Laura Walker

Senior Visual Experience Engineer,

Apple, Inc.

Dr. Walker completed her BS in Chemical Engineering at MIT and PhD in Vision Science at UC Berkeley. At Berkeley, she studied with Dr. Jitendra Malik using psychophysics to validate computer vision algorithms. During her postdoctoral training with Drs. Preeti Verghese and James Coughlan at Smith-Kettlewell, she developed a computational model of eye movements and continued to apply and develop these models to predict how changing eye movements can improve vision for people different retinal diseases as a PI at SKERI. Her most recent project examined the impact of central vision loss on eye-hand coordination, with the ultimate goal to take what is learned in the laboratory and translate it into low vision rehabilitation therapies.

Links:

Publications

Mentorship Period:
January 2003 - January 2006

Publications

  • Journal Articles
  • Conference Papers
  • Presentations/Posters
  • Other Publications

Mentors

Trainees

  • Past

Collaborators

  • Internal

Projects

  • Completed
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Parafoveal Crowding

Crowding increases with eccentricity, and is most readily observed in the periphery. During natural, active vision however, central vision plays an important role. Measures of critical distance to estimate crowding are difficult in central vision, as these distances are small.

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Completed
SKERI-VF Mapped scotoma and PRL

SKERI-VF

Walker et al (Renninger, Psomadakis, Dang & Fletcher, 2008) suggested a novel method to estimate the monocular scotoma area from perimetry data in macular degeneration based on (i) an optic-disc based estimation of the location of the fovea and (ii)

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Completed
  • L to R: Huiying Shen, Ali Cheraghi, Brandon Biggs, James Coughlan, Charity Pitcher-Cooper, Giovanni Fusco
    Coughlan Lab
    Principal Investigator:
    The goal of our laboratory is to develop and test assistive technology for blind and visually impaired persons that is enabled by computer vision and other sensor technologies.
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  • Verghese Lab
    Verghese Lab
    Principal Investigator:
    Our laboratory studies the mechanisms of healthy vision and action, as well as the basis of attention and visual adaptation […]
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  • Parafoveal Crowding
    Crowding increases with eccentricity, and is most readily observed in the periphery. During natural, active vision however, central vision plays an important role. Measures of critical distance to estimate crowding...
    Read More
  • Logo: Smith-Kettlewell RERC -- Future Directions in Blindness and Low Vision
    Inactive
    State of the Science Conference On Rehabilitation Technology & Methods For a Changing Population
    Date: Friday, December 4, 2015 Location: The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, 2318 Fillmore St., San Francisco CA 94115 The goal of this invitation-only conference was to identify needs for future...
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  • Mapped scotoma and PRL
    Completed
    SKERI-VF
    Walker et al (Renninger, Psomadakis, Dang & Fletcher, 2008) suggested a novel method to estimate the monocular scotoma area from perimetry data in macular degeneration based on (i) an optic-disc...
    Read More

Ghahghaei, S. ., & Walker, L. . (2016). The crowding factor method applied to parafoveal vision. Journal of Vision, 16(11), 7.

Tyson, T. L., Walker, L. ., Ma-Wyatt, A. ., & Fletcher, D. C. (2015). Eye-hand reference frames misalign after central field loss. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 56(7). (Original work published 2015)

Tyson, T. L., Walker, L. ., Ma-Wyatt, A. ., & Fletcher, D. C. (2014). Adapting the oculomotor reference frame. Journal of Vision, 14(10). Retrieved from http://jov.arvojournals.org/article.aspx?articleid=2144536&resultClick=1 (Original work published 2014)

Fletcher, D. C., Schuchard, R. A., & Walker, L. . (2012). Patient awareness of binocular central scotoma in age-related macular degeneration. Optometry & Vision Science, 89, 1395–1398.

Walker, L. ., & Ma-Wyatt, A. . (2011). Recalibration of eye and hand reference frames in age-related macular degeneration. Journal of Vision, 11, 954–954.

Harms, R. ., & Walker, L. . (2011). Effect of task and behavioral demands on saccadic targeting. Journal of Vision, 11, 556–556.

Walker, L. . (2009). Uncertainty reduction as a theory for fixation selection. Journal of Vision, 9, 11–11.

Arnoldussen, M. ., Shusterman, M. ., Fletcher, D. C., Walker, L. ., Dang, L. ., Koruga, I. ., … Gertner, M. . (2009). Quantitative measurement of retinal structures relative to the geometric axis of the eye. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci, 50.

Walker, L. ., Dang, L. ., Verghese, P. ., & Fletcher, D. C. (2008). Effect of central scotoma on eye movement behavior. Journal of Vision, 8, 641–641.

Privitera, C. M., Walker, L. ., Carney, T. ., Klein, S. ., & Aguilar, M. . (2008). The pupil dilation response to visual detection [6806-27]. PROCEEDINGS-SPIE THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR OPTICAL ENGINEERING, 6806, 6806.

Walker, L. ., & Verghese, P. . (2007). Orientation discrimination in the periphery depends on the context. Journal of Vision, 7, 585–585.

Walker, L. ., Verghese, P. ., & Coughlan, J. . (2007). Where to look next? Eye movements reduce local uncertainty. Journal of Vision, 7, 6.