I am generally interested in understanding how depth perception varies within and across hunting spider families–particularly how differences in morphology, ecological niches, and behaviors may have resulted in the emergence of different depth perception mechanisms.

To investigate these differences, I conducted micro-ophthalmoscopy on various taxa, enabling me to measure acuities, field of views, and focusing distances. I was able to integrate these empirical measurements into computational models that I developed to simulate depth cue processing based on the visual constraints at hand. This allowed me to test whether distinct families rely on different mechanisms—such as stereopsis, depth from focus, depth from defocus—how those mechanisms scale across viewing distances, and if these scaling relationships align with the behaviorally active distances of each family.

Jumping spiders in particular have been a focal part of my dissertation due to their complex principal eyes. Their principal eyes not only possess a unique depth from defocus mechanism, but they also possess retinal musculature that allow the animal to direct their gaze by pulling on their non-rigid eye-tube. While these retinal movements have been studied to understand attentional processes, I was particularly interested in understanding whether these retinal muscles could construe the dimensions of the eye-tube, and play a role in depth perception.

To this end, I spearheaded a novel live x-ray imaging project at Argonne Labs to examine if retinal movements may result in focal shifts akin to accommodation. Through a series of complex image processing pipelines, ML automation attempts, and supplemental optical measurements to understand how lenses focus at oblique angles, this approach revealed dynamic variations in focusing that had previously been hypothesized but never directly measured. Our findings from this study set forth improvements on the existing depth from defocus theory and open up new perspectives on how flexible internal optics (akin to soft-robotics) may be utilized for spatial perception technologies.

Through my research, I have aimed to provide a comprehensive and biologically grounded account of depth perception in hunting spiders, whose eyes represent a remarkable middle ground between compound and camera-type designs. Their tiny yet sophisticated visual systems offer exciting avenues for understanding alternative forms of visual processing in eyes, as well as possible applications in machine vision and soft robotics.

Next Steps

Starting Fall/Summer 2026, I am eager to apply my expertise in experimental design, perceptual modeling, data analysis, and bio-inspired vision systems to new domains—whether in technology development, data science or in postdoctoral research that values interdisciplinary thinking.

My interest in sensory ecology bloomed through a series of projects that I tackled during my undergraduate degree through the guidance of Dr. Steven Adolph. As a young scientist, I got to collect samples from field sites, perform eye dissections and retinal whole-mounts, and create energetic models of foraging behavior. This work culminated in my undergraduate thesis on the Sceloporus occidentalis (Western fence lizard), “Modelling Optimal Perch Height in Arboreal Lizards.”

In addition to my sensory ecology work, I also had the privilege of working in the field of Alzheimer’s Disease while I was a part of the Jagust Lab at UC Berkeley. During my time there, I developed extensive pipelines to process and interpret PET and MRI scans from one of the largest Alzheimer’s Disease studies in the US, the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Working with a brilliant set of scientists, I was able to make contributions towards better understanding this enigmatic disease. The pipelines and datasets that I worked on are still actively being used to this day.

Yoon, B., Guo, T., Provost, K., Korman, D., Ward, T.J., Landau, S.M., and Jagust, W.J. 2022. Abnormal tau in amyloid PET negative individuals. Neurobiology of Aging, 109, 125-134.

Guo, T., Korman, D., Shaw, L.M., Trojanowski, J.Q., Jagust, W.J., Landau, S.M. and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. 2020. CSF p‐Tau/AΒ₄₀ ratio adjusts for the variance of CSF production and predicts brain tau accumulation in Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 16:e038679. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.038679

Guo, T., Korman, D., Baker, S.L., Landau, S.M., and Jagust, W.J. 2020. Longitudinal cognitive and biomarker measurements support a unidirectional pathway in Alzheimer’s disease pathophysiology. Biological Psychiatry, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.06.029.

Guo, T., Korman, D., La Joie, R., Shaw, L.M., Trojanowski, J.Q., Jagust, W.J., Landau, S.M. and the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. 2020. Normalization of CSF pTau measurement by Aβ₄₀ improves its performance as a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy, 12:97. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13195-020-00665-8

Yoon, B., Baker, S.L., Korman, D., Tennant, V.R., Harrison, T.M., Landau, S., Jagust, W.J. 2020. Conscientiousness is associated with less amyloid deposition in cognitively normal aging. Psychology and Aging. 35(7):993-999. https://content.apa.org/doi/10.1037/pag0000582, PMID: 33166168.

Sonni, I., Lesman Segev, O.H., Baker, S.L., Iaccarino, L., Korman, D., Rabinovici, G.D., Jagust, W.J., Landau, S.M., La Joie, R. 2020. Evaluation of a visual interpretation method for tau‐PET with ¹⁸F‐flortaucipir. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 12:e12133. https://doi.org/10.1002/dad2.12133