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New Method Helps Scientists Study the Brain’s Protective Barrier
A new study from the University of Washington’s Department of Chemical Engineering offers researchers a clearer path forward in blood-brain barrier research—work with significant implications for understanding and treating neurological conditions. Sydney Floryanzia, a graduate student working in the Nance Lab, developed standardized methods for isolating primary neurovascular cells from brain tissue. These improved protocols increase cell yield and viability while providing clear visual benchmarks to support reproducibility and guide other researchers.
Floryanzia and Nance’s collaboration began more than a decade ago, when Floryanzia was still in high school. A mentor connected them based on their shared interest in combining chemical engineering and neuroscience, laying the foundation for a long-term partnership grounded in inclusive STEM education and research.
Elizabeth Nance, Ph.D., who leads the Nance Lab, is an IDDRC research affiliate at the IHDD. Her lab’s work supports foundational advances in neuroscience, including how we model and study the blood-brain barrier in disease. This research helps fill longstanding gaps in methodology, offering practical tools and visual documentation to improve experimental consistency. The ability to reliably isolate and study cell types such as astrocytes, pericytes, and endothelial cells opens new opportunities for therapeutic screening and disease modeling in conditions ranging from multiple sclerosis to Alzheimer’s disease.
Read the full article on the UW Chemical Engineering website.
