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
- Contrast sensitivity and subjective visual disturbances across the psychosis continuum.; Cognitive neuropsychiatry. 2026 May 26.
- Impacted and preserved sub-domains of cognitive control in schizophrenia.; Neuropsychologia. 2026 May 24.
- Cerebral metabolism as an isolated predictor of 50% symptomatic improvement over 12 weeks of acute psychotic episode treatment in schizophrenia.; Journal of psychiatric research; Vol 199, pp. 156-165. 2026 Apr 22.
- Altered First- but not Higher-Order Motion Aftereffect Strength in Individuals With Schizophrenia.; Schizophrenia bulletin; Vol 52(2). 2026 Mar 07.
- The Early Visual System in Schizophrenia.; Annual review of vision science. 2026 Mar 05.
Contact Us
Center for Retina and Brain (CRAB)
University of Rochester Medical Center
300 Crittenden Boulevard
Rochester, NY, 14642
Center for Retina and Brain
