A hallmark of retinal remodeling in retinal degenerative diseases is rewiring. During rewiring, neurons downstream of degenerating neurons create novel connections with nearby partners. In the context of rod bipolar cells this is evident not only through dendritic rewiring to compensate for degenerating rod photoreceptors, but also via network alterations in the inner plexiform layer. In this project, we characterize these downstream rewiring events via pathoconnectomics and further explore the impacts of aberrant connectivity on signaling via network modeling.
About the speaker
Dr. Pfeiffer is an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Pittsburgh. Her background is in multiple aspects of retinal remodeling with a focus on glial responses and rewiring. To better characterize the progression and consequences of rewiring she has led the construction and evaluation of multiple pathoconnectomes (connectomes of pathological neural tissue). Her group is currently focused on neural-glial interactions and network processing of connectomes and pathoconnectomes in the retina.
