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Jesse B. Schallek, Ph.D.

Jesse B. Schallek, Ph.D.

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About Me

Dr. Jesse Schallek is assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Flaum Eye Institute at the University of Rochester, NY. He also holds joint appointments in the department of Neuroscience and is a member of the Center for Visual Science. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering from Syra...
Dr. Jesse Schallek is assistant professor of ophthalmology at the Flaum Eye Institute at the University of Rochester, NY. He also holds joint appointments in the department of Neuroscience and is a member of the Center for Visual Science. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering from Syracuse University and a PhD in Neuroscience from SUNY Upstate Medical University in 2010. His postdoctoral research focused on developing adaptive optics technology at the University of Rochester training with David Williams, PhD. Dr. Schallek’s laboratory develops and deploys new imaging technologies to study single cell blood flow in the living retinae of humans and animal models. By combining high resolution adaptive optics imaging with high frame rate camera capture, a central focus is to better resolve and thus better image mechanisms of blood flow dysfunction noninvasively through the eye. This provides direct benefit to diagnosis and treatment retinal diseases; and may also in the near future, provide insight to whole body systemic health through the optics of the eye.
In the early stages of his career, Dr. Schallek has been honored with several awards including: The Dana Foundation- David Mahoney Neuroimaging Award, the Research to Prevent Blindness Career Development Award as well as training awards from the Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) and recognition as an Edmund Optics Higher Education Grant Program Finalist.
Dr. Schallek holds several patents and provisional filings on his adaptive optics technology and has received spotlight and editors picks designation on his recent papers focused on blood flow determination in the retina. He is grateful for funding by five national competitive research grants to support his research.

Faculty Appointments

Associate Professor - Department of Ophthalmology (SMD)

Associate Professor - Center for Visual Science A&S (RC) - Joint

Associate Professor - Department of Neuroscience (SMD) - Joint

Credentials

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

Adaptive Optics Imaging in the Living Eye-
Advisor: David Williams 2010 - 2015

Education

PhD | SUNY Upstate Medical University. Neuroscience. 2010

BS | Syracuse University. Bioengineering. 2003

Awards

Career Advancement Award. 2022 - 2024

David Mahoney Neuroimaging Award. 2017 - 2019

Career Development Award. 2016 - 2020

Research to Prevent Blindness Career Development Award. 2016 - 2020

Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award. 2013 - 2015

Edmund Optics Higher Education Grant Program Finalist. 2013

Schmitt Program on Integrative Brain Research Postdoctoral. 2012 - 2012

ARVO Member in Training (MIT) Outstanding Poster Award. 2012 - 2012

Retina Research Foundation/J.M. and E.C. Lawrence Travel Award. 2012 - 2012

Mabel E. Lewis Summer Research Fellow. 2002 - 2002

Research

Our lab investigates blood flow in the living eye by using a specialized camera called an Adaptive Optics Scanning Light Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) to correct for small imperfections of the optics of the eye. Once corrected, we can image the microscopic integrity of the smallest vessels that are ten-tim...
Our lab investigates blood flow in the living eye by using a specialized camera called an Adaptive Optics Scanning Light Ophthalmoscope (AOSLO) to correct for small imperfections of the optics of the eye. Once corrected, we can image the microscopic integrity of the smallest vessels that are ten-times thinner than a human hair. Additionally, capturing videos of this tissue enables study of the movement of single blood cells flowing within this network. We are developing and applying this cutting-edge technology to study blood flow in the retina in conditions of health and disease.

These advances are critical for studying neural cells that line the back of our eyes are sensitive to light and initiate our ability to see. These cells are among the most metabolically active tissues in the human body and are nourished by a dense network of capillaries that circulate blood to deliver nutrients and remove waste products from these hard-working cells. We use and develop adaptive optics eye cameras to study the dysfunction of this neural-vascular system associates with a variety of retinal diseases and collectively gives rise to the leading cause of blindness in the developed world.

Publications

Journal Articles

In Vivo Visualization of Intravascular Patrolling Immune Cells in the Primate Eye.

Ashbery D, Baez HC, Kanarr RE, Kunala K, Power D, Chu CJ, Schallek J, McGregor JE

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.. 2024 September 365 (11):23. Epub 1900 01 01.

Photoreceptor loss does not recruit neutrophils despite strong microglial activation.

Power D, Elstrott J, Schallek J

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology.. 2024 May 30 Epub 05/30/2024.

Poster Session: After up to a year of hyperglycemia Ins2Akita mice show minimal capillary change.

Shang F, Schallek J

Journal of vision.. 2023 September 123 (11):68. Epub 1900 01 01.

Poster Session: Deep retinal laser lesions recruit resident microglia without involvement of labeled neutrophils.

Power D, Schallek J

Journal of vision.. 2023 September 123 (11):65. Epub 1900 01 01.

Contributed Session II: Immune cell speed changes over 5 orders of magnitude in response to inflammation in the retina.

Dholakia K, Huh JW, Schallek J

Journal of vision.. 2023 September 123 (11):23. Epub 1900 01 01.

Contributed Session II: In vivo imaging of immune cell activity in primate retina after photoreceptor ablation.

Ashbery D, Baez H, Kunala K, Power D, Schallek J, McGregor J

Journal of vision.. 2023 September 123 (11):22. Epub 1900 01 01.

High-resolution structural and functional retinal imaging in the awake behaving mouse.

