On November 12, 2025, at the Pudong Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, the SANS Vista welcomed its first speaker — Professor Samuel M. Wu from Baylor College of Medicine. A senior expert in retinal electrophysiology, Professor Wu studied at the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University in the 1970s, under the mentorship of John Dowling and Frank Werblin. Since 1982, he has been deeply engaged in retinal physiology research at Baylor College of Medicine, publishing numerous influential papers in the field. He also co-edited the authoritative textbook "Foundations of Cellular Neurophysiology" with Daniel Johnston. Boasting profound academic accumulation, Professor Wu is widely recognized globally and has received prestigious international awards, including the Friedenwald Award — the highest honor from ARVO (Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology).
With the topic "Synaptic Pathways in the Outer and Inner Retina Mediating Visual Function and Dysfunction", Professor Wu systematically elaborated on the functional mechanisms of retinal synaptic pathways. As the core photoelectric conversion tissue for generation of vision, the retinal cellular electrophysiological properties hold the key to decoding visual formation mechanisms. To address critical issues in this field, Professor Wu's team innovatively applied an 8-electrode patch-clamp recording system in retinal research, combined with a multi-electrode array system and reverse correlation method. This breakthrough approach successfully revealed retinal synaptic connectivity, as well as the spatiotemporal characteristics of receptive field of photoreceptor and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Additionally, the team delved into the regulatory role of electrophysiological abnormalities in functional impairment and cell death associated with glaucoma and retinal degenerative diseases.
The event gathered participants from the SANS Institute for Neuroscience and Vision Research, State Key Laboratory of Visual Health, and State Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Brain Diseases (Fudan University), along with faculty, students, and researchers of all grades from Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Attendees engaged in in-depth discussions on cutting-edge advancements in retinal neurophysiology.
Professor Wu's report was lucid, in-depth, and supported by substantial examples, sparking enthusiastic responses from the audience. The attendees conducted in-depth exchanges with Professor Wu on topics such as the formation mechanisms of retinal electrophysiology and technical issues related to electrode recording systems, fostering intense intellectual collisions.
Established by the SANS Institute for Neuroscience and Vision Research (SINVR) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, the SANS Vista is an academic lecture series dedicated to building a high-level academic exchange platform. Focusing on cutting-edge areas including neuroscience, neural disease mechanisms, and visual sensory and physiology, the forum aims to promote interdisciplinary technological innovation, and facilitate breakthroughs in the prevention and treatment of neurological diseases. This SANS lecture session was co-hosted by the SINVR, State Key Laboratory of Visual Health, and State Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Brain Diseases (Fudan University).
