3. Juli, 2026, 11.00 Uhr: Anatomisches Kolloquium 🇰🇷🐉🔬

Mapping the Brain’s Architecture: from synapse to circuit

Abstract

Deciphering the brain requires technologies that can reveal its organisation across multiple scales —from the precise wiring of synaptic connections to the structural blueprints of en5re species. This semiar will highlight two complementary advances in this endeavor. First, I will introduce recent developments in synapse-resolved circuit mapping, including new approaches that extend the scalability of fluorescence-based connectivity analysis. Building upon mammalian GFP Reconstruction Across Synaptic Partners (mGRASP) and related technologies, these methods enable increasingly comprehensive visualisation of convergent neural connectivity within complex circuits, providing new opportunities to study the organisational logic of the brain. Second, I will present eLemur, the first cellular-resolution 3D digital brain atlas of the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus), a smallest primate uniquely positioned between rodents and humans. By integrating high-resolution imaging, multiple molecular markers, and interactive 3D segmentation, eLemur establishes a new reference framework for comparative and translational neuroscience. Together, these advances exemplify how visualisation technologies are transforming our understanding of neural architecture and opening new avenues for biomedical applications in brain health and disease. 

Biosketch

Jinhyun (Jinny) Kim is a neuroscientist at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), where she leads research on neural circuit mapping and comparative brain architecture. Her work focuses on developing advanced imaging, computational analysis, and molecular technologies to investigate the organisation of neural circuits underlying behavior and disease. She pioneered the development of mGRASP, a synapse-specific connectivity mapping technique that has been applied across species from mice to zebrafish, and co-developed neuTube for large-scale neuronal reconstruction. More recently, she has spearheaded the creation of eLemur, the first cellular-resolution 3D digital brain atlas of the mouse lemur, an emerging primate model that bridges rodents and humans. Dr. Kim received her B.S. and M.S. in Biology from Sungkyunkwan University (Korea) and her Ph.D. from the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research (Germany). She conducted postdoctoral research at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and later worked at the Janelia Research Campus, HHMI. At KIST, she served as director of both a research center and the Brain Science Institute for nearly a decade, before returning full-time to her independent research program.