Senior Scientist Lindsay Rizzardi, PhD, is using the chromium controller in single-cell analysis to study neurodegenerative diseases.
cells in culture, including cell culture hoods, incubators, centrifuges, and microscopes. This facility is important to the Institute’s research projects and serves as an ad- vanced training space for graduate students and others seeking to learn hands-on skills for STEM-based careers. One research area that will rely heavily on the new space is the Memory and Mobility (M&M) Program led by Drs. Nick Cochran and Rick Myers . Their labs study several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, ALS, and rare conditions such as frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and corticobasal syndrome (CBS). The research teams use cell culture to study the genetic causes of neurodegenerative diseases, develop sophisticated blood-based biomarkers for early detection and disease monitoring, and discover new therapeutic approaches for these devastating diseases. CHROMIUM CONTROLLER The neurodegenerative disease research programs at HudsonAlpha also use a new technology called single-cell analysis to unravel the genetic underpinnings of neurode- generation on a cell-by-cell basis. The pathology of
neurodegenerative diseases involves the progressive loss of specific populations of neurons, microglia, or other brain cells. Being able to query cells on a cell-type-specific basis is paramount to uncovering more precise information on the genetic differences in diseased brains. In March 2022, with the help of private funding, the program purchased a piece of equipment that drastically reduces the time it takes to run single-cell experiments. The tool, called a high-throughput chromium controller, uses advanced microfluidics to separate single cells and barcode them for downstream analysis in a matter of minutes. By partitioning hundreds to tens of thousands of cells in just minutes, the chromium controller saves researchers countless hours per experiment. Using single-cell analysis, HudsonAlpha research- ers can ask endless questions about the cause and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. For example, combining single-cell analysis with CRISPR/ Cas9 gene editing allows researchers to target specific regions of the genome one at a time to determine if they control gene expression changes involved in neurodegenerative diseases. cont. on p. 16
RESEARCH REPORT
15
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker