People

Laboratory Personel

Lotfi B. Merabet, OD PhD MPH

Director

p: (617) 573-4130 email

Lotfi Merabet is an optometrist-scientist and a member of the research faculty in the Vision Rehabilitation Service at Massachusetts Eye and Ear. His research focuses on investigating how the brain adapts to the loss of sight and visual impairment. Dr. Merabet attended the University of Ottawa for his undergraduate degree in biology, followed by a doctorate in neuroscience from the University of Montreal, doctorate in optometry from the New England College of Optometry, and masters degrees in Clinical Investigation from the HMS-MIT/HST program and in Public Health from Harvard. He has also completed two postdoctoral research fellowships in noninvasive brain stimulation (HMS/BIDMC) and neuroimaging (BU/MGH). He continues to lecture within the local blind community and serves on the Board of Trustees at the Carroll Center for the Blind and National Braille Press. He also works extensively with the Perkins School for the Blind and collaborates with the University of Milan, Italy.

	Corinna M. Bauer, PhD *Instructor of Ophthalmology* p: (617) 573-4072 email Corinna Bauer is a neuroscientist specializing in the analysis and interpretation of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images of the brain in relationship to neural development and degeneration. She completed her master's degree in biomedical imaging and doctorate degree in anatomy and neurobiology at Boston University School of Medicine. Corinna also holds bachelor degrees in music and in physiology/psychology from the University of Western Ontario (London, ON Canada). Corinna's research focuses on the use of multimodal neuroimaging techniques to better elucidate the structural and functional changes that occur in individuals with cortical visual impairment. The novelty of this study is the utilization and combination of multiple imaging modalities to investigate how the brain has reorganized its structural and functional networks as a result of congenital damage to the occipital visual cortex compared to ocular blind and sighted individuals. The results of this study will help develop novel approaches for multimodal network analysis and contribute insights towards the development of rehabilitation and education plans for clinicians and educators to better serve individuals with CVI, which is the leading cause of congenital visual impairment in the USA.
	Zahide Pamir, PhD *Postdoctoral Fellow* email Zahide Pamir is a postdoctoral research fellow specializes in functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and psychophysics. She received her BA degree in Psychology from Bilkent University and her MS degree in Cognitive Science from the Middle East Technical University. She completed her doctorate studies in Neuroscience at Bilkent University. Her graduate studies focused on the effect of context on the processing of low-level visual features. Before joining the Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity, Zahide completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Vision Rehabilitation Laboratory at the Schepens Eye Research Institute of Mass Eye and Ear. Her current research focuses on understanding the functional and behavioral correlations of cerebral (cortical) visual impairment.
	Claire Manley *Research Technologist & Study Coordinator* p: (617) 573-3794 email Claire Manley earned her B.A. in Psychology from Boston University in 2021. After graduation, she joined the Laboratory for Visual Neuroplasticity to assist in research on the development and innovation of virtual-reality-based behavioral assessments for individuals with cerebral visual impairment (CVI). Claire is also particularly interested in understanding the compensatory behaviors and neurodevelopmental differences in visually impaired individuals.
	Emily Cantillon, M.A., CTVI *Cortical/Cerebral Visual Impairment Lead Teacher, Doctoral Student* p: (978) 835-6515 email Emily Cantillon is a certified Teacher of the Visually Impaired for Perkins School for the Blind and is the Cortical/Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) Lead Teacher for Community Programs at Perkins. Emily is currently a Doctoral student at the University of Northern Colorado. She is pursuing a Ph.D. in Special Education with an emphasis on CVI. She received her MA from the University of Northern Colorado in special education for the visually impaired. Emily completed the University of Massachusetts, Boston’s CVI Certification as well. She also received her Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education with a concentration in earth science from The State University of New York at Oswego.