University of Vermont Seeks to Map Full Spectrum of Biology with $19 Million Observatory

Bridging Microscopy and Supercomputing for Nationwide Biology

Davi Bock has spent twenty years contributing to connectomics research, which involves charting the intricate neural pathways and synaptic connections within brains and nervous systems down to the level of individual cells. His lab acquired the electron microscopy images used in a 2024 Nature study to produce the first wiring map of an adult fruit fly’s entire brain. That landmark achievement required massive gains in imaging speed and computing power. Now, the new observatory will expand that capacity beyond neuroscience to study the full spectrum of biology.

“We built a searchlight to look at one type of problem, and now, with a purpose-built facility for advanced work like this, we will use it to look at many, many different problems,” Bock says. “This new national center will be globally unique in pointing high throughput volume microscopes at the full spectrum of biology.”

The project brings together three primary institutions with distinct roles:

• University of Vermont: Coordinates the hub and houses state-of-the-art high-throughput electron microscopy at the Larner College of Medicine’s Firestone Medical Research Building.
• UC San Diego: Provides sample preparation expertise and complementary advanced microscopy techniques via the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research.
• San Diego Supercomputer Center: Handles data management, processing, and advanced cyberinfrastructure to turn raw microscopy data into usable scientific datasets.

Four Pilot Projects Testing the New Observatory Pipeline

To ensure the observatory handles diverse organisms and scientific needs, the team designed four pilot projects to test the imaging and computing pipeline. These projects span neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and parasitology.

The first pilot examines how connections in the mouse hippocampus, a brain region vital for memory, change after learning. Working with Anton Maximov’s laboratory at Scripps Research and Mark Ellisman’s team at UC San Diego, researchers will trace circuits involving neurons marked as active during learning tasks. A second project compares retinal circuitry across species—such as sharks navigating murky versus clear water—in collaboration with David Berson’s laboratory at Brown University and Tom Baden’s laboratory at the University of Sussex.

A collaborative investigation involving UVM parasitologist Bruno Martorelli Di Genova and Christopher Moore’s laboratory at Brown University forms the third pilot, examining the mechanisms by which Toxoplasma gondii breaches the blood-brain barrier. “This is an amazing organism because it causes rodents to lose their fear of cat urine,” Bock notes. A fourth project examines single-celled protists with elaborate internal structures alongside Omaya Dudin’s laboratory at the University of Geneva and Gautam Dey’s laboratory at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory.

Funding Breakdown and Educational Outreach

The National Science Foundation award allocates approximately $15.68 million directly to Davi Bock’s work at UVM, while $3.32 million funds UC San Diego’s contributions, including the supercomputing infrastructure. Beyond research, the five-year effort emphasizes education by developing undergraduate teaching materials through Connectomes for Undergraduate Neuroscience Education and Learning (CUNEL), high-school virtual-reality materials with the platform syGlass, and training for UVM biomedical engineering master’s students.

“You can’t predict what we’ll find. And that’s the point,” Bock says. “Our country has historically invested in basic research for this reason, the unpredicted discoveries.”

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