Rachel Wong
Neurobiologist Rachel Wong is Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological Structure at the University of Washington in Seattle. Much of her work is on the developmental mechanisms underlying the proper assembly of neuronal circuits. Her work underscores the interplay between activity-dependent and activity-independent cues in shaping circuit patterns of the visual system, particularly those of the vertebrate retina.
Wong's laboratory utilizes several model systems, including mice, zebrafish and non-human primate, as well as studies the development of the human retina. Using a combination of molecular genetics, light microscopy, live-cell imaging techniques, serial electron microscopy and electrophysiology, the Wong laboratory has discovered novel cellular strategies and signaling mechanisms that pattern the input and output arbors of neurons, and guide synaptic targeting of preferred circuit partners.
Wong was graduated with a B.SC. (Hons) degree in Physics from Monash University, and a Ph.D. in Visual Neuroscience from the Australian National University. She obtained postgraduate training at the National Vision Research Institute (Australia), Stanford University and the Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Center (Australia), before joining the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis in 1994. Wong was a Paul Allen Distinguished Investigator, and is a Fellow of the National Vision Research Institute, a recipient of the ARVO Friedenwald award and the B.B. Boycott Prize.