The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute

06/30/2026

🧠 As Brain Awareness Month winds down, we're excited to share one more example of how research at Smith-Kettlewell is advancing our understanding of the brain and vision.

Today we're highlighting the work of Dr. Stephen Heinen, whose research explores how the brain controls eye movements and how they relate to perception, attention, and cognition.

Using highly precise eye movement measurements, Dr. Heinen studies how both eyes work together to focus on the world around us. His research challenges a long-held scientific assumption about how the brain coordinates eye movements and has led to the development of a groundbreaking new model that could improve our understanding of eye misalignment disorders, which affect more than 100 million people worldwide.

By uncovering how the brain controls vision and movement, this research is helping advance the science behind both healthy brain function and neurological and visual disorders.

Learn more about Dr. Heinen's research: https://www.ski.org/lab/heinen-lab/

Action for Vision and Thought Our laboratory studies eye movements to understand basic neural circuitry that moves the eyes for clear vision, and as a tool to probe mental processes that are distinctly human. Our ultimate goal is to understand the substrate of neurological function and dysfunction,....

06/26/2026

🧠👁️ Continuing our Brain Awareness Month series, we're highlighting the work of Dr. Christopher Tyler and his contributions to understanding how the brain makes sense of what we see.

Although our eyes capture light, it's the brain that turns those signals into the rich visual world we experience every day.

Dr. Tyler's research explores how the brain recognizes depth, movement, shapes, and patterns, allowing us to navigate and interact with the world around us.

Over more than 50 years at Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, Dr. Tyler has helped develop tools that improve how we understand vision throughout life, from measuring vision in infants to advancing the diagnosis of conditions such as glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa.

Dr. Tyler also founded the Institute's Brain Imaging Center, which supports researchers using advanced brain imaging techniques to better understand how the brain processes visual information.

As we celebrate Brain Awareness Month, we're proud to recognize researchers whose work continues to deepen our understanding of the remarkable partnership between the brain and vision.

To learn more about Dr. Tyler's research, visit:
🔗 https://www.ski.org/directory/christopher-tyler/
🔗 https://christophertyler.org/clinical-research-studies/

06/24/2026

🧠👁️ Continuing our Brain Awareness Month series, we're highlighting the work of Dr. Preeti Verghese at Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute and the remarkable partnership between the eyes and the brain.

We often think of vision as something our eyes do, but it is the brain that transforms visual information into our perception of depth, motion, and the world around us. Dr. Verghese's research explores how the brain adapts when vision changes and how people with conditions such as macular degeneration, amblyopia, and strabismus use their remaining vision to navigate everyday life.

By studying eye movements, depth perception, and visual adaptation, her work helps us better understand the brain's incredible flexibility and resilience. These discoveries may help shape future approaches to visual rehabilitation and support greater independence for individuals with vision loss.

Learn more about Dr. Verghese's research:
https://www.ski.org/directory/preeti-verghese/?tab=project&paged=1

Dr. Preeti Verghese, Senior Scientist at Smith-Kettlewell, studies visual perception and low vision rehabilitation, with a focus on macular degeneration.

06/22/2026

🧠👁️ Did you know that the most common cause of bilateral visual impairment in children in developed countries is Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI)?

Last week, Debby Gilden, Ph.D., Senior Scientist Emerita at Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, gave a fascinating presentation at the Center for Accessible Technology (C4AT) in Berkeley about the "paradoxical world" of CVI.

CVI is caused by differences in how the brain processes visual information rather than problems with the eyes themselves. As Dr. Gilden explained, vision involves much more than seeing clearly, it depends on the brain's ability to recognize objects, perceive motion, understand space, focus attention, and navigate the world around us.

The presentation explored how people with CVI may experience vision in unique ways. Some may struggle to recognize faces or objects, become overwhelmed by visual clutter, rely on nonvisual cues, or find that certain lighting conditions help while others make seeing more difficult.

Dr. Gilden also discussed how CVI often occurs alongside other neurological conditions and why each person's experience is different, highlighting the importance of individualized support and accessible environments.

Thank you to everyone who joined us for this informative event and to Dr. Gilden for helping raise awareness of the vital connection between the brain and vision.

📸 Please enjoy a few photos from the presentation below.

06/16/2026

UPDATE: This event has passed. Thank you to everyone who joined us!

To stay updated on future Blind and Low Vision Support Group sessions, please follow our page for upcoming dates, details, and announcements.

Join Us TOMORROW for Our June Blind & Low Vision Support Group!

This month, we're excited to welcome **Gina di Grazia, MA, OTR/L, COMS, CLVT**, an occupational therapist specializing in mobility and low vision.

Gina will discuss how orientation and mobility strategies can be individualized to meet each person's unique needs, using practical tools and hands-on techniques to build safety, confidence, and independence. One of her clients will also join the discussion to share their personal experience with individualized care and the impact it has had on their daily life.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about and practice with mobility tools, including canes, in a supportive environment.

📅 **Date:** Wednesday, June 17, 2026
🕒 **Time:** 3:30 PM–5:00 PM
📍 **Where** In-person at 2318 Fillmore St., San Francisco, CA 94115 or Zoom option available

While a virtual option is available, **in-person attendance is strongly encouraged** to fully participate in the hands-on activities and demonstrations.

