Summary

Allen Institute’s mission is to accelerate the understanding of how the human brain works in health and disease. Allen has been a major catalyst and facilitator of The BRAIN Initiative.

Launched in 2003 with a seed contribution from founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen, the Allen Institute takes on large-scale initiatives designed to push brain research forward, enabling the global scientific community to more efficiently make discoveries that bring real-world utility.

Information

Main Website:  alleninstitute.org Allen Brain Atlas Website:  brain-map.org BRAIN Intitiative Grant – “Establishing a Comprehensive and Standardized Cell Type Characterization Platform” Twitter: twitter.com/Allen_Institute YouTube Channel:  https://www.youtube.com/user/AllenInstitute Facebook: facebook.com/AllenInstitute Wikipedia Entry: wiki/Allen_Institute_for_Brain_Science

Phone:  (206) 548-7000

Address: Mercer St. and Westlake Avenue North Seattle. Washington

Organization

Founder: Paul Allen

Founder, President and Chairman: Joyce Allen

Chief Executive Officer: Allan Jones, Ph.D.

Chief Technlogy Officer: Chinh Dang

Chief Scientific Officer: Christof Koch, Ph.D.

Chief Operating Officer: David Poston

Research

The ...

“How can we begin to understand the way the brain works? The same way we begin to understand a city: by making a map. In this visually stunning talk, Allan Jones shows how his team is mapping which genes are turned on in each tiny region, and how it all connects up.”

Filmed July 2011 at TED Global 2011 Uploaded to YouTube on November 10, 2011 by TED

A virtual journey through the Allen Institute for Brain Science’s single cell molecular profiling program.

Published on September 22, 2014 by Allen Institute for Brain Science

A virtual journey through the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas.

Published September 19, 2014 by Allen Institute for Brain Science

Founded by philanthropist Paul G. Allen and Jody Allen, the Allen Institute for Brain Science was established to accelerate the understanding of the human brain, compelled by the need to improve the treatment of brain-related disorders and inspired by our quest to uncover the essence of what makes us human.

Published on October 3, 2013  by Allen Institute for Brain Science

The twelve videos in this post are tutorials on the various Allen Brain Atlases published between 2011 and 2015.

Tutorial: Allen Human Brain Atlas

“This tutorial provides a brief orientation to the data and basic features of the Allen Human Brain Atlas, a multi-modal atlas of gene expression in the adult human brain.”

Allen Cell Types Database: Understanding the fundamental building blocks of the brain

“The Allen Institute for Brain Science is taking the first major scientific step to create a searchable standards database for the brain with the launch of the Allen Cell Types Database.”

Senior Director, Research Science Allen Institute Research and Development

Zeng explores novel technologies and develop high-throughput paradigms for generating large-scale, public datasets and tools to fuel neuroscience discovery. Zeng  has broad scientific experience and a keen interest in using a combined molecular, genetic and physiological approach to unravel mechanisms of brain circuitry and potential approaches for treating brain diseases.

Web Information

Allen Webpage: alleninstitute.org/hongkui-zeng Allen Brain Atlases Allen Institute for Brain Science

Contact Information

Email:  hongkuiz@alleninstitute.org 

Biography

Hongkui Zeng joined the Allen Institute in 2006. She leads the Research and Development program to explore novel technologies and develop high-throughput paradigms for generating large-scale, public datasets and tools to fuel neuroscience discovery. Since joining the Allen Institute, she has led several research programs or projects, including the Transgenic Technology program, the Human Cortex Gene Survey project, the Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas project, and the Mouse Cell Types program. She has broad scientific experience and a keen interest ...

PI: Hongkui Zeng, Allen Brain Atlases Allen Institute for Brain Science Title: “Establishing a Comprehensive and Standardized Cell Type Characterization Platform” BRAIN Category: Census of Cell Types (RFA MH-14-215)

Dr. Zeng’s group will characterize cell types in brain circuits controlling sensations, such as vision and emotions, as a first step to better understand information processing across circuits. The data generated will be posted as a public online resource for the scientific community.

NIH Webpage

“The combination of fluorescent imaging and optogenetic stimulation is a powerful way to learn both where cells are in space, when they are active or silent, and how they interact with other cells in the circuits they form,” says Zeng.” The new tools we have created open doors to identifying and learning more about the many different types of cells in our brains: the first crucial step to understanding how information is encoded by neural circuits.”

Project Description

The brain circuit is an intricately interconnected network of a vast number of neurons with diverse molecular, anatomical and physiological properties. Neuronal cell types are fundamental building blocks of neural circuits. To understand the principles of information processing in the brain circuit, it is essential to have a ...