Purchasing energy efficient options saves the lab nearly $15,000 dollars over 20 years (see attached graphs).
The overall goal of research in the Miller Lab is to understand the evolution of cellular organization in the
brain. We combine traditional histological methods and advanced computational methods to integrate
measurements of brain structure and function from the level of single-cell transcriptomics and deep-learning
morphometrics through single-unit receptive fields mapping to parcellation and tractography using ultra high
field MRI to create holistic maps of the brain. We are specifically interested in understanding the fundamental
organization of the cerebral cortex as a laminated feature of the mammalian brain in order to develop and
validate the biomarkers of neurophysiological organization needed to understand the evolutionary history of
the human brain, as well as to identify injured and diseased from healthy tissue. We will be collecting brain
samples from humans (i.e. brain banks), mice, rats, and birds for molecular and histological analyses and to
store samples at 4C, -20C, and -80C. The storage of these samples would allow comparative and longitudinal
analyses of brain development and regeneration after injury. These data are extremely valuable, and these
samples require careful handling (molecular work requires ultra-low freezers), placing great emphasis on
high-quality sample and reagent preservation.