The UC Davis team will contribute to the project’s overall goal by developing color-changing sensors. Those sensors allow researchers to analyze and study multiple images simultaneously. Viewing multiple images simultaneously allows the team to understand interactions between astrocytes and cells such as neurons, oligodendrocytes and microglia.
The U team is working closely with Misha Ahrens of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Genelia Research Campus. A leading expert in brain imaging, Ahren is known for conducting brain and behavioral studies using zebrafish as a model organism. Ahrens provided the team with valuable information about astrocytes and their role in decision making.
According to Yu, subcontracting and research contributions from other universities are extremely important to the overall success of the project.
“We are working in an interdisciplinary field. By collaborating with researchers from other peer institutions, we can achieve things that none of us could achieve alone,” Yu said. “New ideas can often be inspired by interaction.” Most importantly, a more complete picture can be seen as different angles can be examined collaboratively.
Yu “Joseph” Wang, Grant A. Dove Professor in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering and co-investigator of the project, is responsible for applying systems theory to understanding astrocyte calcium signaling.
Wang, who has previously been involved in molecular analysis of Parkinson’s disease and other brain disorders, is hopeful that this work will have an impact on the nearly 1 billion people with the neurodegenerative disease worldwide.
“Findings from this project will provide new insights into the active functional roles of astrocytes in neural circuitry and behavior, which will be useful for improved understanding and intervention,” Wang said.
The NIH Research Project Grant Program (R01) is the first and oldest grant ever used by the organization to fund the project. It carries out the NIH mission and directs the investigator to complete the project based on their interests and qualifications. That mission is “the pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to improve health, extend life, and reduce illness and disability.”
