UC Merced Connect: Scientist to take next step in brain research

Neurobiologists have identified different types of neurons in the brain but have struggled to put that knowledge into a useful context because they don’t yet fully understand what makes one neuron behave differently from another.

A new research project by UC Merced professor Mike Cleary has the potential to begin unlocking those mysteries.

All the neurons in the human brain have the same genes, Cleary said, but different genes are turned on or off in different neurons. Turning a gene on results in the production of a messenger RNA (mRNA) copy of that gene.

Identifying the mRNAs expressed in specific types of neurons can help scientists understand the unique properties of each neuron, such as how it connects with other neurons and how it changes during processes like memory formation.

But doing so poses a challenge.

“One option is to dissect neurons out of the brain and then identify their mRNAs, but removing neurons from their normal environment can cause changes in gene expression,” said Cleary, who is with the School of Natural Sciences.

To accomplish this, Cleary and his team are developing a new technique in which specific neurons make mRNAs that are tagged by a small chemical modification. Those modified mRNAs can then be isolated at defined points in development or during a complex behavior. This information can be used to make mRNA maps of the brain, thus revealing the diversity of gene expression among brain neurons.

Cleary’s team will conduct its experiments using the fruit fly, which has a brain with many genes similar to those in humans but on a much simpler scale. The Cleary lab is joining forces with UC Merced professor Fred Wolf, an expert on the neurobiology of fly behavior and a co-investigator on the Cal-BRAIN grant.

Cleary’s project is one of just 16 to be selected from 126 proposals for the inaugural round of funding from Cal-BRAIN (the California Blueprint for Research to Advance Innovations in Neuroscience), a new research grants program aiming to revolutionize our understanding of the brain.

The projects, each of which will receive a $120,000 seed grant, represent efforts around the state to create new technologies capable of measuring brain activity in greater depth, breadth and detail than is currently possible.

Researchers earn competitive funding

UC Merced researchers won four out of 11 seed grants given out by the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society for the year.

CITRIS received 24 competitive proposals from its four campuses: UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Merced and UC Santa Cruz. The selected proposals receive an average of $55,000 each, for a total of $600,000 in interdisciplinary research funds. CITRIS awards seed grants to spur multicampus, multidisciplinary collaborations among the four CITRIS campuses.

Professor Teenie Matlock, with the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, won two of the four UC Merced grants. She’ll work with UC Santa Cruz professor Roberto Manduchi on a project that will seek to inform the design and use of apps to assist the blind or visually impaired with indoor navigation. And she’ll work with professor Michael Ranney of UC Berkeley on a project to help people evaluate the trustworthiness of climate change information in online media using new developments in Web annotation.

Professor Stefano Carpin, with the School of Engineering, is working with UC Davis professor David Smart to develop a transformative measurement and analytical tool to empower crop managers with the data needed to make critical decisions about water conservation and resources administration.

Professor Miriam Barlow, with the School of Natural Sciences, is working with UC Santa Cruz professors Todd Lowe and Manel Camps to build a real-time, searchable database of certain drug-resistant genomic sequences that includes corresponding clinical data. The database could become an essential resource for clinical care and epidemiological surveillance.

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 11:46 AM with the headline "UC Merced Connect: Scientist to take next step in brain research."