Abstract
A grand goal in neuroscience research is to understand how the interplay of structural, chemical and electrical signals in and between cells of nervous tissue gives rise to behavior. Neuroscientists are rapidly approaching this horizon, making use of increasingly powerful arsenal of tools and technologies for obtaining data, from the level of molecules to nervous systems, and engage in the arduous and challenging process of adapting and assembling neuroscience data at all scales of resolution and across disciplines into computerized databases. This talk will highlight projects where development and application of new contrasting methods and imaging tools have allowed us to see otherwise hidden relationships between cellular, subcellular and molecular constituents of nervous systems. New chemistries for carrying out correlated light and electron microscopy will be described, as well as recent advances in large-scale high-resolution 3D reconstruction with TEM and SEM based methods. The Whole Brain Catalog (WBC), a Google Earth-like open-source virtual model of the mouse brain, will also be described. The WBC is as an example of an open access bioinformatics framework and web-based tool whose purpose is partly to facilitate integration of 3D image data from multiple microscopy methods and to enable the linking of information derived from other analytical approaches to imaging data.
About the speaker
Prof Mark Ellisman received his PhD in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1976 . He began his tenure as a Professor of Neurosciences and Bioengineering at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) in 1977. He is currently Professor of Neurosciences and Bioengineering at the UCSD and Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR).
Prof Ellisman is an expert in the development and application of advanced microscopy methods, network and information technologies to advance the biological sciences. His research furthers investigations in the basic molecular and cellular mechanisms of the nervous system and has motivated the invention of new technologies in microscopy and computational biology. He is a pioneer in the development of three-dimensional, light and electron microscopy and the application of advanced imaging technologies and high performance computational resources to achieve greater understanding of cellular structure and function, particularly applied to the brain.
Prof Ellisman has served in numerous positions of professional leadership, including founding Director of NCMIR since 1988, founding director of the UCSD Center for Research in Biological Systems since 1996, founding Director of the NIH Biomedical Informatics Research Network (BIRN), as well as others. In addition to being a Founding Fellow of the American Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Prof Ellisman has received numerous professional awards including a Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award from NIH and the Creativity Award from the US National Science Foundation. He has been appointed scientific advisor to many national and international organizations and serves on the Editorial Boards numerous journals.
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