Mapping myelination patterns across the lifespan

Glial cells called oligodendrocytes add insulating lipid-rich myelin sheaths to axons of neurons, which facilitates transmission of information across brain circuits. The focus of this project is image and map myelination changes by processing and imaging brain tissue from transgenic mice in which glial cells express a florescent protein that embeds in the myelin sheaths. Students will work on image acquisition using a spinning-disk confocal microscope of coronal brain slices, analyze images using NIS Elements software, and process data for visualization and analyses using R programing language and Microsoft Excel. 

Name of research group, project, or lab
The Richardson Laboratory
Why participate in this opportunity?

This opportunity allows for the development of microscopy and image analysis skills.

Logistics Information:
Subject Category
Molecular Biology
Neuroscience
Student ranks applicable
Freshman
Sophomore
Junior
Student qualifications
  • General laboratory safety and handling of equipment
  • Microscopy
  • Data organization and generation of figures
  • Academic knowledge in neuroscience, molecular biology, biochemistry
Time commitment
8-10 h/wk
Position Types and Compensation
Research - Ind. Study Credit
Number of openings
2
Techniques learned
  • Immunohistochemical labeling of mouse brain tissue
  • Spinning Disk confocal imaging
  • Image analyses using NIS Elements
  • Data organization and visualization in Microsoft Excel and R
  • Statistical analyses
Project start
Fall 2024
Contact Information:
Mentors
afloresbonil@umass.edu
Graduate Student
heatherr@umass.edu
Principal Investigator
Name of project director or principal investigator
Heather N. Richardson
Email address of project director or principal investigator
hrichardson@cns.umass.edu
2 sp. | 35 appl.
Hours
8-10 h/wk
Project categories
Molecular Biology (+1)
Molecular BiologyNeuroscience