Dr. Deborah M. Kurrasch

BSc (Purdue University), PhD (Purdue University), Assistant ProfessorDepartments of Medical Genetics and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Affiliations: Member – The Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute Associate Member – The Hotchkiss Brain Institute

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 (VMH) – are born and move to their final position. Presumably, similar mechanisms are used throughout the brain to organize neurons into clusters and thus, we predict that our findings in the VMH will be applicable to other brain regions. The long-term goal of the Kurrasch Lab is to explore whether environmental insults interfere with the developmental steps guiding hypothalamic nuclei formation, as an entry-point towards understanding the etiology of neuroendocrine disorders that are becoming increasingly common within the general population.

 To address these questions, we conduct loss-of-function (i.e., morpholino knockdown and Cre technology) and gain-of-function experiments (i.e., in utero electroporation) using both mice and zebrafish as model systems.

Kurrasch Lab Website: www.deborahkurrasch.com

Personnel:

View Pub Med for Recent Publications & Abstracts

Recent Publications:

• 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.

Contact Information:
University of Calgary
Health Sciences Building, Room 2275
3330 Hospital Drive NW,
Calgary, AB T2N 4N1
Tel: (403) 210-6713
Fax: (403) 210-8757
Email: kurrasch [at] ucalgary [dot] ca