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--- highlights:2025:brainvr [2026/02/10 06:53] – Ronell Sicat
+++ highlights:2025:brainvr [2026/02/11 14:01] (current) – Ronell Sicat
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+{{:wiki:highlights:2025:spatial_marifer4.png?400|}}
 <WRAP center round box 100%> {{:favicon.ico?nolink&0x30}} <fs:26px>** KVL Staff on Project**</fs>
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 ===== Overview =====
-In May 2025, Ms. Maria Fernanda Veloz from the Laboratory of Prof. Pierre Magistretti, attended the Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) and Gordon Research Conference (GRC) on Volume Electron Microscopy (vEM), held in Barcelona, Spain. The meeting gathered an international community of researchers advancing the frontiers of vEM; a rapidly evolving field transforming our understanding of cellular and tissue ultrastructure through large-scale, high-resolution 3D imaging.
+During November and December 2025, Dr. María Fernanda Veloz Castillo presented her PhD research at two international conferences: the [[https://www.sfn.org/meetings/neuroscience-2025|Society for Neuroscience Annual Meeting]] in San Diego (November 15-19) and the [[https://natureconferences.streamgo.live/brain-health-energy|Nature Conference on Brain Energy Metabolism in Health and Disease]] (December 3-5). At both events, the work presented highlighted the results of her doctoral research focused on glycogen metabolism during learning, with particular emphasis on the structural insights gained through advanced imaging using volume electron microscopy (vEM) and 3D reconstruction of key cellular compartments.
-During the GRS, Ms. Veloz presented a poster on **deep-learning–based segmentation and 3D reconstruction of glycogen granules and mitochondria in microwave-fixed brain samples**. This project is part of an ongoing collaboration between the Magistretti Laboratory and Dr. Ronell Sicat from the Visualization Core Lab. By integrating advanced focused-beam microwave fixation with vEM pipelines and computational segmentation tools, the team is mapping energy-related structures in the brain at nanoscale resolution.
+A key component of this work was developed in close collaboration between the Laboratory of Prof. Pierre Magistretti and Dr. Ronell Sicat from the KAUST Visualization Core Lab, which explored how immersive visualization could enhance not only data analysis, but also scientific communication.
-The poster presentation was very well received by the community, sparking engaging discussions and highlighting the importance of bridging neuroscience and visualization technologies. The GRC further offered the opportunity to learn from leaders in the field, covering innovations ranging from FIB-SEM and multi-beam tomography to new computational workflows for handling large datasets.
-This participation not only showcased the lab’s progress in connecting brain energy metabolism with cutting-edge imaging, but also fostered valuable feedback and collaborations within the vEM community.
+===== Turning Poster Presentations into Immersive Journeys =====
+The datasets presented at both conferences consisted of large vEM image stacks of hippocampal brain tissue, comparing focused-beam microwave fixation with chemical fixation. Key structures from these datasets were reconstructed in 3D to better capture the spatial organization relevant to glycogen metabolism in learning-related processes.
-{{ :wiki:highlights:2025:brainem_poster_preview.png?600 | Poster preview.}}
+To allow conference attendees to truly appreciate the scale, complexity, and spatial relationships within these datasets, the team went beyond a traditional poster-only format. Instead, the 3D reconstructions were placed inside a metaverse environment, where participants could explore them interactively using a Meta Quest 3 virtual reality (VR) headset. The virtual room also included the poster itself, allowing attendees to move freely between reading the content and figures, and directly engaging with the data in three dimensions.
-[[https://download.vis.kaust.edu.sa/pub/misc/poster_brain_em.pdf|Click here to download full pdf version of poster.]]
+This immersive setup had a clear impact on how people interacted with the work. Attendees were noticeably more inclined to stop at the poster, ask questions, and spend time exploring the data. The ability to navigate the 3D reconstructions made it easier to explain why spatial context is critical for interpreting biological processes such as glycogen distribution and metabolism in the hippocampus.
-{{ :wiki:highlights:2025:brainem.jpeg?400 | Ms. Veloz with the poster.}}
+Finally, these poster presentations demonstrated how immersive visualization can bridge the gap between complex datasets and clear scientific storytelling. Integrating virtual reality and metaverse-based visualization into conference presentations not only improved audience engagement but also more effectively communicated the relevance and impact of 3D biological data.
+This work highlights the growing role of visualization, not just as a final step for presentation, but as an integral component of modern biomedical research and knowledge exchange.
+{{ :wiki:highlights:2025:poster_marifer2.png?700 | Poster preview.}}
+{{ :wiki:highlights:2025:spatial_marifer4.png?700 | Example user view inside application (captured from desktop).}}
+{{ :wiki:highlights:2025:vr_marifer1.jpg?700 | Dr. Veloz using the VR application.}}
+{{ :wiki:highlights:2025:vr_marifer2.jpg?700 | Dr. Veloz showcasing the VR application to a participant.}}
+{{ :wiki:highlights:2025:vr_marifer3.jpg?700 | Dr. Veloz showcasing the VR application to a participant.}}
+**Credits**
+  * Text written by Dr. Maria Fernanda Veloz Castillo
+  * Photos by: Omar David Sandoval Sida [CC BY-SA 4.0] Wikimedia Commons
+  * Links to original photos: [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VR_demo_during_poster_session_at_KAUST_20.jpg|1]], [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VR_demo_during_poster_session_at_KAUST_15.jpg|2]], [[https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:VR_demo_during_poster_session_at_KAUST_08.jpg|3]]
-Text and photo c/o Ms. Veloz.
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