John E. Dowling
Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
I have long studied the vertebrate retina, using it as a model piece of the brain. With students and colleagues, we have studied its functional organization including its synaptic organization, the light responses of individual retinal cells, and the neurotransmitters/modulators used by the retinal cells to communicate information. In recent years, we have focused on the zebrafish retina, carrying out forward-genetic studies as well studies on its tetrachromatic color vision system. I have now closed my laboratory but am presently working with Jeff Lichtman’s group and others to reconstruct the human fovea in three dimensions.