Grace Williams

Research Associate II

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Bio:

Grace has been with the Allen Institute for Brain Science for five years as a Research Associate in the Neuroanatomy department. As part of the Morphology team, she reconstructs 3D models of neurons in cortical and subcortical regions of the mouse and human brain. The features generated from these reconstructions are analyzed for use in the Cell Types project. This project aims to establish multi-modal categories of brain cells, using morphological, electrophysiological, and transcriptomic data. Grace also provides reconstructions and expert neuroanatomy consultation for other projects at the Allen Institute, as well for external collaborators. She graduated from Oberlin College with a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience.

Research Focus:

Grace has contributed over 400 gold-standard neuron reconstructions to the Allen Institute. Her most recent publication, “Integrated Morphoelectric and Transcriptomic Classification of Cortical GABAergic Cells,” was the featured primary article in Cell magazine for November 2020. She provides reconstructions and neuroanatomy consultation for such Allen projects as the NIH BRAIN Initiative, EM Connectomics, and Synaptic Physiology. She also works with external collaborators, including the citizen science program Mozak Brainbuilder. Grace’s primary research interests include neuroanatomy, sensory neuroscience, cognitive neuroscience, and imaging. In her free time, she also dabbles in botany and scientific illustration.

Expertise

Neuroanatomy

Data Quality Control

Imaging

Research Programs

Structured Science

Cell Types

Neuroanatomy

NIH Brain Initiative

EM Connectomics

Synaptic Physiology

Imaging

Vaa3D

Grace Williams

Recent Publications

Local connectivity and synaptic dynamics in mouse and human neocortex

Human neocortical expansion involves glutamatergic neuron diversification

Integrated Morphoelectric and Transcriptomic Classification of Cortical GABAergic Cells