We are excited to share, in the Rune Berg lab, one of our first full datasets from The Projectome pipeline — and a great milestone showing that our workflow is now ready for large-scale data collection!
This dataset shows a whole cleared mouse spinal cord imaged in 3D, highlighting retrogradely labeled neurons (red) projecting to a rostral lumbar spinal segment. Every cell you see has a direct anatomical link to that region
But what I’m most proud of here is the teamwork:
⭐ Huge shoutout to Martin Carbó-Tano ⭐
Martin has been pivotal in turning this project from an idea into reality. He previously worked with crustaceans and zebrafish, and in just one year he has mastered complex rodent surgical techniques with impressive precision. His deep understanding of motor systems has been invaluable to shaping this project
What makes this dataset special ✨:
🔹 Hundreds of projection neurons spanning brain (stay tuned!) and spinal cord
🔹 A glimpse into how spinal circuits can reach the same area via overlapping routes
🔹 A full-spinal cord acquisition at cellular resolution (3 channels, only 1 pictured) in under 2 hours using the Miltenyi Biotec UltraMicroscope Blaze in light-speed mode
🔹 Data acquired at Vibraint ApS – Virtual Brain Technologies, my partner Thomas Topilko newly founded company
This is part of our effort to:
✔️ Build a 3D brain–spinal connectivity atlas
✔️ Map circuit reorganization after spinal cord injury
✔️ Share these maps openly as an interactive resource for the community
🎯 What’s next? Stay tuned!
This same animal also includes:
🧠 The brain, where we can map the locations of all retrogradely labeled neurons
🧵 A second channel showing long-range projecting pathways traced in 3D throughout the CNS
So we’ll soon be able to connect projection origin and target in the same dataset 🤝
We’re currently developing the full analysis pipeline together with Martin, and while we have some promising early trials… we are VERY open to ideas, advice, and collaborative input from the community!
It’s still early days — but this dataset already excites us about where this framework can go. More coming soon 👀
This work is supported in part by Project Move2Treat – EU HORIZON EIC 2024 PATHFINDER OPEN — grateful for this opportunity to push innovation forward.
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