Janosch Heller
Dr.
Dr Janosch Heller is an Irish Research Council Laureate and Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences in the School of Biotechnology at Dublin City University. Additionally, Dr Heller is an Honorary Lecturer at University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UK and a visiting scientist at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
Dr Heller obtained a Diplom in Biology with a focus on Biochemistry and Genetics from the University of Cologne in Germany before moving to the UK in 2009. There, he completed a PhD in Clinical Neurosciences under the supervision of Prof James Fawcett and Prof Keith Martin at the University of Cambridge. His research focused on activating integrins as a therapeutic strategy in spinal cord injury and age-related macular degeneration.
Afterwards, Dr. Heller moved to the Queen Square Institute of Neurology at University College London, UK as a Research Associate to work with Prof Dmitri Rusakov. He was the first to establish single molecule localisation microscopy at the Institute and investigated the nano-environment of tripartite synapses. In 2018, Dr Heller joined the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the Research Ireland Research Centre FutureNeuro as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow. His project AstroMiRimage aimed at deciphering microRNA control of local translation in astrocytic processes in epilepsy.
In 2020, Dr Heller joined the School of Biotechnology at DCU to start his research group focussing on astrocytes as therapeutic targets in neurological diseases.
Book Chapter
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | (2020) 'Multicolor Superresolution Microscopy: Revealing the Nano World of Astrocytes In Situ' In: Volume Microscopy. [DOI] | |
| 2019 | (2019) 'A Method to Visualize the Nanoscopic Morphology of Astrocytes In Vitro and In Situ' In: Methods in Molecular Biology. [DOI] | |
| 2014 | Kwok, J.C.F.; Heller, J.P.; Zhao, R.-R.; Fawcett, J.W.; (2014) 'Targeting inhibitory chondroitin sulphate proteoglycans to promote plasticity after injury' In: Methods in Molecular Biology. [DOI] |
Peer Reviewed Journal
| Year | Publication | |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Montero Llopis, P; van Oostende-Triplet, C; Gaudreault, N; Strambio De Castillia, C; Fernandez-Rodriguez, J; Martins, G; North, A; Acevedo, L; Avilov, S; Bertocchi, C; Boehm, U; Cameron, L; Cammer, M; Cleret-Buhot, A; Dietzel, S; Faklaris, O; Gaboriau, D; Guilbert, T; Grunwald, D; Gu, T; Halidi, N; Hammer, M; Hartmann, H; Heller, J; Jambor, H; Koksoy, AA; Lacoste, J; Larsen, D; Le Dévédec, SE; Liu, P; Moore, J; Nelson, G; Nelson, M; Norlin, N; Parslow, A; Payne-Dwyer, AL; Peterson, J; Podder, S; Ravasio, A; Rosa-Molinar, E; Schroth-Diez, B; Selchow, O; Srinivasan, S; Taatjes, D; Vonderstein, K; Walther, C; Nitschke, R (2026) 'Better reporting is better science: Community-defined minimal reporting requirements for light microscopy'. The Journal of cell biology, 225 (3). [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Mamad, O.; Heiland, M.; Lindner, A.U.; Hill, T.D.M.; Ronroy, R.M.; Rentrup, K.; Sanz-Rodriguez, A.; Langa, E.; Heller, J.P.; Moreno, O.; Llop, J.; Bhattacharya, A.; Palmer, J.A.; Ceusters, M.; Engel, T.; Henshall, D.C. (2023) 'Anti-seizure effects of JNJ-54175446 in the intra-amygdala kainic acid model of drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy in mice'. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 14 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Brindley, E.; Heiland, M.; Mooney, C.; Diviney, M.; Mamad, O.; Hill, T.D.M.; Yan, Y.; Venø, M.T.; Reschke, C.R.; Batool, A.; Langa, E.; Sanz-Rodriguez, A.; Heller, J.P.; Morris, G.; Conboy, K.; Kjems, J.; Brennan, G.P.; Henshall, D.C. (2023) 'Brain cell-specific origin of circulating microRNA biomarkers in experimental temporal lobe epilepsy'. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 16 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2023 | Kopach, O.; Sylantyev, S.; Bard, L.; Michaluk, P.; Heller, J.P.; Gutierrez del Arroyo, A.; Ackland, G.L.; Gourine, A.V.; Rusakov, D.A. (2023) 'Human neutrophils communicate remotely via calcium-dependent glutamate-induced glutamate release'. Iscience, 26 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Michaluk, P.; Heller, J.P.; Rusakov, D.A. (2021) 'Rapid recycling of glutamate transporters on the astroglial surface'. eLife, 10 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2021 | Aleksejenko, N.; Heller, J.P. (2021) 'Super-resolution imaging to reveal the nanostructure of tripartite synapses'. Neuronal signaling, 5 . [Link] [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Henneberger C; Bard L; Panatier A; Reynolds JP; Kopach O; Medvedev NI; Minge D; Herde MK; Anders S; Kraev I; Heller JP; Rama S; Zheng K; Jensen TP; Sanchez-Romero I; Jackson CJ; Janovjak H; Ottersen OP; Nagelhus EA; Oliet SHR; Stewart MG; Nägerl UV; Rusakov DA; (2020) 'LTP Induction Boosts Glutamate Spillover by Driving Withdrawal of Perisynaptic Astroglia'. Neuron, 108 (5). [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Piotr Michaluk; Janosch Heller; Dmitri A. Rusakov; (2020) 'Rapid recycling of glutamate transporters on the astroglial surface'. . [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Janosch P Heller; Tristan G Heintz; Jessica CF Kwok; Keith R Martin; James W Fawcett; (2020) 'Immunochemical analysis of the integrin expression in retinal pigment epithelial cells'. . [DOI] | |
