Biological systems are composed of complex heterogeneous cell populations. During tissue disruption, to obtain biological data, spatial information is lost. Advances in tissue level/spatial technologies, such as spatial transcriptomics, multiplexed immunofluorescence, mass- spectrometry-based metabolite and protein imaging, and other imaging-based spatial technologies, enable biologists to study single-cell gene and protein expression and metabolite occurrence yet retain spatial context. This provides valuable information on cell-cell interaction and signaling, which is crucial to answering critical biological questions in various animal models, tissue types, and clinical samples.
The lab course will expose students to various newly emerging spatial technologies. These include advanced imaging technologies, state-of-the-art spatial transcriptomics technologies, and metabolite imaging. We will present the key features of each of these technologies and discuss how they can complement one another. In addition, we will expose the participants to data analysis tools of these technologies and their integration in solving biological questions.
The course will provide a comprehensive background introduction to the technologies, show how different protocols are used, and train participants through hands-on session data analysis.