Melissa Cooper, PhD
@melcooperphd.bsky.social
NYU PostDoc (Liddelow/Chao) and Leon Levy Fellow in Neuroscience studying ⭐astrocyte⭐ networks! Formerly @ Vanderbilt. Neurodegeneration, visual system, gap junctions, glia, and all things microscopy. MelCooperPhD.com
Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
@sfn.org #SfN25 #SanDiego starts this Saturday. The lab is going to be there in full force - see our presentations below.
Represented this year by @borderbiologist.bsky.social, Nick Kathman, @mrodea.bsky.social, @melcooperphd.bsky.social, @pryprk.bsky.social, @kerrylimberg.bsky.social.
(1/2)
Represented this year by @borderbiologist.bsky.social, Nick Kathman, @mrodea.bsky.social, @melcooperphd.bsky.social, @pryprk.bsky.social, @kerrylimberg.bsky.social.
(1/2)
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
@sfn.org #SfN25 #SanDiego starts this Saturday. The lab is going to be there in full force - see our presentations below.
Represented this year by @borderbiologist.bsky.social, Nick Kathman, @mrodea.bsky.social, @melcooperphd.bsky.social, @pryprk.bsky.social, @kerrylimberg.bsky.social.
(1/2)
Represented this year by @borderbiologist.bsky.social, Nick Kathman, @mrodea.bsky.social, @melcooperphd.bsky.social, @pryprk.bsky.social, @kerrylimberg.bsky.social.
(1/2)
A big thank you to The Transmitter and @callimcflurry.bsky.social for the spotlight on our preprint!
You can check out her article below, or the preprint here: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
You can check out her article below, or the preprint here: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Astrocytes are connected by gap junctions in large, plastic networks that link brain regions not connected by neurons, a new preprint shows.
By @callimcflurry.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/astrocytes/a...
By @callimcflurry.bsky.social
#neuroskyence
www.thetransmitter.org/astrocytes/a...
Astrocyte networks span large swaths of brain
The networks are plastic, connect brain regions that aren’t connected by neurons and may enable long-distance communication between astrocytes, a new preprint shows.
www.thetransmitter.org
September 3, 2025 at 4:05 PM
A big thank you to The Transmitter and @callimcflurry.bsky.social for the spotlight on our preprint!
You can check out her article below, or the preprint here: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
You can check out her article below, or the preprint here: doi.org/10.1101/2025...
Thank you to the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (@bbrfoundation.bsky.social) for selecting me for a Young Investigator Award! I'm so excited to explore astrocyte networks in a new context.
August 5, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Thank you to the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (@bbrfoundation.bsky.social) for selecting me for a Young Investigator Award! I'm so excited to explore astrocyte networks in a new context.
Now on bioRxiv! Astrocytes in one brain region (cyan) communicate in expansive networks (magenta). Through tool development, tissue clearing, and many hours on our @zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social Z1, we now know these networks are repeatable across mice, plastic, and specific.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
July 22, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Now on bioRxiv! Astrocytes in one brain region (cyan) communicate in expansive networks (magenta). Through tool development, tissue clearing, and many hours on our @zeiss-microscopy.bsky.social Z1, we now know these networks are repeatable across mice, plastic, and specific.
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
doi.org/10.1101/2025...
@lsfm-na.bsky.social Is this heaven, or am I just currently surrounded by ELEVEN DIFFERENT LIGHT SHEET MICROSCOPES? So thrilled to be out here in Acadia chatting about microscopy!
June 2, 2025 at 1:01 PM
@lsfm-na.bsky.social Is this heaven, or am I just currently surrounded by ELEVEN DIFFERENT LIGHT SHEET MICROSCOPES? So thrilled to be out here in Acadia chatting about microscopy!
Hippocampal vasculature is so pretty 😍
(mouse hippocampus perfused with Tomato Lectin and cleared)
#Neuroscience #Microscopy
(mouse hippocampus perfused with Tomato Lectin and cleared)
#Neuroscience #Microscopy
May 14, 2025 at 9:25 PM
Hippocampal vasculature is so pretty 😍
(mouse hippocampus perfused with Tomato Lectin and cleared)
#Neuroscience #Microscopy
(mouse hippocampus perfused with Tomato Lectin and cleared)
#Neuroscience #Microscopy
An old favorite of mine - this retinal astrocyte (GFAP) looks like it’s dancing among blood vessels.
#science #glia #microscopy
#science #glia #microscopy
April 17, 2025 at 2:48 PM
An old favorite of mine - this retinal astrocyte (GFAP) looks like it’s dancing among blood vessels.
