cells, function, and disease

Retinal imaging plays a critical role in understanding, diagnosing, and monitoring diseases that affect vision and quality of life for millions of people worldwide. Advances in optical imaging, including adaptive optics and fluorescence-based technologies, are enabling researchers to visualize individual retinal cells and measure their function in new, non-invasive ways. We have developed the ability to perform single- and two-photon fluorescence excitation imaging of the living retina at cellular resolution. By quantifying fluorescence intensity and lifetime, these approaches reveal cellular and metabolic activity and functional changes in the retina that offer new opportunities for understanding retinal health, aging, and disease.