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Functional MRI Research
A publication for the alumni and friends of the University of Missouri-St. Louis College of Optometry
It seems like science fiction: scan-ning someone’s brain activity to detecttheir sensory and cognitive processes,but that’s what Erwin Wong, OD, PhD,who joined the College’s faculty in2005, is doing in his research. Dr.Wong obtained his OD from theSouthern California College ofOptometry and his PhD inPhysiological Optics from theUniversity of Houston. In the timebetween his obtaining these twodegrees, he practiced optometry inCalifornia and Hawaii and taught for ayear in the Department of Optometry atthe University of Auckland, NewZealand.
His research interest is the corticalprocesses underlying sensory and cog-nitive visual functions in normal and
Erwin Wong, OD, PhD, is pictured at left with two graduate students.
Spring 2006
amblyopic adults. This research con-tributes to both basic science and clini-cal understanding of normal and ambly-opic vision. The research methods Dr.Wong uses are psychophysics and func-tional magnetic resonance imaging.
Magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) relies on a fraction of the nucleiof the abundant hydrogen atoms in thebody aligning to the strong magneticfield of the scanner. Pulses of electro-magnetic (radio wave) energy cause thenuclei to alternately absorb and emitradio wave energy (the “resonance”)between their low energy (aligned) stateand high energy (pulsed) state. TheseMR signals are compiled to form static,detailed images of body structures.
In contrast, functional MRI (fMRI)provides a real time look at how the
Message from the Dean
“Discovery: We are committed to the devel-opment and utilization of innovativeapproaches to maximize learning andimprove patient care through research,scholarship and teaching.”
Excerpt from College Vision, Mission, and Values
Greetings! An influential personthroughout my life is known for saying,“I do not have to go to work…I get togo to work.” He recognizes and appre-ciates the personal satisfaction afford-ed by his vocation. As optometric edu-cators, we are fortunate to have suchan opportunity…to positively influencethe communities we serve. In this edi-tion of the Eyewire, we share exam-ples of the ways in which our optomet-ric family strives to improve the qualityof life and visual welfare of others inways that are perhaps not so obvious.
The desire to assist others is amongthe reasons most frequently stated forpursuing a career in optometry. Thatunwavering commitment to provide aidto those who seek our care inevitablyleads us to recognize the need for amore thorough understanding of abnor-malities that affect the eye and visualsystem. Research and scholarship pro-vide for the tools necessary to continuethe tradition of improving the visualwelfare of our patients into the nextgeneration. In these pages, you willfind evidence for that commitmentthrough the work of our distinguishedfaculty and students. It is my hope thatthrough their example, others will alsobe swayed to go where others havenot gone before and thus advance theart and science of vision care. Anhonor and privilege to go towork…indeed!
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NEWS & NOTES
Functional MRI Research (continued from page 1)
New Laboratory Equipment! Jimmy Smart, OD ‘05, opened anew office in Edmond, Oklahoma onDecember 5, 2005. He is partneredwith Scott Sigler, MD, an ophthalmol-ogist specializing in oculoplastics.Congratulations, Jimmy!
! Brian Foutch, OD ‘99, delivered apaper, “Gender effects on color con-trast threshold”, and displayed twoposters, ”Least squares analysis ofthe Farnsworth D-15 color visiontest”, and “Comparison of pupil func-tions between species”, at theDecember 2005 Annual Meeting ofthe American Academy of Optometry.! Aaron Franzel, OD ‘90, displayeda poster, “Associations among testsof visual-perceptual skills, eye move-ment skills, intelligence and achieve-ment in students with academic diffi-culty”, at the American Academy ofOptometry Annual Meeting inDecember, 2005.! Joanna Gervais, ‘08, displayed aposter, “Motion perception: gendereffect”, at the American Academy ofOptometry Annual Meeting inDecember, 2005.! Jennifer Geertz, OD ‘98, hasopened a second office in Batavia,Illinois, about 35 miles northwest ofher first office in Hodgkins, Illinois.Both are located in the west and farwest suburbs of greater Chicago.Congratulations, Jennifer!! Larry Davis, O. D. has beenselected to serve on the Board ofDirectors for the National Board ofExaminers in Optometry, a positionvacated on January 1, 2006 whenLinda Casser, O.D. joined the NBEOstaff as Associate Director ofPsychometrics and Research. Theboard consists of eight (8) memberseach serving a term of four (4) years.
