Dr. Nathan C. Shaner Profile

Dr. Nathan C. Shaner

Founding Investigator at Scintillon Institute for Biomedical & Bioenergy Research

SPIE Involvement:

Author

SPIE Journal Paper | 7 May 2024 Open Access

Toward a brighter constellation: multiorgan neuroimaging of neural and vascular dynamics in the spinal cord and brain

Dmitrijs Celinskis, Christopher Black, Jeremy Murphy, Adriel Barrios-Anderson, Nina Friedman, Nathan Shaner, Carl Saab, Manuel Gomez-Ramirez, David Borton, Christopher I. Moore

NPh, Vol. 11, Issue 02, 024209, (May 2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.NPh.11.2.024209

KEYWORDS: Spinal cord, Animals, Surgery, Brain, Neuroimaging, Windows, Design, Neurophotonics, Vacuum chambers, Biological imaging

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SignificancePain comprises a complex interaction between motor action and somatosensation that is dependent on dynamic interactions between the brain and spinal cord. This makes understanding pain particularly challenging as it involves rich interactions between many circuits (e.g., neural and vascular) and signaling cascades throughout the body. As such, experimentation on a single region may lead to an incomplete and potentially incorrect understanding of crucial underlying mechanisms.AimWe aimed to develop and validate tools to enable detailed and extended observation of neural and vascular activity in the brain and spinal cord. The first key set of innovations was targeted to developing novel imaging hardware that addresses the many challenges of multisite imaging. The second key set of innovations was targeted to enabling bioluminescent (BL) imaging, as this approach can address limitations of fluorescent microscopy including photobleaching, phototoxicity, and decreased resolution due to scattering of excitation signals.ApproachWe designed 3D-printed brain and spinal cord implants to enable effective surgical implantations and optical access with wearable miniscopes or an open window (e.g., for one- or two-photon microscopy or optogenetic stimulation). We also tested the viability for BL imaging and developed a novel modified miniscope optimized for these signals (BLmini).ResultsWe describe “universal” implants for acute and chronic simultaneous brain–spinal cord imaging and optical stimulation. We further describe successful imaging of BL signals in both foci and a new miniscope, the “BLmini,” which has reduced weight, cost, and form-factor relative to standard wearable miniscopes.ConclusionsThe combination of 3D-printed implants, advanced imaging tools, and bioluminescence imaging techniques offers a coalition of methods for understanding spinal cord–brain interactions. Our work has the potential for use in future research into neuropathic pain and other sensory disorders and motor behavior.

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SPIE Journal Paper | 29 March 2024 Open Access

Engineering luminopsins with improved coupling efficiencies

Ashley Slaviero, Nipun Gorantla, Jacob Simkins, Emmanuel Crespo, Ebenezer Ikefuama, Maya Tree, Mansi Prakash, Andreas Björefeldt, Lauren Barnett, Gerard Lambert, Diane Lipscombe, Christopher Moore, Nathan Shaner, Ute Hochgeschwender

NPh, Vol. 11, Issue 02, 024208, (March 2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.NPh.11.2.024208

KEYWORDS: Neurons, Photocurrent, Engineering, Light emitting diodes, Bioluminescence, Optogenetics, Neurophotonics, Light sources, Fluorescence resonance energy transfer, Emission wavelengths

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SPIE Journal Paper | 6 March 2024 Open Access

Efficient opto- and chemogenetic control in a single molecule driven by FRET-modified bioluminescence

Andreas Björefeldt, Jeremy Murphy, Emmanuel Crespo, Gerard Lambert, Mansi Prakash, Ebenezer C. Ikefuama, Nina Friedman, Tariq Brown, Diane Lipscombe, Christopher Moore, Ute Hochgeschwender, Nathan Shaner

NPh, Vol. 11, Issue 02, 021005, (March 2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.NPh.11.2.021005

KEYWORDS: Optogenetics, Molecules, Animals, Light emitting diodes, Bioluminescence, Electrodes, Photocurrent, Neurophotonics, Neurons, Brain

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SPIE Journal Paper | 3 November 2015 Open Access

Special Section Guest Editorial:Protein Photonics for Imaging, Sensing, and Manipulation: Honoring Prof. Osamu Shimomura, a Pioneer of Photonics for Biomedical Research

Katsumasa Fujita, Takeharu Nagai, Nathan Shaner, Alexander Egner

JBO, Vol. 20, Issue 10, 101201, (November 2015) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.10.1117/1.JBO.20.10.101201

KEYWORDS: Photonics, Proteins, Fluorescent proteins, Medical research, Microscopy, Green fluorescent protein, Biomedical optics, Applied physics, Super resolution microscopy, Chemistry

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Proceedings Article | 17 February 2009 Paper

Evaluating and improving the photostability of fluorescent proteins

Nathan Shaner, Michael Lin, Michael McKeown, Paul Steinbach, Kristin Hazelwood, Michael Davidson, Roger Tsien

Proceedings Volume 7191, 719105 (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.814684

KEYWORDS: Fluorescent proteins, Neodymium, Proteins, Luminescence, Confocal microscopy, Chromophores, Mass attenuation coefficient, Quantum efficiency, Laser scanners, Photons

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Conference Committee Involvement (1)

Fluorescence In Vivo Imaging Based on Genetically Engineered Probes: From Living Cells to Whole Body Imaging IV

25 January 2009 | San Jose, California, United States

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