Silas Maniatis (Associate Director, Technology Innovation Lab) received his PhD in Biochemistry from Harvard University. During his doctoral work, he utilized automated olfactory avoidance behavioral training systems and high throughput sequencing to study how memory formation in drosophila is regulated via small RNAs. This work spanned multiple disciplines, including instrument design and construction, drosophila genetics, molecular, and computational biology. Prior to his doctoral work, Silas was a member of Richard Axel’s lab at Columbia University Medical Center. In the Axel lab, Silas utilized imaging and behavioral methods to identify the molecular and cellular underpinnings of sexual dimorphism in the mouse brain. Silas’ research career also includes work in startup and established biotech companies. At Genetics Institute, Silas built and operated robotic systems for high-throughput small molecule drug discovery screens. Silas was also a founding employee of Acceleron Pharma, where he helped establish the company’s research facilities and technological platform. His work at Acceleron Pharma included the construction of expression systems and cell lines now producing Luspatercept and several related molecules. At NYGC, Silas’ work is focused on understanding how intercellular interactions contribute to neurodegeneration. Given the intrinsic relationship between the physical arrangement of cells in the CNS and CNS function, methods that deliver data with spatial resolution are highly desirable for such studies. Accordingly, Silas’ work focusses on development and application of spatially resolved methods to studies of ALS and related dementias.