We hope you'll join us to explore new tools, gain practical skills, and discover what greater confidence and independence can mean for you.

Interested in attending? For additional details and the Zoom link to join remotely, please click below:

https://www.ski.org/project/blind-and-low-vision-support-group/

Join Dr. Don Fletcher, one of the world’s leading authorities on Low Vision Rehabilitation, to share experiences and learn about the things that help you maintain a full and happy life while living with low vision.

06/09/2026

🎉 What an incredible day at VisionWalk this past Saturday! 🎉

Thanks to the generosity and support of our amazing donors, Team Smith-Kettlewell raised over $2,800 for the Foundation Fighting Blindness!

Our team had a fantastic time walking alongside advocates, researchers, participants, families, and supporters who share a commitment to improving the lives of those affected by vision loss.

We especially enjoyed meeting so many wonderful people who stopped by our booth to learn more about the work happening at Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute.

To everyone who donated, walked with us, visited our booth, and cheered us on—THANK YOU! Your support made this year's VisionWalk a tremendous success.

We are grateful to have been part of such an inspiring community event and can't wait to do it all again next year. Together, we're helping move vision research forward and bringing hope to millions affected by blinding conditions. 💙👁️

Please enjoy some highlights from our day at VisionWalk below!

📸⬇️

06/02/2026

Four days out from VisionWalk, and our team has now raised $1,392 toward our $2,000 goal!

Thank you to everyone who's contributed so far. That momentum comes from colleagues, collaborators, and friends who believe research into retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, Usher syndrome, and other causes of blindness and low vision is worth backing.

We're $608 from our goal, and there's still time to help us close it.

Smith-Kettlewell is walking with the Foundation Fighting Blindness this Saturday, and every contribution goes directly to the research these conditions need, whether or not you can join us in person.

Come find our team and our booth:
Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 8:30 AM
Golden Gate Park Music Concourse Bandshell
75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118

Registration and donation link in the comments.

05/27/2026

Vision loss from retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, and Usher syndrome shapes the lives of millions and the research to change that depends on community behind it.

Smith-Kettlewell is joining the 2026 VisionWalk, the Foundation Fighting Blindness annual event supporting research into these and other conditions that cause blindness and low vision.
It's a cause close to our work.

Smith-Kettlewell has spent decades studying how people with low vision and blindness navigate, read, and live and what science and engineering can do to expand what's possible.

We're forming a team and would be glad to see familiar faces there. Walk with us, visit our booth, or come learn more about the Institute.

Our team has raised $882 so far, and we're inviting colleagues, collaborators, friends, and supporters to help grow that number.

Contributions go directly to the Foundation's research, whether or not you can join us in person.

Saturday, June 6, 2026 at 8:30 AM

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse Bandshell
75 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr, San Francisco, CA 94118

Registration and donation link in the comments.

05/21/2026

Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, and we're releasing a new version of YouDescribe with AI-assisted audio description tools. 🎉
The update introduces two new describer workflows for volunteers:
🤖 Prompted Interface — generates an AI draft script that volunteers review, correct, and refine, accelerating the creation of high-quality audio descriptions
✍️ Freestyle Interface — supports fully original descriptions from scratch, for richer storytelling and contextual nuance
Also new:
📖 An Audio Description Style Guide developed with quality-assurance professionals
🎓 Built-in tutorials for new volunteers
YouDescribe has been making YouTube videos accessible to blind and low vision viewers since 2013. AI now helps volunteers work faster — while human judgment, context, and lived experience stay at the center of every description.
Awareness matters most when it turns into something usable. Every audio description helps. 💙
🔗 Learn more: https://www.ski.org/news/youdescribe-launches-two-new-describer-interfaces-for-gaad-2026/

YouDescribe, an audio description platform for YouTube, introduces new interfaces for creating audio descriptions for blind/low vision audiences.

05/19/2026

UPDATE: This event has passed. Thank you to everyone who joined us!

To stay updated on future Blind and Low Vision Support Group sessions, please follow our page for upcoming dates, details, and announcements.

Join us tomorrow for our Blindness and Low Vision Support Group at Smith-Kettlewell!

This month’s discussion will focus on exciting developments in assistive technology and accessibility that were highlighted at the 2026 CSUN Assistive Technology Conference.

We’ll be talking about:
• Cool gadgets and emerging assistive technologies
• AI-powered accessibility tools
• Screen reader technology and workplace inclusion
• Perspectives on how technology is — and isn’t — meeting the needs of people who are blind or have low vision

Also on the agenda: the VisionWalk!

We’ll take some time to talk about the upcoming VisionWalk, the signature fundraising event organized by the Foundation Fighting Blindness. The VisionWalk is a community 5K-style walk that raises funds for research into treatments and cures for blinding diseases.

Smith-Kettlewell is creating a team, and you are invited to join us!

Whether you’re curious about new technology, want to connect with others in the community, or are interested in participating in the VisionWalk, we’d love to have you there.

📅 Wednesday, May 20, 2026
⏰ 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM
📍 Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute
2318 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA 94115

Hybrid format: Join us in person or via Zoom.

Find the Zoom link and additional information here:

Join Dr. Don Fletcher, one of the world’s leading authorities on Low Vision Rehabilitation, to share experiences and learn about the things that help you maintain a full and happy life while living with low vision.