About / Team

The People Behind a Hundred Brains

Cross-species collaboration, from specimen to evolution

BrainStorm is a cross-species brain cell atlas project built by a distributed team of biologists, sequencing engineers, computational scientists and evolutionary researchers. Together they combine newly generated single-nucleus libraries with public datasets to assemble a single reference spanning the vertebrate tree of life.

100
Vertebrate Species
analysis-layer atlas
52
Newly Profiled Species
109 single-nucleus libraries built in-house
50 + 50
New vs Public
newly sequenced plus reanalyzed public datasets
4,414,988
Cells Integrated
full matrix across 165 libraries
Our Model

A Pipeline That Runs Across Species and Specialties

Assembling a brain cell atlas across the vertebrate tree is a team effort that no single lab can complete alone. BrainStorm brings together independent groups with complementary strengths: field and collection teams supply specimens, sequencing facilities produce single-nucleus libraries at scale, computational specialists integrate and harmonize the resulting matrices, and evolutionary researchers interpret cell-type conservation and divergence across deep time. The result is a shared resource that each team, and the wider community, can build on.

01

Sample Collection

Fieldwork & Dissection

Partner laboratories source and dissect fresh brains from species across the vertebrate tree, from cartilaginous fishes and amphibians to reptiles, birds and mammals. Careful specimen handling and rapid nuclear isolation protect transcript quality before libraries are built.

02

Single-Nucleus Sequencing

Library Construction

Sequencing teams profile nuclei in parallel on two complementary platforms: SeekOne for 90 libraries and 10x Chromium for 19. The two approaches were benchmarked head to head and shown to be highly reproducible in cell-population distribution and gene expression, so both pipelines feed a single uniform dataset.

03

Computational Integration

Uniform Processing & Harmony

Computational scientists apply a single processing pipeline to newly sequenced and public data alike, then integrate the two into one reference. The analysis layer holds 492,121 cells across 11,578 orthologous genes, with per-species sampling balanced so that no single lineage dominates.

04

Evolutionary Analysis

Cell Types & Deep Time

Evolutionary researchers anchor cells to orthologous genes and trace cell-type identities across clades. Their work connects contemporary cell-state diversity to ancient gene programs, showing how deeply conserved components are recombined to build lineage-specific brain circuits.

Data Integration

Newly Sequenced and Public Data, One Reference

The atlas is built from two complementary streams of data that the team unifies through a common processing and integration framework. This division of effort means every species is treated consistently, whether its profiles were generated by this project or reused from prior work.

Newly Sequenced

In-House Libraries

This project contributes freshly profiled brains from 52 vertebrate species, delivered as 109 single-nucleus libraries. Together these libraries yield 945,408 cells that join the integrated atlas, extending coverage into under-sampled non-mammalian lineages.

Public Datasets

Reanalyzed Data

50 additional vertebrate species are represented by publicly available datasets reanalyzed under the same uniform pipeline. Combining both streams produces an integrated atlas of 100 vertebrate species: 41 fishes, 38 mammals, 10 birds, 8 reptiles and 3 amphibians.

Working Together

How the Collaboration Fits Together

The project's roles map naturally onto the data journey, from the first specimen to the final evolutionary interpretation. Each step depends on the one before it, so the team works as a single pipeline across independent institutions.

  • 🐁

    Collection Partners

    Source, identify and dissect specimens spanning major vertebrate lineages, including both common model species and underrepresented non-mammalian groups.

  • 🧪

    Sequencing Facilities

    Build single-nucleus libraries on SeekOne and 10x Chromium platforms, benchmark platform performance and generate raw sequencing data at scale.

  • 📈

    Computational Group

    Uniformly process every library, run quality control, map to orthologs and integrate all cells into a single harmonized cross-species reference.

  • 🧬

    Evolutionary Researchers

    Annotate cell types, trace lineage-resolved subpopulations and interpret conservation and divergence in the context of vertebrate brain evolution.

Authorship

The full author list, with individual affiliations and contributions, appears in the manuscript currently under review. For the current record of the work and its citation details, see the publications page.

Explore What the Team Built

Browse the integrated cross-species atlas, compare cell types across lineages, and see the underlying data for yourself.

Overview Launch Cell Browser Datasets Publications