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Melissa Cooper, PhD

@melcooperphd.bsky.social
334 followers 266 following 33 posts

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

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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The astrocyte network tracer is on the @addgene.bsky.social "Hot Plasmids List" for September! I'm thrilled people are using it in their labs and can't wait to see what you find. A full protocol on tracing and clearing these networks is under review and should (hopefully) be available soon as well.
blog.addgene.org
Hot Plasmids: September 2026
Learn about new tools in Addgene's collection, including new prime editing and CRISPR applications, tools for neuroscience research, and more!
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Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
The Transmitter @thetransmitter.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
@macshine.bsky.social talks with @melcooperphd.bsky.social about her new work showing that astrocytes—long dismissed as the brain’s housekeepers—are wired together in precise, long-range networks that remodel in response to experience. #neuroskyence www.thetransmitter.org/astrocytes/t...
thetransmitter.org
How a hidden network of astrocytes shapes the brain
Astrocytes are wired together in precise, long-range networks that remodel in response to experience, according to new research.
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Interested in finding your own astrocyte networks? The plasmid is now available on Addgene! www.addgene.org/252501/ Check out how we implemented it in this paper, published in Nature: www.nature.com/articles/s41... Need extra guidance? Watch this space for a more detailed protocol paper soon!
nature.com
Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks - Nature
Communication between distant brain regions is mediated by plastic networks of gap junction-coupled astrocytes.
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Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
NYU Grossman School of Medicine Postdoctoral Affairs @nyumedpostdocs.bsky.social · 24/04/2026
⭐ In a new publication @nature.com, postdoctoral researcher Melissa Cooper has shown that astrocytes share a network of communication that selectively connects multiple brain regions across hemispheres. @melcooperphd.bsky.social
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Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
Nature @nature.com · 23/04/2026
Webs of astrocytes connect distant parts of the brain, allowing long-distance exchange of molecules go.nature.com/41QDgYD
go.nature.com
Newfound brain network is a ‘secret system’ made of helper cells
Webs of star-shaped cells called astrocytes connect distant parts of the brain, allowing long-distance exchange of molecules.
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Thanks so much Priya!! You're the best 🥰
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Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
Nature @nature.com · 23/04/2026
Nature research paper: Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks go.nature.com/4eBe8fV
go.nature.com
Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks - Nature
Communication between distant brain regions is mediated by plastic networks of gap junction-coupled astrocytes.
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
Thanks Shannon!! 😊 It was great to see you at ASN!
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Thank you!! Goodness, I know - I was in tears the first time I read those.
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
I think it could! We know astrocytes are involved in the BOLD signal locally, but I think these networks are also shifting metabolites across brain regions. Perhaps regions with inactive neurons still have active astrocytes shuttling energy elsewhere when needed? I'd think that could show on BOLD...
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Just in case there's anyone left I haven't shown this to: this is the first astrocyte network I ever imaged. I hope you enjoy seeing it as much as I still do! #microscopy #glia #neuroscience
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Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
Shane Liddelow @liddelowsa.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Feeling like learning about a secret astrocyte network in the brain? Check out the latest from @melcooperphd.bsky.social in @nature.com. www.nature.com/articles/s41... (take two because I'm out of action on the socials!)
nature.com
Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks - Nature
Communication between distant brain regions is mediated by plastic networks of gap junction-coupled astrocytes.
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Astrocytes do so much more than any of us thought - they even communicate among specific brain regions across hemispheres! The journey to this paper spanned nearly a decade, but I'm most excited to see what everyone else does with the tools we've built. There's so much for all of us to explore!
nature.com
Astrocytes connect specific brain regions through plastic networks - Nature
Communication between distant brain regions is mediated by plastic networks of gap junction-coupled astrocytes.
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
I'll be giving a talk this afternoon at #ASN2026! If you love astrocytes, microscopy, or new insights on glial cross-hemispheric communication come check it out. Ballroom CD, 4:55 CST. See you there!
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
I’m honored by the opportunity - thank you so much! We’ll be working hard over the next few years to better understand what the earliest changes look like in AD.
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Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
Shane Liddelow @liddelowsa.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
@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)
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
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...
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 03/09/2025
Thank you so much, Ciaràn!
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Thanks, Ciaran!
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
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.
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
Thanks so much! Imaging was definitely my favorite part of the work.
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
I can make a few educated guesses based on the neuronal functions in different regions, but I’m not sure I can say astrocytes are contributing directly to neuronal functions in each region the network traverses. I think breaking apart this question is going to take a long time, but should be fun!
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
Sensory deprivation (whisker trim) causes the barrel cortex astrocyte network to shrink! Check out Figure 5 for more details.
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 23/07/2025
I appreciate that! 😁
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
First author here! This work has been cooking for quite a long time, and I have many more thoughts on it than could possibly exist in one paper. I'm always happy to answer more questions :)
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
I'm so honored to have the chance to show the world how beautiful the brain's "other" circuitry is. It has been the joy of my career to work on this project, and I can't wait to spend the rest of it learning how much more these networks are capable of. #womeninSTEM #glia #neuroscience
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
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...
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
@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!
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Lectin conjugated to AlexaFluor647, yep!
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
Hippocampal vasculature is so pretty 😍 (mouse hippocampus perfused with Tomato Lectin and cleared) #Neuroscience #Microscopy
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 17/04/2025
An old favorite of mine - this retinal astrocyte (GFAP) looks like it’s dancing among blood vessels. #science #glia #microscopy
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Thanks! @philiphasel.bsky.social and I were always struck by how much this in vivo astrocyte population looked like primary astrocytes grown in serum. Suuuuper different than astrocytes in the parenchyma. Might be a hint about what they’re doing while living way up there!
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
Imaging these astrocytes on the surface of cleared brains was a blast!
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Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
Rogier Min @rogiermin.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
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
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Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
MIT Press @mitpress.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
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.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
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."
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
Thank you to the authors of a lovely commentary on our recent PNAS paper! www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
pnas.org
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
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 21/03/2025
Does anyone know which SPINES (or similar) seminar series would still be open for applications next year?
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
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 ❤️
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
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/...
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Reposted by Melissa Cooper, PhD
Holly Gildea @hollygildea.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
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!
urldefense.com
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...
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Thanks for the note! These are from mice with a tamoxifen inducible cre, which translocates to the nucleus to induce the knockout. The knockout has been confirmed with PCR (primers within & without the excized DNA).
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Melissa Cooper, PhD @melcooperphd.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
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.
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