Young Bucks

A local institute connects science and the public via art. BY MIMI TOWLE

FOR 15 YEARS the scientists at Novato’s Buck Institute for Research on Aging have performed groundbreaking research, studying diseases of the elderly such as Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Today there are about 260 scientists at the one-of-a-kind research institute in 23 labs on the three-building campus, with many newly minted postdoctoral graduates doing work that likely will one day benefit you. To highlight these young investigators and their exciting findings, the institute’s chief administrative officer, Mary McEachron, came up with the Scientist as Artist exhibit, featuring manipulated photographic images culled from the work of more than 60 researchers at the Buck, narrowed to a collection of 20 pieces on semipermanent display.

Director of Resource Development Blair Winn, who came to the institute with a background in the arts in 2011, hit a home run with his first exhibit, Silver: A State of Mind by photographer Vicki Topaz, featuring black-andwhite photographs of women with gray hair. As intended, this seemingly superficial topic sparked a national conversation on aging. While the new exhibit is much different, the intent remains the same: Create a public discussion about aging in society. Winn helped facilitate the installation and visitor access. “All of the images are connected to our mission to extend health span through research and education,” he says. “We asked the scientists to take a photo of their work and then alter the image artistically.” So far Winn has been encouraged by the public’s overwhelming interest and response — the free

Thursday morning tours are booked to capacity.

STAR CELL BY DIMITIRI LEONOUDAKIS

Cultured rat astrocyte stained for the immediate filament protein GFAP; image was processed using the lens-flare filter in Adobe Photoshop.

MOUSE TRACKS

When mice wander — behavioral phenoprinting and Alzheimer’s disease

Research associate Darci Kane uses a video camera to capture and record the movements of 10 mice as they interact with two objects placed in the central part of separate testing arenas. Mice with a genetic mutation that causes Alzheimer’s disease exhibit some behaviors seen in human Alzheimer’s patients: lack of inhibition, tendency to wander and impaired memory. These are motion patterns from mice. The ones on the left are from animals with an Alzheimer’s mutation, showing typical signs of disinhibition and hyperactivity — these mice explored all areas and objects in the arena. The normal mice, shown in the circles on the right, are cautious and inhibited. Kane’s protocols will help her lab evaluate potential therapeutic compounds to see if memory can be improved in the impaired mice. >>

THE RAINBOW OF HOPE

Breast cancer cells stained for proline dehydrogenase, duplicated in many colors

Kathleen Wilson-Edell, Ph.D., and research associate Daniel Rothschild are focusing on the link between breast cancer and aging in order to develop treatments and prevention strategies. This image shows breast cancer cells stained with an antibody that allows the imaging of a protein called proline dehydrogenase. The Benz lab, where they work, has shown that this protein is important in breast cancer cell survival. Altering the activity of proline dehydrogenase (which interacts with a tumor suppressor protein) could bring hope for the successful treatment of some breast cancer patients.

ASTRONOMY OF A CELL

A view of insulin-secreting cells that are being grown in wells

Shona Mookerjee, Ph.D., is studying cellular energy production in an attempt to understand activity involving insulin-secreting cells in the pancreas that impact diabetes. Mookerjee stains the nucleus of each cell with a fluorescent DNA-binding dye making the cells appear as a glowing dot. Then she sits in a small dark room and peers into a microscope to track the cells as they breathe oxygen, using a specialized oxygen sensor. For this photo, she says, “My intent was to re-create how it feels to be the person taking these pictures — to imagine gazing into space, looking at stars, dust and clouds in tiny cells. Each person, made up of trillions of these cells, is a universe.”

SUPERNOVA IN THE BRAIN

Image of the co-localization of two enzymes that use iron as a cofactor inside a dopaminergic neuron

Cell death in Parkinson’s disease is of particular interest to Subramanian (Subu) Rajagopalan, and one of his projects involves cell death caused by excess iron, which can be damaging both to stars in outer space and to our brains. Iron triggers the supernova process that causes a star to die and collapse; similarly, surplus iron in the brain can cause neurons to die — specifically those involved in Parkinson’s disease. This image represents the co-localization of two enzymes that use iron as a cofactor inside dopaminergic neurons, which are lost in Parkinson’s. “The fact that our research on understanding iron’s role in Parkinson’s has conjured up an image of a celestial phenomenon that is based on iron provides a ‘universal connection’ that shows science as a wondrous undertaking,” Rajagopalan says.

LAVA STREAM MIRRORING

Skin biopsy stained to reveal collagen, with image duplicated and refleted

Marco Demaria, Ph.D., studies cellular senescence — a process that occurs when cells stop dividing — in relationship to cancer and wound healing. This image shows mouse skin stained to reveal the connective-tissue collagen. Fibrosis, caused by the thickening of this tissue, is a major factor in the aging process. To get this lava-like effect, Demaria altered the original image to make it look like a reflection, which reminded him of a stream of lava. “The lava stream represents the powerful and dense flow of thinking that scientists need every day in order to creatively push their science forward,” he says.

CHUBBY ANGRY FAT CELLS

2-D fat cells hide a bird

Since fat tissue is now recognized to be a major metabolic organ that is impacted by aging, postdoctoral fellow Regina Brunauer, Ph.D., is interested in understanding the regenerative potential of adult stem cells found in fat and how these cells change as the body grows older. For this photo she isolated stem cells from mice at risk for fatal heart disease and induced the cells to differentiate in a petri dish. The lipid vacuoles are spherical and stained orange in this photo; the cell nuclei are the purple patches. “I am always fascinated with the bright colors, nice contrasts and beautiful structures obtained by this staining,” Brunauer says. “Sometimes I find an angry bird in my pictures.”