A nonprofit improving understanding, diagnosis, treatment, & rehab for visual disorders & blindness.
09/30/2025
🚨 Help the Teng Lab at SKERI advance innovative research on the technology, perception, and neuroscience of accessibility! Dr. Santani Teng's laboratory has launched a pair of campaigns through the science crowdfunding site Experiment.com. One project aims to measure the millisecond brain dynamics of text processing in blind braille readers using EEG recording. The other explores the benefits of artificial ultrasonic echolocation signals for blind and low-vision travelers.
Your support helps the lab develop experimental setups, recruit study participants, and expand the projects with longer-term grant funding. Every contribution helps — visit the project pages for more details!
Blind and low-vision readers read and write text using braille, a tactile system of raised dots. In this project, we will monitor braille readers' hand movements and electroencephalographic (EEG) brain activity to understand how they build meaningful text from dot patterns. We expect our unique...
09/25/2025
It is Fall Prevention Week and did you know :
Every 14 seconds, an older adult visits the ER for a fall-related injury. Falls are the leading cause of injury for people 65+ and a serious risk for adults with disabilities. But here’s the good news: falls can be prevented.
This September, we’re joining partners nationwide for Falls Prevention Awareness Week to share proven strategies that keep people safe and independent:
✔️ Stay active to build strength & balance
✔️ Remove home tripping hazards
✔️ Review medications with your doctor
✔️ Get regular vision & hearing checks
✔️ Explore evidence-based programs near you (via Eldercare Locator) https://eldercare.acl.gov/home
Together, we can reduce falls and support healthier, safer aging. 💪❤️
09/10/2025
We’re proud to be represented at the 15th International Conference on Low Vision Research and Rehabilitation (VISION 2025 Florence) - a global gathering dedicated to advancing low vision research, rehabilitation, and technology.
Today, our researchers James Coughlan, Ph.D., Brandon Biggs, Ph.D., and Jade Guenot, Ph.D. shared their innovative work aimed at improving accessibility and independence for people with low vision.
Learn more: vision2025florence.com
03/25/2025
TOMORROW! Don't miss this event about how vision impacts learning! Tuesday, March 25th, 11:30am PST
Does your child vision puzzle you? Have you noticed some preferences or difficulties when your child is learning and playing? Have you been told your child has Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) or low vision and you are not sure how it impacts their learning and behavior?
Featuring Dr. Arvind Chandna, Ophthalmologist and Senior Clinician Scientist at The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute.
Many thanks to the California Department of Education, Special Education Division, for making this event posible.
03/24/2025
The new Executive Director of SKERI lays out his strategic vision for the future of the institute and the importance of collaboration with Big Tech in improving the quality of life of blind and low-vision people.
William Good, MD is a new Executive Director of the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute. He speaks about the place of SKERI in vision science and the imp...
03/23/2025
Brandon Biggs, a scientist at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute, delivered a groundbreaking presentation titled “Can You Read This Map: Checking Maps for ADA Accessibility” as part of the ADA National Network’s webinar series on March 14, 2024. Biggs emphasized that this talk is now the definitive government source for ensuring digital maps comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
His presentation provided a comprehensive guide to making digital maps accessible to people with disabilities, covering key challenges and best practices. Biggs, the inventor of Audiom, a tool for creating accessible maps, has been at the forefront of developing solutions for non-visual map access.
With digital maps playing an increasing role in navigation and public services, Biggs’ work sets a new benchmark for accessibility standards. His insights will serve as a critical resource for government agencies, developers, and advocates working to make geographic information genuinely inclusive.
Yesterday’s VSRSS seminar featured Dr. Santani Teng from The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute and his fascinating talk on the Dynamics of Braille Letter Perception in Blind Readers. Dr. Teng shared his research on how the brain adapts in the absence of vision, revealing new insights into crossmodal plasticity and tactile language processing. Thanks to all who attended for making this an engaging session! Keep an eye out for more thought-provoking seminars!
10/09/2024
Visual illusions enter the political arena in this allusion to the scramble of 3D Magic Eye field emerging into a clear 3D image. The Magic Eye concept was developed at the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute by Dr. Christopher Tyler and is still providing popular and scientific insights today. 🗳️
09/25/2024
On NPR's recent Freakonomics podcast, we heard about the economics of Botox and its inventor and SKERI founder Alan Scott https://freakonomics.com/podcast/botox/
If you want to know more about how Botox came to life and what was its initial purpose, here is an interview with one of our leading scientists Dr. Preeti Verghese: https://youtu.be/R1rq_YIg7xw?si=CsYCHCvXjp12Jq-C
Botulinum toxin (Botox) was first developed as a treatment for strabismus. Watch Dr. Preeti Verghese recollect the story of its development.
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Contact The Practice
Send a message to The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute:
The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute is a non-profit independent research center. We are interested in three main areas of research: basic scientific research to increase the understanding of normal vision in support of vision disorders, clinical research to develop new diagnostic procedures and treatments for visual and other sensory disorders, and engineering research to produce better techniques for aid and rehabilitation of the blind and partially sighted.
The research that the Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute is doing has expanded its understanding of how the visual system (including both eye and brain) work and are affected by disease and vision impairment. In fact, millions of people around the world benefit from the Institute's work diagnosing and treating eye diseases. The studies conducted by its staff have also led to the development of innovative devices, and enhanced services for partially sighted, blind, and hearing-impaired people. A few examples of the Institute's accomplishments are highlighted below.
Innumerable innovations in diagnosis and surgery for childhood vision diseases, notably crossed eyes (strabismus)
Botulinum toxin (“Botox”), originally for correction of crossed eyes, leading to many wider uses
