Yunchan Hwang’s research focuses on studying the vasculature of the human retina, a tissue responsible for visual perception. Under the supervision of Professor James G. Fujimoto, he is developing advanced Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography (OCTA) techniques to study retinal blood flow in vision-impairing diseases such as diabetic retinopathy. Recognizing the limitations of conventional OCTA in capturing hemodynamics, Yunchan and his colleagues developed Variable Interscan Time Analysis (VISTA), a novel computational method that evaluates blood flow speed at the individual capillary level. By leveraging advancements in light technology for high-speed imaging, VISTA detects cardiac pulsatility in single capillaries and offers excellent repeatability in measuring blood flow speed. Collaborating with clinicians at the New England Eye Center, Yunchan applied VISTA to study retinal blood flow in diabetic retinopathy, quantifying altered flow speeds in diabetic capillaries and their link to ischemia. This work provides new biomarkers for disease progression and holds promise for monitoring treatment responses and advancing drug development in retinal diseases.
Christopher Buswinka is a PhD student conducting research in the lab of Artur Indzhykulian at the Eaton-Peabody Laboratories at Mass Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School. His research explores the application of deep learning computer vision techniques for microscopy analysis in the inner ear. In his most recent work, Chris developed a novel approach for the analysis of mitochondria imaged with three-dimensional electron microscopy techniques, leveraging morphological skeletonization and volumetric spatial embedding. Damage to inner ear mitochondria may affect hearing, and with thousands per cell, have proven difficult to study. These advances in deep learning allow mitochondria to be analyzed automatically, increasing our understanding of their role in hearing loss and opening the door for potential therapeutic interventions.