Welcome to the Center for Retina and Brain (CRAB)
At the Center for Retina and Brain (CRAB), we study the ways that changes in the brain from aging, disease, and injury affect the eye, and whether eye measurements can help us screen for, and understand, changes in the brain. Our hope is that learning about these changes will allow us to provide better screening, diagnostic, and predictive tools to help people with a range of neurological and psychiatric conditions.
We are located in the Department of Psychiatry, and we collaborate with teams across the university and study a wide range of psychological and medical conditions.
Learn more about our current research projects
Our collaborators include faculty from Psychiatry, Neuroscience, Ophthalmology, Radiology, Cardiology, Emergency Medicine and the Institute for Data Science.
Learn more about us.
Introduction to the Retina | Animator: Sophia Chen
Visual examples of retinal variables
Learn more about retinal variables affected by schizophrenia and other neuropsychiatric disorders conditions.
Flash electroretinography (ERG) Eyeing the Link Between Heart and Brain Health
Exploring the use of retinal biomarkers to study delirium risk and the neural and neurovascular basis for delirium, as well as its subsequent cognitive and functional outcomes.
Superficial retinal vascular layer as imaged by optical coherence tomography angiography
Retinal Vasculopathy as a Proxy for Cerebral Vascular Health
Evaluating changes in retinal microvasculature as a biomarker of changes in cerebral blood flow and cognition in heart failure patients.
Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA)
Retinal Vasculopathy as a Predictor of Cardiovascular Disease and Risk in Individuals with Early Psychosis
Examines microvascular changes that impact cardiovascular health in early psychosis.
Research Team
Steven Silverstein, PhD
Professor, Psychiatry
Judy L. Thompson, PhD
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
Brian Keane, PhD
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
Joy Choi, MD
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
Mark Oldham, MD
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry
Rajeev S. Ramchandran, MD, MBA
Associate Professor, Ophthalmology
View All Research Team Members
- Distinct Attentional Control Profiles during Language Comprehension in Major Mental Health Disorders.; Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging. 2026 Jul 07.
- Utility of zoom-based clinical interviews for automated facial emotion analysis.; Schizophrenia research; Vol 295, pp. 226-227. 2026 Jun 16.
- Computerized assessments of emotional expression and emotional reactivity predict negative symptoms in individuals at clinical high-risk for psychosis.; Psychological medicine; Vol 56, pp. e184. 2026 Jun 10.
- Value representation in youth psychopathology: evidence of a transdiagnostic risk mechanism for psychosis.; Translational psychiatry. 2026 Jun 10.
- Contrast sensitivity and subjective visual disturbances across the psychosis continuum.; Cognitive neuropsychiatry. 2026 May 26.
Contact Us
Center for Retina and Brain (CRAB)
University of Rochester Medical Center
300 Crittenden Boulevard
Rochester, NY, 14642
Center for Retina and Brain