brain functions. The fMRI processrelies on the opposite effects of oxy-genated and deoxygenated hemoglobinon local magnetic fields to detectchanges in blood flow associated withneural activity – the blood oxygenlevel-dependent (BOLD) effect.Increased neural activity produces alocal increase in energy requirementthat is largely met by an increase inoxygen-based metabolism. This causesa local hemodynamic response thatactually overcompensates for thedemand, increasing the amount of oxy-genated hemoglobin relative to deoxy-genated hemoglobin. Because the latterreduces the MR signal by adding het-
erogeneity to the magnetic field, thehemodynamic response leads to anincrease in MR signal intensity. TheBOLD effect is thus an indirect measureof neural activity and is used to precise-ly map areas of the brain involved insensation, thought and action.
The psychophysical research isbeing conducted at UMSL and thefMRI research at WashingtonUniversity, one of the leading centersfor brain imaging in the world. A five-year, Mentored Patient-OrientedResearch Career Development Awardfrom the National Eye Institute of theNational Institutes of Health funds Dr.Wong’s research.
Christine Garhart, DVM, PhD
Recently, the equipment in theteaching laboratory used for the coursesHuman Anatomy and Physiology,Neuroanatomy, and Anatomy andPhysiology of the Eye has been upgradedsignificantly.
Two years ago new binocular micro-scopes were purchased for student use.In the fall of 2005, a trinocular com-pound microscope, a trinocular stereo-microscope with transillumination, afiber-optic light source, a digital camerawith software to capture and displayimages, and a high-resolution projectorand screen were added. In addition, acomputer and monitor are used to run thedigital camera and display the images.The computer is also networked and canrun the UMSL software, includingPowerPoint.
This system permits the instructor topreview slides assigned to students andto display slides not in their slide set.Low magnification can be used to pointout landmarks and areas of interest, andthen high magnification employed topoint out details of cells and tissues.Images taken by the camera can be cap-tured, saved, labeled, and displayed later.
The students like the camera systemand appreciate the instructor’s ability to
provide a detailed overview of the struc-tures to be examined.
Faculty member, Christine Garhart,DVM, PhD, instructor for HumanAnatomy and Physiology, says, “Thecamera system is almost as good asusing a double-headed microscope andmore efficient because I can show theentire lab section something at the sametime.”
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Faculty Member Honored
Vasudevan Lakshminarayanan,Ph. D., known to all as Vengu, wasawarded the Optical Society of IndiaAward given triennially for significantcontributions to optics. Vengu washonored at the InternationalConference on Optics and Lasers inDecember, 2005 in Dehradun, India.The award consists of a medal and$5,000 and is the highest given by theOSI.
Vengu was also selected by theNational Academy of Sciences as oneof six delegates to the InternationalUnion of Pure and Applied PhysicsGeneral Assembly, which is held onceevery four years. The Assembly metin Capetown, South Africa.
Vesudevan Lakshminarayanan, PhD
He also represented the UnitedStates at the World Congress ofPhysics and Sustainable Development,and was part of the presentation of theUNESCO project on optics and pho-tonics teaching in developing nations.
In addition, in June of 2005,Vengu delivered an invited talk onvision enhancement technology at theWest Virginia University Eye Institute.
As if the above were not suffi-cient, Vengu was given an award rec-ognizing his work in establishing theElite School of Optometry in Madras,India, at the 20th AnniversaryCelebration of that institution. He alsogave an invited plenary talk at the EliteInternational Vision and OptometryConference in August, 2005.
Vengu also somehow found timeto serve as a mentor to Ms. MaryLueder, a high-school student atVisitation Academy, who submitted apaper to the Pfizer-Solutia Studentsand Teachers as Research Scientists(STARS) Program. The paper, entitled“Gender difference in motion percep-tion,” was selected as an outstandingpaper in the area of “behavioral sci-ence” for the Pfizer Award forExcellence in Research. Ms. Luedersalso received a University of MissouriBoard of Curators Scholarship to UM-St. Louis.
