Melina A. Agosto
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agostolab.bsky.social
Melina A. Agosto
@agostolab.bsky.social
350 followers 310 following 32 posts
Assistant professor at Dalhousie University; retina cell biology and biochemistry, synapses, signaling, and trafficking; opinions are my own.
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agostolab.bsky.social
We replaced the gaskets on the gel pouring rigs with foam weatherstrip a few months ago. No leaks yet!
Photo of gaskets for gel pouring rig (left) and roll of foam weatherstrip (right) Gel pouring rig with new gaskets :)
September 30, 2025 at 9:19 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
New paper! Kudos to first author Jaeeun Lee, who is a fantastic and hard working student. We showed that at photoreceptor presynapses, ELFN1 enrichment depends on postsynaptic mGluR6.
www.jneurosci.org/content/earl...
Confocal microscope images of the outer plexiform layer of WT or nob3 (mGluR6 null) mouse retina labeled with antibodies for ELFN1 (cyan) and PSD95 (magenta). In nob3 retina, ELFN1 is still localized to rod spherules, but synaptic enrichment is compromised.
September 11, 2025 at 5:02 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
The mysterious non-PSD localization of PSD95 🟣 in the retina outer plexiform layer... co-stained for postsynaptic TRPM1 🟢
#FluorescenceFriday
Confocal microscope image of mouse retina section labeled with antibodies for PSD95 (magenta) and TRPM1 (green).
August 30, 2025 at 10:10 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
Posted by @mit.edu on another platform
Quote from MIT President Sally Kornbluth's commencement address: "We believe in the beauty and power of fundamental scientific discovery - that incredibly intricate, maddening, heroic, intoxicating process of exploration and testing that somehow got stuck with the bland label 'basic research.'"
May 29, 2025 at 10:22 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
An elegant ON bipolar cell expressing ER marker mEmerald-Sec61 🟦 and co-stained with mGluR6 antibody 🟥. #FluorescenceFriday More info in this old paper: www.eneuro.org/content/5/3/...
Retinal ON-bipolar cell expressing mEmerald-Sec61 (blue), and labeled with mGluR6 antibody (red).
May 2, 2025 at 11:41 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
Lab lunch 😀
Eating lunch with some of my students
April 22, 2025 at 8:37 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
Submitted a new CIHR grant today. I don't suppose it will be funded, but I'm grateful to at least have a functional federal agency to submit it to. Also - sunset in the retina lab kitchen:
Photo of a sunset from the kitchen window in the retina lab at Dalhousie.
March 5, 2025 at 6:43 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
Study sections scheduled for this past week that were canceled:
List of canceled meetings last week: Neurotechnology and Vision H Lung Immunology and Infection Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award A Therapeutic Development and Preclinical Studies Neurobiology of Pain and Itch Molecular and Cellular Neuropharmacology Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Sciences Topics in Health Services Research: Big Data, Health Information Technology, and Clinical Informatics D Advancing Therapeutics K Bacterial Virulence Kidney Endocrine and Digestive Disorders Basic Mechanisms of Cancer Health Disparities Learning, Memory and Decision Neuroscience Molecular Neurogenetics Skeletal Biology Development and Disease Clinical Neurodegeneration Translational Neuroscience Nutrition and Metabolism in Health and Disease Collaborative Applications: Clinical Studies of Mental Illness S Aging Systems and Geriatrics Biodata Management and Analysis Brain Injury and Neurovascular Disorders Clinical Data Management and Analysis Clinical Neuroplasticity and Neurotransmitters Chemical Synthesis and Biosynthesis Emerging Imaging Technologies and Applications Hemostasis, Thrombosis, Blood Cells and Transfusion Molecular Cancer Diagnosis and Classification Mechanisms of Cancer Therapeutics B Prokaryotic Cell and Molecular Biology Pulmonary Vascular Disease and Physiology Reproductive, Perinatal and Pediatric Health Therapeutic Immune Regulation Immune Mechanisms of Hypersensitivity and Allergy (IMHA) B Adult Lifespan Psychopathology Advancing Therapeutics - B Clinical Integrative Cardiovascular and Hematological Sciences Interventions to Prevent and Treat Addictions Psychosocial Risk and Interpersonal Processes of Health L Addiction Risks and Mechanisms Chemical Biology and Probes Tumor Evolution, Heterogeneity and Metastasis Societal and Ethical Issues
February 23, 2025 at 5:01 AM
agostolab.bsky.social
My students give me hope for the future!
Photo of my lab group from January 2025
February 6, 2025 at 2:49 AM
agostolab.bsky.social
For #FluorescenceFriday, here are some F-actin 💧 puncta in rod connecting cilia. (The stringy things below are in Muller cell microvilli.) Co-stained with 🔴 calnexin antibody and DAPI.
Confocal image of mouse retina stained with phalloidin (cyan), calnexin antibody (red), and DAPI (blue). Phalloidin puncta near the top are located at the base of the outer segment / distal connecting cilium.
January 4, 2025 at 3:06 AM
agostolab.bsky.social
Paper is out! Many thanks to the numerous students - mostly undergrads - who contributed to this project.
www.life-science-alliance.org/content/8/3/...
Immunofluorescence image of HEK cells expressing mGluR6 CSNB mutants.
December 17, 2024 at 5:04 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
This could be the view from your office! We're recruiting a #tenuretrack Assistant or Associate Prof in the Retina and Optic Nerve Research Group at Dalhousie University.
dal.peopleadmin.ca/postings/16403
View from office window showing the Halifax peninsula and a bit of ocean beyond. This is actually the view from my window, but the new recruit will be my neighbor and have a similar view.
December 9, 2024 at 4:00 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
My first image of the cornea. It's more beautiful than I expected - no offence, cornea folks! 🟥 Phalloidin, 🟨 Calnexin, 🟦 DAPI.
Confocal microscope image of mouse cornea section labeled with phalloidin (F-actin, red); calnexin antibody (ER marker, yellow); and DAPI (nuclear marker).
December 3, 2024 at 11:14 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
The funny things that new students do...
Image of microscope slides labeled everywhere except the frosted labeling area
November 27, 2024 at 3:14 AM
agostolab.bsky.social
Testing new antibodies! For #MicroscopyMonday, here are mouse photoreceptor inner segments (🔴 Na/K ATPase) and (broken) outer segments (💧 Peripherin/Rds/PRPH2).
Confocal microscope image of a mouse retina section showing photoreceptor inner segments labeled with antibody for Na/K ATPase (red) and outer segments labeled with antibody for Peripherin/Rds (cyan). The outer segments are broken in this sample.
November 18, 2024 at 6:45 PM
agostolab.bsky.social
The retina provides pretty pictures even when antibodies misbehave. I'm calling this one "bipolars in a starry sky".
Confocal microscope image of mouse retina labeled with antibodies for PKCalpha (red), TRPM1 (yellow), and 4.1B (cyan).
November 14, 2024 at 12:42 AM