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MSTP students in the Sahoo lab
Medical Scientist Training Program
Alison Huckenpahler

Alison Huckenpahler, PhD

Matched at Washington University in St. Louis; Specialty: Psychiatry

Faculty Advisor

  • Joseph Carroll, PhD, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Biophysics, and Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy

Locations


Education

PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin, 2019
BA, Biochemistry and Spanish, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2012

Research Interests

I am currently working using adaptive optics to characterize a transgenic pig model of retinitis pigmentosa. This disease is caused by a mutation in rhodopsin which results in a loss of rod photoreceptors, eventually leading to blindness. This model will allow us to look in depth at the pathophysiology of the disease and hopefully lead to possible gene therapies to restore/preserve vision.

Research Experience

Medical College of Wisconsin, 2014-2019
Advisor: Joseph Carroll, PhD
Project: Noninvasive assessment of pathophysiology in retinitis pigmentosa

Medical College of Wisconsin, 2013
Advisor: Dr. Lisa Cirillo
Project: Epigenetic changes in liver metabolism genes in response to fasting or feasting

University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2008-2012
Advisor: Dr. Thomas Record
Project: Thermodynamics of structural changes in E. coli RNA Polymerase during transcription initiation

Publications

Huckenpahler AL, Carroll J, Salmon AE, et al. Noninvasive Imaging and Correlative Histology of Cone Photoreceptor Structure in the Pig Retina. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2019;8(6):38. Published 2019 Dec 18. doi:10.1167/tvst.8.6.38

Cunefare D, Huckenpahler AL, Patterson EJ, Dubra A, Carroll J, Farsiu S. RAC-CNN: multimodal deep learning based automatic detection and classification of rod and cone photoreceptors in adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscope images. Biomed Opt Express. 2019;10(8):3815-3832. Published 2019 Jul 8. doi:10.1364/BOE.10.003815

Lapierre-Landry M, Huckenpahler AL, Link BA, Collery RF, Carroll J, Skala MC. Imaging Melanin Distribution in the Zebrafish Retina Using Photothermal Optical Coherence Tomography. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2018;7(5):4. Published 2018 Sep 4. doi:10.1167/tvst.7.5.4

Strampe MR, Huckenpahler AL, Higgins BP, et al. Intraobserver Repeatability and Interobserver Reproducibility of Ellipsoid Zone Measurements in Retinitis Pigmentosa. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2018;7(3):13. Published 2018 Jun 4. doi:10.1167/tvst.7.3.13

Huckenpahler AL, Wilk MA, Cooper RF, et al. Imaging the adult zebrafish cone mosaic using optical coherence tomography-CORRIGENDUM. Vis Neurosci. 2017;34:E005. doi:10.1017/S0952523817000025

Wilk MA, Huckenpahler AL, Collery RF, Link BA, Carroll J. The Effect of Retinal Melanin on Optical Coherence Tomography Images. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2017;6(2):8. Published 2017 Apr 3. doi:10.1167/tvst.6.2.8

Huckenpahler AL, Wilk MA, Cooper RF, et al. Imaging the adult zebrafish cone mosaic using optical coherence tomography [published correction appears in Vis Neurosci. 2017 Jan;34:E005]. Vis Neurosci. 2016;33:E011. doi:10.1017/S0952523816000092

Meeting Abstracts

Huckenpahler AL, Jha P. An Unusual Presentation of Stroke. Society for Hospital Medicine Annual Conference. San Diego, CA, 4/15/2020-4/18/2020

Huckenpahler AL, Patterson EJ, Salmon AE, Litts KM, Mastey R, Woertz EN, Cava J, Carroll J. Examining the relationship between cone density and ellipsoid zone reflectivity. Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, Vancouver, Canada, 4/28/2019-5/2/2019

Huckenpahler AL, Seto S, Linderman R, Carroll J. Examining Variables Affecting Photoreceptor Reflectivity in Optical Coherence Tomography Images. The National MD/PhD Student Conference, Keystone, Colorado, 7/13/2018-7/15/2018

Huckenpahler AL, et. al. Imaging the Porcine Retina Using Adaptive Optics Scanning Light Ophthalmoscopy, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland, 5/7/2017–5/11/2017

Huckenpahler, AL. et. al. Imaging the Adult Zebrafish Cone Mosaic Using Optical Coherence Tomography: Method and Repeatability, Retinal Degeneration 2016, Kyoto, Japan, 9/19/2016–9/24/2016

Huckenpahler, AL. et. al. Imaging the Adult Zebrafish Cone Mosaic Using Optical Coherence Tomography: Method and Repeatability, Midwest Eye Research Symposium, Iowa City, Iowa, 8/4/2016 – 8/5/2016

Huckenpahler, AL. et. al. Imaging the Adult Zebrafish Cone Photoreceptor Mosaic Using Optical Coherence Tomography, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, Seattle, Washington, 5/1/2016–5/5/2016

General Interests

Cooking, ballroom dance, and classic movies

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