Weissman-Unni awarded Murdock Life Sciences grant
March 21, 2012
The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust has awarded Lewis & Clark $54,482 in support of Assistant Professor of Biology Tamily Weissman-Unni’s research project that will map neuronal circuitry in the cerebellum using multicolor fluorescent “Brainbow” zebra fish.
The brainbow technique labels cells in different colors so that components of entire circuits in the brain can be seen. This grant will help Weissman-Unni and her undergraduate students use the technique in the cerebellum of living zebra fish, which will enable them to test two fundamental hypotheses about the development and function of a complex neural circuit.
Zebra fish, a well-established genetic system, are an ideal model organism to use for imaging studies of neural development. Research findings may have additional implications for the study of brain function, which could ultimately provide important insights into causes and possible treatments of several debilitating diseases.