Abstract
This National Institute on Aging (NIA)-sponsored session brings together members of the Seattle Alzheimer’s Brain Cell Atlas (SEA-AD) consortium to highlight their recent scientific findings and to demonstrate the enhanced capabilities of their multi-faceted platform to advance understanding of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). SEA-AD is generating a detailed molecular and cellular atlas of the early pathogenesis of AD at unparalleled resolution, and it is freely and openly available to the research community to catalyze progress in identifying new targets for therapeutic development. The SEA-AD team employs state-of-the-art methods for understanding cellular diversity to allow a high-resolution examination of selective neuronal vulnerabilities and disease trajectories. SEA-AD leverages advances in optimized human brain preparation and cutting-edge single cell genomics and spatial transcriptomics technologies from the NIH BRAIN Initiative, University of Washington, and the Allen Institute for Brain Science. Using donor cohorts from the University of Washington Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) and the Adult Changes in Thought (ACT) Study based at Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute (KPWHRI), SEA-AD integrates single cell and spatial genomics, quantitative neuropathology and deep clinical phenotyping. This wealth of data has led to exciting new findings on the progression of AD, which will be discussed by the speakers. The session will also demonstrate the suite of user-friendly online resources available at the portal at SEA-AD.org, which allows researchers to visualize and explore neuropathology with single cell/spatial genomics data from multiple brain regions across AD progression. The platform also enables investigators to map their own genomics data to BRAIN Initiative and SEA-AD reference taxonomies.

Session Chair(s): Ed S Lein, PhD, Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA and Erin E Gray, PhD, National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, MD, USA

Presenters
C Dirk Keene
Mariano Gabitto
Jennie Close
Kyle Travaglini
Jeremy Miller

Charting New Paths: The Role of Spatial Omics in Advancing Neurodegenerative Disease Research – Rebecca Hodge

This symposium delves into the emerging field of spatial biology in neurodegenerative proteinopathies. Experts will explore the cellular and molecular landscapes that distinguish resilience from vulnerability in neurodegenerative diseases, employing cutting-edge spatial omics techniques to unravel the complex interactions within brain tissues. The symposium will also shed light on future directions in the field, discussing potential therapeutic strategies. Following the talks, an interactive discussion session will encourage collaboration and idea exchange, fostering advancements in this critical area of research.

Victoria Rachleff

Stop by our booth in the exhibit hall to meet Allen Institute scientists, learn about our open data and tools, and pick up some fun swag!