| 2020 | (2020) 'A systems approach delivers a functional microRNA catalog and expanded targets for seizure suppression in temporal lobe epilepsy'. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences, . [DOI] | |
| 2020 | (2020) 'Imaging tripartite synapses using super-resolution microscopy'. Methods, . [DOI] | |
| 2020 | Campbell, A; Morris, G; Heller, JP; Langa, E; Brindley, E; Worm, J; Jensen, MA; Miller, MT; Henshall, DC; Reschke, CR (2020) 'Antagomir-mediated suppression of microRNA-134 reduces kainic acid-induced seizures in immature mice'. Scientific Reports, 11 (1). [DOI] | |
| 2019 | Naila Haq; Christoph Schmidt-Hieber; Fernando J. Sialana; Lorenza Ciani; Janosch P. Heller; Michelle Stewart; Liz Bentley; Sara Wells; Richard J. Rodenburg; Patrick M. Nolan; Elizabeth Forsythe; Michael C. Wu; Gert Lubec; P. Salinas; Michael Häusser; Philip L. Beales; Sofia Christou-Savina; (2019) 'Loss of Bardet-Biedl syndrome proteins causes synaptic aberrations in principal neurons'. PLoS Biology, . [DOI] | |
| 2019 | (2019) 'Loss of Bardet-Biedl syndrome proteins causes synaptic aberrations in principal neurons'. . [DOI] | |
| 2018 | Andreas Lieb; Yichen Qiu; Christine L. Dixon; Janosch P. Heller; Matthew C. Walker; Stephanie Schorge; Dimitri M. Kullmann; (2018) 'Biochemical autoregulatory gene therapy for focal epilepsy'. Nature Medicine, . [DOI] | |
| 2018 | (2018) 'LTP induction drives remodeling of astroglia to boost glutamate escape from synapses: Supplementary Figures'. . [DOI] | |
| 2017 | (2017) 'Exploring Nanoscale Organisation of Synapses with Super-Resolution Microscopy'. Opera Medica Et Physiologica, . [DOI] | |
| 2017 | Janosch P. Heller; Piotr Michaluk; Kohtaroh Sugao; Dmitri A. Rusakov; (2017) 'Probing nano-organization of astroglia with multi-color super-resolution microscopy'. Neuroscience Research, . [DOI] | |
| 2017 | Heller, J.P.; Rusakov, D.A.; (2017) 'The nanoworld of the tripartite synapse: Insights from super-resolution microscopy'. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, . [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Heller, J.P.; Kwok, J.C.F.; Vecino, E.; Martin, K.R.; Fawcett, J.W.; (2015) 'A method for the isolation and culture of adult rat retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells to study retinal diseases'. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, . [DOI] | |
| 2015 | White, A.J.R.; Heller, J.P.; Leung, J.; Tassoni, A.; Martin, K.R.; (2015) 'Retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection by an angiotensin II blocker in an ex vivo retinal explant model'. JRAAS - Journal of the Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System, . [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Heller, J.P.; Rusakov, D.A.; (2015) 'Morphological plasticity of astroglia: Understanding synaptic microenvironment'. Glia, . [DOI] | |
| 2015 | Vecino, E.; Heller, J.P.; Veiga-Crespo, P.; Martin, K.R.; Fawcett, J.W.; (2015) 'Influence of extracellular matrix components on the expression of integrins and regeneration of adult retinal ganglion cells'. PLoS ONE, . [DOI] | |
| 2015 | (2015) 'Full length talin stimulates integrin activation and axon regeneration'. MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE, . [DOI] | |
| 2014 | (2014) 'Enhancing RPE Cell-Based Therapy Outcomes for AMD: The Role of Bruch's Membrane'. Translational Vision Science & Technology, . [DOI] | |
| 2014 | Heintz, T.G.; Heller, J.P.; Zhao, R.; Caceres, A.; Eva, R.; Fawcett, J.W.; (2014) 'Kinesin KIF4A transports integrin β1 in developing axons of cortical neurons'. MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE, . [DOI] | |
| 2014 | Johnson, T.V.; Dekorver, N.W.; Levasseur, V.A.; Osborne, A.; Tassoni, A.; Lorber, B.; Heller, J.P.; Villasmil, R.; Bull, N.D.; Martin, K.R.; Tomarev, S.I.; (2014) 'Identification of retinal ganglion cell neuroprotection conferred by platelet-derived growth factor through analysis of the mesenchymal stem cell secretome'. Brain, . [DOI] | |
| 2011 | Kwok, J.C.F.; Tan, C.L.; Wang, D.; Heller, J.; Fawcett, J.W.; (2011) 'Chondroitin sulfates in axon regeneration and plasticity'. Trends in Glycoscience and Glycotechnology, . [DOI] | |
| 2009 | Calamai, M.; Specht, C.G.; Heller, J.; Alcor, D.; Machado, P.; Vannier, C.; Triller, A.; (2009) 'Gephyrin oligomerization controls GlyR mobility and synaptic clustering'. Neuroscience, . [DOI] |
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2026) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.
Employment
Reviews
Enterprise Engagement
Research Interests
Dr. Heller’s current research interests are focused on manipulating astrocyte control of waste clearing in the brain. Specifically, Dr. Heller’s laboratory combines molecular and biochemical approaches together with state-of-the-art bioimaging (super-resolution microscopy) to understand how specialised glia cells change in disease and how these cells can be targeted as novel therapeutic intervention to treat neurological and neuropsychiatric diseases.