Vengu has recently had sevenpapers published, which brings histotal number of publications to 271.
PAST TIMES
Fifteen years ago, 1991
! The Shadow Ball, November 1,1991, netted $32,000 for theOptometric Center. The theme of theball was The Phantom of the Opera,and there were more than 300 atten-dees. The Co-Chairs for the success-ful event were Mary M. Gilbert, LewisH. Tubbesing, and R.A Koetting, O.D.! St. Louis optometrist, Dr. R. A.Koetting received the InternationalSociety of Contact Lens Specialistsprestigious Herschel Medal. ! Extensive remodeling of theOptometric Center was completed inJanuary, 1991.
Ten years ago, 1996
! Dave Loshin, O.D., Ph.D. assumedthe position of Dean of the School ofOptometry in January, 1996.! Students worked in the concessionarea at the TWA Dome during theRam’s games as an AOSA fundraisingactivity, and ten students participatedin the Louisiana State UniversityExcimer Laser Symposium in con-junction with Ray Myers, O.D.
Five years ago, 2001
! On May 8th, the School ofOptometry celebrated its establish-ment by honoring five individuals withthe Dean’s Award for MeritoriousService. The honorees were ArnoldB. Grobman, Ph.D., ChancellorEmeritus; the Honorable James “Jay”Russell; the Honorable Robert “Bob”Young; Associate Dean Gerald A.Franzel, O.D.; and Robert L. Mobley,O.D. (posthumously).! The class of 1991 held a reunion inTower Grove Park.! Dr. Vengu Lakshminarayanan,Ph.D., was selected as an Institute ofTheoretical Physics Scholar for 2001-2003, and he was also appointed aUnited States Representative to theInternational Commission on Optics,as a member of the United StatesAdvisory Committee of the NationalResearch Council.
Fourth-year optometry student, Mr. Mark Kahrhoff, ’06,has received a Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research Awardfor his project entitled, “Deformation characteristics of thehuman lens using holographic interferometry”. CarlBassi, PhD, and Larry Davis, OD, will serve as facultyadvisors. Last December Kahrhoff received the distin-guished Julius F. Neumuller Award in Optics from theAmerican Academy of Optometry for his application ofRichard Feynman’s arrow formalism to geometrical optics.Congratulations, Mark!
STUDENT WINS AWARD
The EYEwire is published by the Office of the Dean at the University ofMissouri-St. Louis College of Optometry.
Dr. Jerry Christensen, [email protected]
Janice White, [email protected]
Dr. Larry J. Davis, [email protected]
If you prefer to receive your newsletterelectronically, please email Dr.Christensen and provide your emailaddress. Thanks! (If we already haveyour email address there is no need tore-submit it.)
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Office of the Dean
One University BoulevardSt. Louis, Missouri 63121-4400
Telephone: 314-516-5606Fax: 314-516-6708
http://optometry.umsl.edu
Non-Profit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDSt. Louis, MOPermit No. 3
Scott ’01 and Amanda McDougal had their second child inNovember. Anne Elizabeth McDougal was born on November20th at 1:11 pm. She was 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 21 1/2 inches long.She was welcomed by big sister Emma, and Scott reports shehas already slept one night through entirely, although it had nothappened yet a second time. Congratulations!
The College of Optometry invites you toan evening of fun, food and frivolity,
all for a good cause!
Set your sights on Thursday, March 23, 2006, 6:30 to 9:00 p.m.
at the Blanche M. Touhill
Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri-
St. Louis campus.
Enjoy cocktails, a sumptuous buffet, delicious desserts as you browse and bid on unique items
at the silent auction with St. Louis celebrity Ray Hartmann as auctioneer. Theevening’s special entertainment will be a sight for St. Louis indeed,
insuring that this will be a night to long remember.
Individual tickets are $125 each, and sponsorship levels are available. For additional information, call (314) 516-6030.
Visit our website to view auction items. http://optometrry25.umsl.edu
(An event to raise funds for indigent eye care)
