George Wald was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1967 (the year Vladimir was born!) for his monumental contributions to our understanding of the molecular basis of photoreception. We strive to live by his wise words and to have an intelligible dialogue with Nature. Our favorite topic of conversation is the function of rod and cone photoreceptor cells. Why don’t we see colors at night? How can our rod photoreceptors achieve the theoretical limit of light sensitivity and detect a single photon of light? How can our cone photoreceptors remain functional over an astonishing range of light intensities and still faithfully detect the intricate details of the world around us and nature’s palette of colors? Why do photoreceptors degenerate and how can we prevent their death? These are the questions that we are trying to address. We use a wide range of techniques for the investigation of photoreceptor physiology, including single-cell rod and cone recordings, ex vivo whole retina recordings, in vivo electroretinogram (ERG) recordings, optokinetic behavioral tests, and genetic manipulations. George Wald was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1967 (the year Vladimir was born!) for his monumental contributions to our understanding of the molecular basis of photoreception. We strive to live by his wise words and to have an intelligible dialogue with Nature. Our favorite topic of conversation is the function of rod and cone photoreceptor cells. Why don’t we see colors at night? How can our rod photoreceptors achieve the theoretical limit of light sensitivity and detect a single photon of light? How can our cone photoreceptors remain functional over an astonishing range of light intensities and still faithfully detect the intricate details of the world around us and nature’s palette of colors? Why do photoreceptors degenerate and how can we prevent their death? These are the questions that we are trying to address. We use a wide range of techniques for the investigation of photoreceptor physiology, including single-cell rod and cone recordings, ex vivo whole retina recordings, in vivo electroretinogram (ERG) recordings, optokinetic behavioral tests, and genetic manipulations.

Retina Photoreceptor Neurobiology and Retinal Degeneration Mechanisms of cone dark adaptation Mechanisms of cone light adaptation Pharmacological treatments of retinal degeneration