Heena Divecha

Excited to share our newest project using spatial transcriptomics with novel image analysis approaches to investigate the impact of biological risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) - APOE haplotype, sex, and genomic ancestry - on molecular states in the locus coeruleus (LC 🔵) of the human 🧠.

Impact of Alzheimer's disease risk factors and local neuromelanin content on the transcriptomic landscape of the human locus coeruleus The locus coeruleus (LC) is a small noradrenergic nucleus in the dorsal pons that sends projections across the brain regulating sleep, arousal, attention, stress responses, and some forms of cognition...

Got with the times + made a BSky to share our new, large-scale spatial RNAseq study of adult human #locuscoeruleus! Co-1st auth and cryostat wizard @heenadivecha.bsky.social squeezed 85 tissue sections into 43 Visium arrays. (1/8)

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Image captured at 4X on a fluorescence microscope showing a tissue section through the mouse prefrontal cortex where neurons that project to the locus coeruleus in the brainstem are virally labeled in red and neurons that are activated are labeled with Fos in green.

For #FluorescenceFriday - projection neurons from the mouse prefrontal cortex to the locus coeruleus 🔴 with Fos labeling activated cells 🟢. Image credit to the Circuits team in the Translational Neuroscience Division @lieberinstitute.bsky.social 🧠🔬🧪

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Here’s my Fluorescence Friday highlight: just got this beautiful shot from the locus coeruleus in our latest tissue section! You can see astrocytes (in green) glowing and wrapping around tiny blood vessels (in red), with pTau staining (in magenta) lighting up the scene. It’s wild how much is going on in just one microscopic field—so cool to see these markers all together and think about what they mean for brain health and Alzheimer’s research. Loving the chance to peek into these cellular hangouts each week! #FluorescenceFriday #PhDLife #Neuroscience

For #FluorescenceFriday✨ Exploring the beauty of the locus Coeruleus using IF staining: neurons🔵 surrounded by glowing astrocytes🟢 embracing delicate blood vessels🔴, alongside striking pTau signals💗. A vivid reminder of the cellular complexity shaping brain health and disease. #LC #Neuroscience

Section of tissue of human brain staining astrocytes, blood vessels and neurons

For #FluorescenceFriday - dorsomedial prefrontal cortex in human 🧠 staining blood vessels 🔴, astrocytes🟠, and neurons 🟣 as part of testing our new Akoya PhenoImager - exciting addition to the @lieberinstitute.bsky.social Microscopy and Spatial Biology Core. Image credit to @heenadivecha.bsky.social

App: r-graph-gallery.com/color-palett...

Special thanks to @emilhvitfeldt.bsky.social for the {paletteer} package and to the @libdrstats.bsky.social club for fostering these practical #bioinformatics tips!

YouTube video by Leonardo Collado Torres Choosing a Color Palette

🎨 Struggling to pick the perfect color palette for data visualizations? Check out walkthrough of interactive tools and the awesome {paletteer} package by @emilhvitfeldt.bsky.social !

🔗 youtu.be/9tAeTjVD7ns

Let’s make our plots both beautiful and accessible!
#RStats @libdrstats.bsky.social