#science #glia #microscopy
#science #glia #microscopy
Imaging these astrocytes on the surface of cleared brains was a blast!
April 16, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Imaging these astrocytes on the surface of cleared brains was a blast!
Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
Excited to share our latest paper!
We argue that in MS, the primary immune attack isn’t on myelin or myelinated axons — but on the ion & water homeostasis machinery in astrocyte endfeet.
A short thread on this new perspective
1/11
We argue that in MS, the primary immune attack isn’t on myelin or myelinated axons — but on the ion & water homeostasis machinery in astrocyte endfeet.
A short thread on this new perspective
1/11
New online! Multiple sclerosis: an immune attack on astrocyte-mediated ion and water homeostasis
Multiple sclerosis: an immune attack on astrocyte-mediated ion and water homeostasis
Nature Reviews Neurology, Published online: 04 April 2025; doi:10.1038/s41582-025-01081-yAutoimmunity in multiple sclerosis (MS) is generally considered to be directed against components of myelin or oligodendrocytes. However, this Perspective argues that an immune attack on the ion and water homeostasis machinery in astrocytic endfeet is the primary event in MS and that myelin damage results from astrocyte dysfunction.
bit.ly
April 7, 2025 at 9:10 PM
Excited to share our latest paper!
We argue that in MS, the primary immune attack isn’t on myelin or myelinated axons — but on the ion & water homeostasis machinery in astrocyte endfeet.
A short thread on this new perspective
1/11
We argue that in MS, the primary immune attack isn’t on myelin or myelinated axons — but on the ion & water homeostasis machinery in astrocyte endfeet.
A short thread on this new perspective
1/11
Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
The Coming Out of a Transgender Scientist
"I know that I am making the right decision because whenever I think about changing my gender role, I am flooded with feelings of relief."
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
April 8, 2025 at 8:24 PM
We're disappointed to see Ben Barres's powerful book "The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist" among the ~400 titles removed from the Naval Academy Library. Needless to say, we're proud to have published his book and will keep it — and his memory — alive.
Thank you to the authors of a lovely commentary on our recent PNAS paper! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Bilateral astrocyte reaction to unilateral insult in the optic projection to the brain | PNAS
Bilateral astrocyte reaction to unilateral insult in the optic projection to the brain
www.pnas.org
April 8, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Thank you to the authors of a lovely commentary on our recent PNAS paper! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Does anyone know which SPINES (or similar) seminar series would still be open for applications next year?
March 21, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Does anyone know which SPINES (or similar) seminar series would still be open for applications next year?
I enrolled in a vaccine clinical trial recently, and I’m so glad I did. Going in for ~30 min to get a blood draw and chat with people who are hopeful about curing diseases has felt like a lovely little act of resistance. Highly recommend checking with your local hospital if you feel the same way ❤️
March 20, 2025 at 5:56 PM
I enrolled in a vaccine clinical trial recently, and I’m so glad I did. Going in for ~30 min to get a blood draw and chat with people who are hopeful about curing diseases has felt like a lovely little act of resistance. Highly recommend checking with your local hospital if you feel the same way ❤️
Fresh off the press! We found that degeneration in one retina causes astrocytes to respond retinotopically across *both* hemispheres of the brain. Perhaps astrocytes across the CNS are able to coordinate their responses more than we anticipated... www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
March 10, 2025 at 9:13 PM
Fresh off the press! We found that degeneration in one retina causes astrocytes to respond retinotopically across *both* hemispheres of the brain. Perhaps astrocytes across the CNS are able to coordinate their responses more than we anticipated... www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
Our new work on astrocyte responses in glaucoma is out today! A tour de force of tissue clearing and analysis by @melcooperphd.bsky.social. It's one of those stories that leads to even more great questions, so stay tuned!
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
urldefense.com
March 10, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Our new work on astrocyte responses in glaucoma is out today! A tour de force of tissue clearing and analysis by @melcooperphd.bsky.social. It's one of those stories that leads to even more great questions, so stay tuned!
Hello, everyone! Please enjoy one of my favorite micrographs while I finally get set up over here. Vasculature (magenta, perfused lectin), GFAP (cyan), and cx43 (green) in a conditional astrocyte cx43 knockout mouse, demonstrating that cx43 is lost from astrocytes but not pericytes after tamoxifen.
January 26, 2025 at 3:51 PM
Hello, everyone! Please enjoy one of my favorite micrographs while I finally get set up over here. Vasculature (magenta, perfused lectin), GFAP (cyan), and cx43 (green) in a conditional astrocyte cx43 knockout mouse, demonstrating that cx43 is lost from astrocytes but not pericytes after tamoxifen.