You are invited to a Scientific Forum featuring the
2025 recipients of the Prevent Blindness Ohio Young Investigator
Student Fellowship Awards for Female Scholars in Vision Research
Electra Coffman is a Ph.D. candidate in the Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology program at The Ohio State University. She is conducting her research with the College of Optometry. Her research has critical implications for understanding age-dependent cataract formation, a common and potentially blinding disorder with poorly understood etiology.
Pooja Nambiar is a Case Western Reserve medical student conducting her research with the Cole Eye Institute – Ocular Motility and Vision Neurosciences Lab. Her research is related to visuomotor dysfunction in Parkinson’s patients. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive, neurodegenerative disorder that affects over 10 million people worldwide. Up to 70% of individuals with PD experience visual symptoms such as double vision, trouble focusing, and reduced depth perception; these can make daily tasks such as reading and walking more difficult. Debilitating visual symptoms are common in Parkinson’s patients, yet this area remains underexplored, leaving this population underrepresented and underserved in current vision research and care efforts.
