What do visual prosthesis users see, and why? Clinical studies have shown that the vision provided by current devices differs substantially from normal sight.
Eirini Schoinas
(she/her)
Research Assistant
College of Creative Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara
Eirini Schoinas is an undergraduate researcher in Computing at UC Santa Barbara’s College of Creative Studies. She develops computational methods for neural interfaces, with a particular interest in the software and algorithms that translate neural stimulation into useful function.
Her research combines computational neuroscience, machine learning, and neuroengineering. In the Bionic Vision Lab, she has developed models of how electrical stimulation produces neural activity and visual percepts, with recent work focused on predicting phosphene patterns produced by stimulation of the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). More broadly, she is interested in algorithmic approaches to brain-computer interfaces and other neurotechnologies that connect artificial systems with the nervous system.
Eirini is a 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholar and received an Honorable Mention for the Computing Research Association’s Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award, as well as a UCSB College of Creative Studies Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. She has presented her research at the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Conference.
Outside of the lab, Eirini enjoys reading, hiking, and making art.
Honors & Awards
- Barry Goldwater Scholarship (2026)
- Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), CCS, UCSB (2026)
- Honorable Mention, Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award, Computing Research Association (CRA) (2025–2026)
Education
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BS in Computing, 2027 (expected)
University of California, Santa Barbara
Project Lead
Publications
Evaluating deep human-in-the-loop optimization for retinal implants using sighted participants
We evaluate HILO using sighted participants viewing simulated prosthetic vision to assess its ability to optimize stimulation strategies under realistic conditions.
Eirini Schoinas, rastogi_adyah, Anissa Carter, Jacob Granley, Michael Beyeler IEEE EMBC ‘25