Dr Gunter Loffler

Reader in Vision Sciences, Registered Optometrist

ROOM: A011

T: +44 (0)141 331 3386

F: +44 (0)141 331 3387
E: g.loffler@gcu.ac.uk

Profile:

I studied Optometry at the Fachhochschule in Aalen, Germany before completing a PhD in the Department of Vision Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University on visual motion perception in 1999. For this I received the Glaxo-Wellcome award for the best PhD thesis in the Neurosciences. This was followed by a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Chicago, USA, and subsequently at York University, Toronto, Canada, working with Hugh Wilson on psychophysical and brain imaging investigations of shape and face perception. I returned to Glasgow in 2001 to take up a lectureship in Vision Sciences and was promoted to Reader in 2005. For a number of years, I was the programme organiser of GCU’s postgraduate Ocular Therapeutics course for optometrists training towards Independent Prescribing. Recently, I have taken over the lead for the undergraduate Optometry programme.

Some of my research has been presented in the Glasgow Herald as well as the BBC, for which I have also acted as scientific advisor.

I am a registered Optometrist and qualified to practice in Germany and the UK.

Research Interests:

My research focuses on the visual perception of shape, motion, and faces using various, complementary approaches, including psychophysics, brain imaging techniques (fMRI) and computational modelling. More recently, this has involved investigating visual functioning in a number of clinical populations including those suffering from migraine, children born preterm as well as children with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), the commonest form of childhood visual impairment in the developed world.

I have been involved in a number of national (Dr William Simpson, University of Plymouth) and international research collaborations (Profs Hugh Wilson and Fran Wilkinson, York University, Canada; Prof Michael Bach, University of Freiburg, Germany; Prof David Badcock, University of Western Australia).

I am part of GCU’s Visual Neuroscience research group.

Teaching Interests:

I have extensive experience in teaching across many programmes and modules at different levels.

My current teaching responsibilities include Optometric Refraction and Advanced Diagnostic Techniques for the undergraduate Optometry programme as well as supervising students in the University’s Eye-clinic. For a number of years, I have taught on, and was the programme organiser of, GCU’s postgraduate Ocular Therapeutics course for optometrists training towards Independent Prescribing. Recently, I have taken over the lead for the undergraduate Optometry programme.

Recent Publications:

• Schmidtmann, G., Kennedy, G., Orbach, H.S., Loffler, G. (2012), Non-linear global pooling in the discrimination of circular and non-circular shapes. Vision Research
• McCulloch, D.M., Loffler, G., Colquhoun, K., Bruce, N., Dutton, G.N., Bach, M. (2011), The effects of visual degradation on face discrimination, Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, 31, 3, 240-248.
• Wagner, D., Manahilov, V., Loffler, G., Gordon, G.E. & Dutton, G.N. (2010), Visual noise selectively degrades vision in migraine. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science , 51, 2294-2299.
• Day, M. & Loffler, G. (2009), The role of orientation and position in shape perception. Journal of Vision 9/10/14, 1-17.
• Bell, J., Wilkinson, F., Wilson, H.R., Loffler, G., Badcock, D.R. (2009) Radial Frequency adaptation reveals interacting contour shape channels Vision Research 49/18, 2306-2317.

Recent Funding:

• EPSRC: “The Perception of Shapes in Motion” (2004-2007) £ 126,000

Collaborations:

• Dr William Simpson, University of Plymouth
• Prof Hugh Wilson, York University, Canada
• Prof Fran Wilkinson, York University, Canada
• Prof Michael Bach, University of Freiburg, Germany
• Prof David Badcock, University of Western Australia

GCU Research Collaborators:

• Graeme Kennedy
• Mhairi Day
• Gael Gordon
• Harry Orbach
• Velitchko Manahilov
• Daphne McCulloch
• Prof Gordon Dutton

Research Alumni:

• Previous post-doctoral students:
  • Dr Sven Mucke, Research Assistant at Rihad University, Saudi Arabia
  • Dr Mhairi Day, PhD. Senior lecturer at GCU
  • Dr Ross Goutcher, PhD. Lecturer at Stirling University

• Previous PhD students:
  • Graeme Kennedy, Lecturer at GCU
  • Camilla Magnussen
  • Christian Kempgens, Lecturer at Institute fuer Augenoptik, Ploen, Germany

Memberships:

• Member of The Physiological Society
• Member of the British Neuroscience Association

External Ph.D Examiner:

• University of Western Australia, 2008
• University of Western Australia, 2012