New Neuro-Imaging Technique Developed at Rockefeller University

A team of neuroscientists at Rockefeller University in New York have developed a new method of imaging the brain and other large biological samples, called iDISCO, that allows researchers to see molecular complexities within these samples in 3-D.  

Although there are already well-known methods to explore the intricacies of these large biological samples, this new iDISCO method combines several aspects from previously existing methods to provide a faster, inexpensive, and more reliable way for scientists to see what is happening in molecular structures deep inside biological systems like the brain and kidneys. The iDISCO method could eventually be used to help further the study of basic biological systems and functions. (Image on right courtesy of Wikimedia)

“What we did was optimize many different parameters of several existing techniques to create this powerful new labeling method,” said project researcher Marc Tessier-Lavigne, head of the Laboratory of Brain Development and Repair. “These optimization efforts paid off in spades, dramatically extending our ability to visualize molecular structures deep in intact complex tissues like the brain. Although developed in our laboratory to help us pursue neuroscience questions, we believe this new method will provide biological researchers in many disciplines with an important new tool for advancing their work.”

The research team focused on using deep tissue immunolabeling in combination with tissue clearing and light sheet microscopy to study neurodevelopment and degeneration in mice.

Zhuhao Wu, a post-doctoral associate who worked on this project explained that “the fact that we can now visualize neural circuit formation in larger embryos allows us to study the developing nervous system when it is more well formed. This opens entire new avenues to our research.”

Rockefeller University is a leading research institution in the United States that performs cutting-edge research in the life sciences. The 75 research labs on campus perform clinical and basic research projects to further understanding of the life sciences. Researchers and their labs at Rockefeller receive millions of dollars annually to support this work: 

• In the 2014 fiscal year, Rockefeller received over $64 million in funding from the NIH. 
• Rockefeller University is in the planning stages of constructing a new $240 million, two-story, 160,000 square foot research building.
• The Robertson Foundation gifted $25 million to aid in new techniques for drug discovery at Rockefeller University.
• Rockefeller University received a $2.4 million grant from the NIH that will be used for a study involving integrating innate and adaptive pathways in vaccine response.
• Rockefeller scientists were awarded a $2.1 million 5-year NIH grant to establish a new research program to profile B and T cell populations.

 Rockefeller University in NYC receives millions of dollars in life science funding each year. (Image courtesy of Wikimedia)

Interested in marketing lab products and supplies to active life science researchers in New York? Consider exhibiting at the 18th Semiannual BioResearch Product Faire™ Event happening at Rockefeller University on March 26, 2015. This event brings together life science supply providers with researchers, grad students, lab managers, and other lab staff interested in finding new equipment and technologies to use in their lab.

If you are a science supply company or a researcher interested in learning more about either exhibiting at or attending the upcoming March event at Rockefeller University, visit the link below: