Recent News
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Brandon Biggs brings his ideas for accessibility to SKERI
We’re excited to welcome Brandon Biggs to the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute. Brandon arrived in August to collaborate with Dr. Coughlan, Dr. Shen and Dr. Fusco to work on accessibility research and development. This collaboration started last year, when Brandon met Dr. Coughlan at the Association for Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired (AER) International Conference in Reno, Nevada. Brandon was then enrolled in a Master’s program in Inclusive Design at OCAD University in Toronto, Canada, which he completed in June. -
SKERI scientists release Tactile Graphics Helper app for free download
TGH (short for “Tactile Graphics Helper”) is a free iOS app from The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute that makes tactile graphics more accessible to... -
In Memoriam: William F. Crandall, Jr.
The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute mourns the loss of our colleague and friend, Dr. William F. Crandall, Jr. Bill, as he was known, passed away over... -
Smith-Kettlewell Hosts International Symposium at CLADE Meeting
On April 7, 1966, ophthalmologists, orthoptists, and ophthalmic technologists from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, and Venezuela met in the Province of... -
Jampolsky Fellows Reunion
On Thursday, July 27, 2017, the 43 rd annual reception for the opening of the Jampolsky Fellows Reunion was held at the Fairmont Hotel on Nob Hill, San... -
Relaunch of YouDescribe
On May 18, 2017, in honor of the sixth Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), Smith-Kettlewell relaunched the award- winning YouDescribe with new features, expanded capabilities, and exciting possibilities for the future of audio description. YouDescribe is a free web-based platform for adding audio description to YouTube videos to improve accessibility for the blind. Conceived in 2011 by Smith-Kettlewell scientist Dr. Joshua Miele in 2011, YouDescribe is a unique platform that allows sighted describers to add audio description to any YouTube video and share those descriptions with blind viewers. -
Dr. Preeti Verghese Awarded NEI Grant
Congratulations to Senior Scientist, Preeti Verghese, Ph.D., who was awarded a four-year grant from the National Eye Institute to study ways of assisting patients with age-related macular disease (AMD) in the performance of real-world tasks. Dr. Verghese’s research lab examines the neural processes, strategies, and adaptations that humans use to interact with objects in the real world and apply these to visual adaptations in clinical populations. -
DescribeAthon 17 'Marathon'
On January 26, 2017, in San Francisco, the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute’s Rehabilitation and Engineering Research Center (RERC) hosted DescribeAthon 17 -- an event that used the Institute’s YouDescribe technology, developed by scientist Dr. Josh Miele, to raise awareness about video accessibility on the web for blind viewers. YouDescribe is an enhanced video program for YouTube in which recorded voices describe what cannot be seen. -
SKERI Researchers Featured on Research! America Blog
SKERI scientists Drs Preeti Verghese, Lori Lott, and Natela Shanidze were featured on the Research! America blog for AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month. -
In Memoriam: Valerie Morash
The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute mourns the tragic loss of one of its most outstanding scientists, Valerie Morash PhD. Val was an amazing researcher...