Join the Advanced Ocular Imaging Program
Learn With the AOIP
Our students come to us from a variety of programs, and with varied expertise, including medicine, cell biology, engineering, neuroscience, image processing and computer programming. Medical students at Medical College of Wisconsin typically participate via the Clinical and Translational Research Pathway. We also accept undergraduate students through both the Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) and Summer Program for Undergraduate Research (SPUR) programs offered through the MCW Graduate School, as well as high school students participating in the Research Opportunity for Academic Development in Science (ROADS) program. In addition, we have numerous other research opportunities for local students from the Milwaukee School of Engineering, UW Milwaukee, or Marquette University.
If you are interested in our program, please contact Joseph Carroll to discuss current research opportunities. Get to know our current students on this page or view our graduates on our alumni page.
Get to Know Our Current Students

Gelique Ayala
Medical Student; Clinician Educator Pathway
I am primarily interested in studying ocular development. Specifically, I am working to identify factors that could explain foveal pit variation within a healthy population.

Heather Heitkotter
Graduate Student
My general focus is neuroscience; I enjoy investigating the underlying mechanisms of behavior and neurological function. I have a particular interest in neurological development and related disorders, which I hope to explore via cellular activities and phenotypic expression.

Tammi Holle
Medical Student; Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Pathway
I have joined Dr. Carroll's lab for the summer through MSSRP, and I will be focusing on reliability and repeatability of cone counts in subjects with retinitis pigmentosa and Usher's syndrome.

Alison Huckenpahler, PhD
Matched at Washington University in St. Louis; Specialty: Psychiatry
Advised by Joseph Carroll, PhD, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Biophysics, and Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy

Rachel Linderman
Graduate Student
My research interests include retinal vasculature imaging and changes with disease.

Abigail Scheidt
Medical Student; Clinical and Translational Research
I am primarily interested in the quantification of melanin using Near-Infrared Autofluorescence techniques.

Jacob Szpernal
Medical Student; Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Pathway
My primary research focus is on human subject safety in ophthalmic research. Currently, I am looking to characterize safety measures that are in place for human subjects among institutions.

Ruth Woehlke
Doctoral Student
My research interests primarily lie in studying and developing new, improved adaptive optics imaging techniques.

Erica N. Woertz, PhD
M3 Student
Advised by Joseph Carroll, PhD, Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences, Biophysics, and Cell Biology, Neurobiology & Anatomy; located at the Eye Institute

Ching Tzu Yu
Graduate Student
My research interest is generally focused on neuroscience and stem cell related research.