The Advanced Methods in Vision Science course provides ITVS students the opportunity to learn about advanced methods utilized in studies of the visual systems from the experts who perform the studies. These methods emerged from different disciplines (molecular biology, imaging, electrophysiology, machine learning), but provide critical details for understanding how the visual systems focuses and processes light stimuli. The course has two components. 1) A series of 90-minute structured discussions of advanced methods via foundational papers and recent applications of these methods. 2) A choice of two hands-on experiences with these methods in the instructor laboratories. We open the discussion section of the course to all students, postdocs, and faculty members (in this order) but cap the class size at 12 participants to facilitate interactions. Hands-on experiences are restricted to ITVS students. For hands-on experiences, each ITVS student chooses two techniques and spends a day in the laboratory of the respective instructor to gain practical experience with the experiments and analysis pipelines and discuss pitfalls and applications of the methods in detail. Through these components, the Advanced Methods in Vision Science course tries to accomplish three goals: 1) enable students to critically assess the literature through an understanding of strengths and limitations of advanced methods, 2) help students plan experiments involving these methods, and 3) facilitate collaborations with experts in the field that could enhance the science of the ITVS students.
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