Donald C. Hood

James F. Bender Professor of Psychology and Professor of Ophthalmic Sciences (in Ophthalmology). Hood explores fundamental biological bases of visual sensory and perceptual processes in healthy humans and in ophthalmological patients with diseases of the eye and optic nerve. Most of his publications present research on basic and clinical visual neuroscience. Much of his research uses nanovolt-range signals from the eye and brain, as well as anatomical measures of the retina, to test quantitative models of normal and abnormal vision. Additionally, with ophthalmologists, he tests methods for early detection of diseases such as glaucoma. Beyond his powerful research, he contributed in administrative roles: as Vice President for the Arts and Sciences at Columbia University (1982-1987); member of the board of trustees of Smith College, Brown University, the H.F. Guggenheim Foundation, and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.