Welcome to the Tong Research Group!

For animals who live in an unpredictable world, the ability to process and remember their sensory environment accurately is crucial for survival. Our lab focuses broadly on how such representations form (learning) and persist (memory). Specifically, we’re interested in the role of non-cellular mechanisms, like the extracellular matrix, in long-term memory.

Undergraduate-Driven Neuroscience Research

We pair behavioural studies with neuropharmacology, immunohistochemistry, and various techniques in molecular biology to study molecular mechanisms of olfactory memory.

Elena and Lyndsey co-leading a journal club of a hot-off-the-presses article looking at how PNNs in the striatum are involved in alcohol use disorders. Taking time to read literature (and discuss it with others) is a critical part of the research process. It helps us shape new experiments, ask new questions, and even meet new collaborators. And journal clubs are fun 🤩

Y’all, these Young Researchers went from not knowing what the NAc is to just casually doing confocal imaging of the NAc in a few short weeks 🧠 Elena, Lyndsey, and James are part of a program aimed at giving students research experience early in their college careers. They are working on a project in collaboration with the Bates Lab at CSU-Chico State looking how sex differences in adolescent response to benzodiazepines may be mediated by sex differences in LTP formation at the HPC-Medium Spiny Neuron synapse. We’re piloting antibodies now. Wish us luck!!🍀

Shoutout to undergrad researcher, Abby Deeths, for heroic acts of Coming-In-On-Weekends for longggg behavioural testing days! Abby’s project this summer is interested to understanding how the extracellular matrix in olfactory regions participates in value-related learning. Contrary to popular belief, sensory regions are not just relays for information, their representations of the same odour actually varies as a function of the value of that odour. To test this, Abby teaches mice to dig in dishes of scented sand for tasty sugar pellets!🍦these protocols take a long long time, which is why many researchers opt for punishment-based tasks. However, our lab is specifically interested in how positive experiences shape sensory representations. So, long days for Abby. Send her positive vibes, we plot our pilot data today. #IYKYK #STEMatSLAC #undergradinthelab #REU

Edgar is doing science in silico this summer. He’s using NEURON to simulate neurons! We’re specifically interested in investigating the neurophysiology of mitral cells in the olfactory bulb with and without perineuronal nets. It’s hard enough to record from mitral cells, and harder to figure out if the ones we recorded from have PNNs around them. Simulations can help here by allowing us test various hypotheses and seeing how they influence neuronal properties! Go Edgar!

PI Michelle Tong got a chance to share her work on designing inquiry-based lab courses using open educational resources with other educators at the Allen Institute in Seattle last week. Thanks to the Education team for the invitation!

Summer research welcome lunch at @575zao in St Paul! So excited to have these wonderful students join the lab and work on some very cool projects! #UndergradResearch #STEMatSLAC

Getting some TRG lab earrings ready to welcome five new student researchers to the lab this summer! @_chris_lohmeier truly gifted us with this incredible design and fabrication process 🙌

We wrapped up our last lab meeting of the semester with a silly photo. Not pictured was a delicious lab hot pot dinner where we welcomed new TRG students, and a delicious olfactory bulb cake by Chris L. All these lovely folks here are graduating this year and off to their next adventures. 😭😭😭

✨Oh hey, congrats to Prof Michelle Tong for passing her pretenure review! More years of teaching and research and lab hot pots ahead ✨

💫 whOa: Ram Guruprasad successfully defended their incredible thesis project looking at the effect of olfactory bulb stroke on the extracellular matrix and olfactory memory. Ram gave an excellent talk on their work and calmly answered questions in the closed portion with their committee. It was a full pass! Congrats, Ram! 🦕 🦖

Banner art by Jerry Coulter