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Dr. Deborah M. Kurrasch
BSc, PhD (Purdue University)
Assistant Professor
Department of Medical Genetics
Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary
3330 Hospital Drive NW, Rm 2275
Calgary, AB T2N 4N1
Tel: (403) 210-6713
Fax: (403) 270-0737
Email: Lab Website: www.deborahkurrasch.com Research Interests The Kurrasch Lab studies how hypothalamic neurons become organized into distinct neuronal clusters (“nuclei”). The human brain is exquisitely organized into either distinct layers or defined nuclei. Although layer formation has been well-studied, comparatively little is known about the cellular and molecular mechanisms that guide the movement of neurons into nuclei. We use our unique collection of molecular markers and genetic tools to study how neurons that reside in one nucleus of the hypothalamus – the ventromedial nucleus – are born and move to their final position. The long-term goal of the Kurrasch Lab is to explore whether environmental insults interfere with the developmental steps guiding nuclei formation, as an entry-point towards understanding the etiology of neuroendocrine disorders that are becoming common within the general population.
Representative Publications (from 20):
Lu F, Kar D, Swindell E, Jamrich, M, Kurrasch DM. Retinal and anterior homeobox gene is a marker for tuberal hypothalamic progenitors. Submitted Dev Dyn, 2011
Dixit R, Lu F, Cantrup R, Gruenig N, Kurrasch DM*, Schuurmans, C*. Efficient gene delivery into multiple CNS territories using in utero electroporation. J of Visualized Expts, 52:e2957, 2011. Kurrasch DM, Nevin LN, Wong JS, Baier H, Ingraham HA. Neuroendocrine transcriptional programs adapt dynamically to the supply and demand for neuropeptides as revealed in NSF mutant zebrafish. Neural Dev, 4:22, 2009. Kurrasch DM*, Cheung CC*, Lee FV, Tran PV, Hata K, Ingraham HA. The Neonatal Ventromedial Hypothalamus Transcriptome Reveals Novel Markers with Spatially Distinct Patterning. J Neurosci, 27:13624-34, 2007.
Research Funding
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Discovery Grant Regulation of Neuropeptidergic Cell Homeostasis, 2010-2015
Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Leaders Opportunity Fund Infrastructure resources for a zebrafish vivarium and confocal microscope, 2011-2014
University Research Grants Committee The Role of Rax in Hypothalamic Development, 2010-2012
Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation Establishment Grant, 2009
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