Feng G, Joseph A, Dholakia K, Shang F, Pfeifer CW, Power D, Padmanabhan K, Schallek J

Communications biology.. 2023 May 296 (1):572. Epub 05/29/2023.

In Vivo Capillary Structure and Blood Cell Flux in the Normal and Diabetic Mouse Eye.

Dholakia KY, Guevara-Torres A, Feng G, Power D, Schallek J

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.. 2022 February 163 (2):18. Epub 1900 01 01.

Imaging the dynamics of individual processes of microglia in the living retina .

Joseph A, Power D, Schallek J

Biomedical optics express.. 2021 October 112 (10):6157-6183. Epub 09/10/2021.

Label-free imaging of immune cell dynamics in the living retina using adaptive optics.

Joseph A, Chu CJ, Feng G, Dholakia K, Schallek J

eLife.. 2020 October 149 Epub 10/14/2020.

Origin of cell contrast in offset aperture adaptive optics ophthalmoscopy.

Schallek JB, Williams DR, Guevara-Torres A

Optics letters.. 2020 February 1545 (4):840-843. Epub 1900 01 01.

imaging of corneal nerves and cellular structures in mice with Gabor-domain optical coherence microscopy.

Canavesi C, Cogliati A, Mietus A, Qi Y, Schallek J, Rolland JP, Hindman HB

Biomedical optics express.. 2020 February 111 (2):711-724. Epub 01/10/2020.

Measures of Retinal Structure and Function as Biomarkers in Neurology and Psychiatry

Silverstein, S.; Demmin, D.; Schallek, J.; Fradkin, S.

2020; .

Label-free imaging of immune cell dynamics in the living retina using adaptive optics

Joseph, A.; Chu, C.; Feng, G.; Dholakia, K; Schallek, J.

eLIFE. 2020; .

Imaging Retinal Activity in the Living Eye.

Hunter JJ, Merigan WH, Schallek JB

Annual review of vision science.. 2019 September 155 :15-45. Epub 1900 01 01.

Retinal ischemia induces ?-SMA-mediated capillary pericyte contraction coincident with perivascular glycogen depletion.

Alarcon-Martinez L, Yilmaz-Ozcan S, Yemisci M, Schallek J, K?l?ç K, Villafranca-Baughman D, Can A, Di Polo A, Dalkara T

Acta neuropathologica communications.. 2019 August 207 (1):134. Epub 08/20/2019.

Imaging single-cell blood flow in the smallest to largest vessels in the living retina.

Joseph A, Guevara-Torres A, Schallek J

eLife.. 2019 May 148 Epub 05/14/2019.

Capillary pericytes express ?-smooth muscle actin, which requires prevention of filamentous-actin depolymerization for detection.

Alarcon-Martinez L, Yilmaz-Ozcan S, Yemisci M, Schallek J, K?l?ç K, Can A, Di Polo A, Dalkara T

eLife.. 2018 March 217 Epub 03/21/2018.

Vision science and adaptive optics, the state of the field.

Marcos S, Werner JS, Burns SA, Merigan WH, Artal P, Atchison DA, Hampson KM, Legras R, Lundstrom L, Yoon G, Carroll J, Choi SS, Doble N, Dubis AM, Dubra A, Elsner A, Jonnal R, Miller DT, Paques M, Smithson HE, Young LK, Zhang Y, Campbell M, Hunter J, Metha A, Palczewska G, Schallek J, Sincich LC

Vision research.. 2017 March 132 :3-33. Epub 02/27/2017.

Label free measurement of retinal blood cell flux, velocity, hematocrit and capillary width in the living mouse eye.

Guevara-Torres A, Joseph A, Schallek JB

Biomedical optics express.. 2016 October 17 (10):4228-4249. Epub 09/23/2016.

Imaging translucent cell bodies in the living mouse retina without contrast agents.

Guevara-Torres A, Williams DR, Schallek JB

Biomedical optics express.. 2015 June 16 (6):2106-19. Epub 05/18/2015.

Morphology and topography of retinal pericytes in the living mouse retina using in vivo adaptive optics imaging and ex vivo characterization.

Schallek JB, Geng Y, Nguyen H, Williams DR

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.. 2013 December 1954 (13):8237-50. Epub 12/19/2013.

Retinal intrinsic optical signals in a cat model of primary congenital glaucoma.

Schallek JB, McLellan GJ, Viswanathan S, Ts'o DY

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.. 2012 April 1853 (4):1971-81. Epub 04/18/2012.

Blood contrast agents enhance intrinsic signals in the retina: evidence for an underlying blood volume component.

Schallek J, Ts'o D

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.. 2011 March 52 (3):1325-35. Epub 03/10/2011.

Stimulus-evoked intrinsic optical signals in the retina: pharmacologic dissection reveals outer retinal origins.

Schallek J, Kardon R, Kwon Y, Abramoff M, Soliz P, Ts'o D

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.. 2009 October 50 (10):4873-80. Epub 05/06/2009.

Stimulus-evoked intrinsic optical signals in the retina: spatial and temporal characteristics.

Schallek J, Li H, Kardon R, Kwon Y, Abramoff M, Soliz P, Ts'o D

Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.. 2009 October 50 (10):4865-72. Epub 05/06/2009.

Noninvasive functional imaging of the retina reveals outer retinal and hemodynamic intrinsic optical signal origins.

Ts'o D, Schallek J, Kwon Y, Kardon R, Abramoff M, Soliz P

Japanese journal of ophthalmology.. 2009 July 53 (4):334-44. Epub 09/08/2009.