Summer School: Building and Mining Brain Cell Atlases and Connectomes
Suzhou, China
June 26 – July 11, 2018
Application Deadline: April 20, 2018
Organized by:
Z.Josh Huang, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA
Qingming Luo, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
Giorgio Ascoli, George Mason University, USA
Partha Mitra, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA
An essential step in exploring brain function is to build a structural neuroanatomical framework with single cell resolution into which information spanning molecules, cells, circuits and systems can be registered, integrated and mined. This parallels the development of reference genome based frameworks for molecular data and promises to have a similar scientific impact. Challenges in mesoscale neuroanatomy and connectomics include cell labeling, sub-micron whole brain imaging, spatial registration and reconstruction, big data management and display, and computational analysis. Recent technological advances on multiple fronts are addressing these challenges. This intensive lecture and laboratory course aims to train a new generation of scientists to be equipped with multidisciplinary knowledge and state-of-the-art tools in structural neurobiology. The primary emphasis of the course will be on cell type specific, single-cell resolution brain-wide light microscopy and associated data analysis and circuit reconstruction in vertebrates. Students will learn the principles and practice of 1) genetic viral labeling of cell types and tissue clearing; 2) high throughput, high resolution light microscopy (including serial 2-photon tomography, light sheet microscopy, fluorescence micro-sectioning tomography, laser speckle imaging, etc); 3) image processing, atlas registration, neuron skeletonization and computational analysis using modern machine learning/AI tools 4) data management, interactive visualization and web dissemination ,The course will span multiple taxa including rodent, primates and zebrafish. The course will operate in the newly established Suzhou Institute for Brainsmatics, which is about one hour from Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport and 2 hours from PuDong International Airport.
Applicants should have a strong background in neuroscience or imaging/computation. In their personal statements, applicants should specify: 1) their experience with optical techniques, 2) how they will apply optical methods and mesoscale circuit anatomy in their current projects, 3) their long-term goals in learning more about brain connectomics.
Invited lecturers include (Lecturer, Affiliation, Country/Region）:
Heping Cheng, Peking University, China
Hermann Cuntz, Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Germany
Hongwei Dong, University of Southern California, USA
Michael Economo, Janelia/Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA
Ling Fu,Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
Hui Gong, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
David Kleinfeld, University of California San Diego, USA
Michael Kunst, The Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology, Germany
Anan Li, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
Rui Lin, National Institute of Biological Science, China
Pengcheng Li, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
Tianyi Mao, Vollum Institute/Oregon Health Science University, USA
Pavel Osten, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, USA
Hanchuan Peng, Allen Institute, USA
Angela Roberts, Cambridge University, UK
Peter Strick, University of Pittsburgh, USA
Chris Xu, Cornell University, USA
Hongkui Zeng, Allen Institute for Brain Science, USA
Shaoqun Zeng, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
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REGULAR PRICING (INCLUDING TUITION, BOARD AND LODGING): 1,500 USD
No payment is due until the selection decisions are made but any applicant requiring financial support should request this in writing during the online application.
Payment instructions will be sent out right after the selections are made.