Whole brain mouse light sheet brain imaging service

The imaging service will be used to analyze changes in whole brain activity from genetically modified mouse lines maintained by the Section on Neural Circuits at the NIAAA, NIH. Accurate imaging of brain activity is essential it forms the foundation for all downstream experimental analyses. Without this information, we cannot proceed with our experiments, as the validity of our data depends on the ability to quantify phenotypic differences based on genotype.

Rapid turnaround is also critical, as some experiments are age-sensitive and require genotyping results within 1 month of sample receipt. The brain tissue samples to be processed by clearing and light sheet imaging will be collected by the Lead Project Manager (LPM), and trainees in the Section on Neural Circuits at the NIAAA.

Whole brains are shipped to the company in tubes. The company processes the samples by clearing the tissue and performing light-sheet imaging. The brain is segmented into over 820 regions, and CVF files containing both raw counts and counts per area are provided. Results must be delivered within one month of sample arrival. Data are shipped to us on an NIH-supplied hard drive, and both the results and brain samples are retained by the company for at least one year to allow for any necessary retesting.

The following tasks are required to fulfill this requirement:

Receive and log incoming brain samples.

Perform tissue clearing and prepare samples for imaging.

Conduct whole-brain light-sheet imaging.

Segment the brain into defined anatomical regions (>820 areas).

Generate CVF files with raw and normalized cell counts.

Transfer data to an NIH-provided hard drive and ship to the research team.

Maintain archived data and physical samples for a minimum of one year.