The Kilachand Center hosted its first annual Research Photo Contest, inviting community members to vote for their favorite submissions.
Quan Do won first place for his photo, Blue Light Missing the 'Blue Spot', which showcases a fiber optic cannula implant for laser stimulation that did not find its way to the Locus Coeruleus.
Naomi Shvedov won second place for her photo, Foreign Beginnings, New Connections, which depicts a single neuron (green) in a bird brain that was originally from a different bird, yet has matured and formed synapses within the brain of its new host. After transplantation, the neuron migrated from the graft site, matured, and now highlights the remarkable capacity for adult neurogenesis in songbirds. Captured with fluorescence confocal microscopy, her image showcases an immunohistochemically-processed brain slice several weeks after the bird received its brain graft and offers insights into the regenerative capacity of the adult brain.
Congratulations Quan and Naomi!