Dr. Melissa Cooper received a dual Bachelors of Science in Biology and Psychology (Hons) from Florida State University. During her Ph.D. in Neuroscience at Vanderbilt University, she worked with Dr. David Calkins and revealed that networks of astrocytes redistribute metabolic resources in the visual system to combat local neurodegeneration. While this protects regions that otherwise would degenerate, donor regions become vulnerable to future neurodegeneration. Her work also uncovered a unique property of astrocyte networks—they directly connect different central nervous system regions than those linked by neurons. This means that our understanding of neuronal networks cannot predict the structure of astrocyte networks. As a postdoctoral scientist in the lab of Dr. Shane Liddelow, Dr. Cooper combines viral tracing and tissue clearing to map these networks across whole, intact mouse brain to now reveal the fundamental organizational and functional properties of astrocyte networks.

To learn more, visit the social media pages of Dr. Liddelow, Dr. Cooper, the Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Health and NYU Grossman School of Medicine.