¶¶زُ¶جتسئµ Vision Science Research Team Participates in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Summer Workshops
The ¶¶زُ¶جتسئµ Eye Institute's vision science team continues its strong tradition of participation in the prestigious Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) summer workshops. CSHL is a leading international center for research and education, hosting scientific conference, meetings and advanced technical science courses that draw participants from around the world.
This year, we're proud to share that Dr. Joe Carroll served as course director for the 2025 course, "Vision: A Platform for Linking Circuits, Behavior & Perception," with Dr. Miranda Scalabrino joining the course as an instructor. Both Dr. Carroll and Dr. Scalabrino have been involved with CSHL over the years, previously having attended the course as students.
In addition, ¶¶زُ¶جتسئµ graduate student and AOIP lab member, Hannah Follett, was selected for this highly competitive course, which only accepts 25 students globally.
“The biggest highlight from the experience had to be making connections with a lot of scientists near my career stage,” said Hannah. “After spending more than 12 hours a day together for 16 days of learning, I feel I can genuinely call them friends. We all plan to stay in contact, and I am excited to hear about the progression of their science, their careers, and their successes as a fellow scientist and friend. I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of learning and absorbing as much information as I could. The faculty were fantastic educators, very engaging during their lectures and eager to answer questions. I can confidently say that I have a much better understanding of the visual system. I also enjoyed and appreciated when faculty shared stories of their career trajectory, what upcoming research of theirs that they were most excited for, and highlights of their own careers. I felt their stories were deeply inspiring and motivating, providing a much-needed boost of renewed excitement for the future.”
Hannah's attendance at this immersive two-week program was made possible by the Dr. Harry J. Heeb Student Research Fund, a generous endowment dedicated to supporting vision science students in expanding their knowledge and experience through valuable opportunities like CSHL's workshops.
“I am extremely grateful to have been selected to attend the course, and to say it was an honor to attend would be an understatement. The invited faculty were all experts in their field, many having made seminal contributions,” shares Hannah. “It is not lost on me how incredible of an opportunity it was to learn from and interact with these experts in such a small, accessible environment, and the chance pick their brains for advice on my own science and career was beyond helpful. I also recognize how rare it is to have the chance to connect and develop strong relationships with so many scientists in one place. Attending the CSHL course has already had such a positive impact on my career, and I know it will continue to do so. I feel incredibly fortunate to have participated in such a fantastic, career-defining opportunity.”
Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. Home to eight Nobel Prize winners, the private, not-for-profit Laboratory employs 1,000 people including 600 scientists, students and technicians. The Meetings & Courses Program hosts more than 12,000 scientists from around the world each year on its campuses in Long Island, NY and in Suzhou, China.