Waltzing Mice @ Velo!

Amanda Barkley-Levenson, a graduate student in Behavioral Neuroscience at OHSU, and Kelsey Holland-Rayle, an illustration major at PNCA (the Pacific Northwest College of Art), teamed up this week to present a lively introduction to the fascinating history of how mice studied in genetic and behavioral research came to be…

IMG_5731

The tale (tail?) involved passionate mouse fanciers in England and Japan, “sacred” mice from China, and the tireless work of committed women and men who laid the groundwork for the various strains now used to model everything from drug dependence to dementia…

IMG_5749

IMG_5718

IMG_5745

IMG_5746

IMG_5714

IMG_5808

IMG_5753

Kelsey created extraordinary and engaging illustrations of these various mice, including the “Black-6,” used in studies of alcohol dependence due to its great love of drinking (along with a few other distinct characteristics, listed below)…

IMG_5762

This reminded a few of the happy crowd at Velo Cult  –  which once again generously donated $1/pint that night to support WSUV/OHSU/PSU/PNCA neuroscience/art outreach in Vancouver and Portland public schools :)…

IMG_5748

IMG_5693

IMG_5814

Kelsey also created an interactive “build a mouse” project, and kids of all ages thronged her poster to choose coat colors, tail lengths, ear shapes, and other genetically influenced traits for their creative new rodents…

IMG_5790

IMG_5778

IMG_5786

FullSizeRender

Another fun, educational evening for everyone involved..!

IMG_5801

Read more at Kelsey’s tumblr page…

Sundew Studio

Many thanks to the talented Amanda and Kelsey  –  and Velo Cult for their unwavering support for public neuroscience and art (and great beer!)… 🙂

Comments are closed.