Research

 

 Biological imaging technologies for basic and preclinical research 

Neuritic plaque in Alzheimer's brain tissue imaged with a structure-sensitive ("EMBER") dye exhibits distinct spectral properties for amyloid-beta core and tau-laden axons.

 Microglia and innate immunity in neurodegenerative disease

Plaque-associated microglia (cyan) polarize their processes to the amyloid core (red) and form a a neuroprotective "barrier" that shields adjacent neurons from toxic oligomers (orange).

 Conformational heterogeneity of amyloids and prions in disease

Multiplex staining of tau pathology in human Alzheimer's brain.  A small molecule dye (red) and conformation-specific antibody (cyan) target different species of aggregated tau in the neuronal soma and axons. Cell nuclei (orange) and auto-fluorescent lipofuscin granules (blue) are also imaged as contrasting sub-cellular structures.