Janosch Heller

Dr.

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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.

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, Janosch joined the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and the SFI 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
2021 Michaluk P;Heller JP;Rusakov DA; (2021) 'Rapid recycling of glutamate transporters on the astroglial surface'. eLife, 10 . [DOI]
2020 (2020) 'Imaging tripartite synapses using super-resolution microscopy'. Methods, . [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 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 Piotr Michaluk;Janosch Heller;Dmitri A. Rusakov; (2020) 'Rapid recycling of glutamate transporters on the astroglial surface'. . [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]
2019 (2019) 'Loss of Bardet-Biedl syndrome proteins causes synaptic aberrations in principal neurons'. . [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]
2018 (2018) 'LTP induction drives remodeling of astroglia to boost glutamate escape from synapses: Supplementary Figures'. . [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]
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 (2017) 'Exploring Nanoscale Organisation of Synapses with Super-Resolution Microscopy'. Opera Medica Et Physiologica, . [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 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 Heller, J.P.;Rusakov, D.A.; (2015) 'Morphological plasticity of astroglia: Understanding synaptic microenvironment'. Glia, . [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 (2015) 'Full length talin stimulates integrin activation and axon regeneration'. MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR NEUROSCIENCE, . [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 (2014) 'Enhancing RPE Cell-Based Therapy Outcomes for AMD: The Role of Bruch's Membrane'. Translational Vision Science & Technology, . [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]
2021 Aleksejenko, N;Heller, JP (2021) 'Super-resolution imaging to reveal the nanostructure of tripartite synapses'. Neuronal signaling, 5 (4). [DOI]
Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2023) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

Committees

Committee Function From / To
Athena Swan Self Assessment Team -
SoBT Research Committee -
Neuroscience Ireland Early Career Researcher Network -
Faculty International Committee -

Employment

Employer Position From / To
John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge Research Assistant 01/10/2009 - 31/12/2009
Royal College of Surgeons Postdoctoral Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellow 01/12/2018 - 30/11/2020
Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London Research Associate 01/03/2014 - 31/12/2020
Center for Molecular Neurobiology Hamburg Student Research Assistant 01/01/2008 - 29/02/2008
Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London Honorary Lecturer 01/01/2021 -

Education

Start date Institution Qualification Subject
University of Cambridge PhD
University of Cologne Diplom

Languages

Language Reading Writing Speaking
English Fluent Fluent Fluent
German Fluent Fluent Fluent

Reviews

Journal Role
Applied Sciences Reviewer
Brain Reviewer
Brain Sciences Reviewer
Cytotherapy Reviewer
Glia Reviewer
Genes Reviewer
Journal of Visualized Experiments Reviewer
Marine Drugs Reviewer
Molecular Vision Reviewer
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology Reviewer
Nutrients Reviewer
International Journal of Molecular Sciences Reviewer
VISION Reviewer
Journal of Clinical Medicine Reviewer
Frontiers in Genome Editing Reviewer
Children (Basel, Switzerland) Reviewer
All Life Reviewer
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Reviewer
International Journal of Translational Medicine Reviewer
Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) Reviewer
Cells Reviewer
Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience Reviewer
Biology Reviewer
Foods (Basel, Switzerland) Reviewer
Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience Reviewer

Other Activities

Description
Peer reviewer of grant proposals for Fight for Sight
Peer reviewer of grant proposals for Programme Hubert Curien Maimonide
Peer reviewer of grant proposals for Research Grants Council (RGC) of Hong Kong

Enterprise Engagement

Year Engagement Type Client Description
2021 Consultancy Rejuveron Life Sciences AG Consultancy work on blood-brain-barrier work
2022 Consultancy Rejuveron Life Sciences AG Consultancy work on blood-brain-barrier work

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.

Research Projects

Title Role Description Start date End date
Light-sheet microscopy to uncover changes in the glymphatic system in epilepsy PI 16/02/2021 26/11/2021
Super-resolution microscopy to uncover changes in the glymphatic system in epilepsy DCU PI 11/01/2021 10/01/2022
Super-resolution imaging to uncover microRNA control of astrocytes in epilepsy PI This Horizon2020 – Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions – Individual Fellowship grant proposal focuses on exploring mechanisms controlling the structure of support cells (astrocytes) in the brain that promote hyper-excitable neuronal networks and underlie common, chronic neurologic disorders such as epilepsy. My research builds on emerging data showing the molecular machinery for microRNAs - short non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally by targeting mRNAs - is present locally, within astrocyte processes. For this purpose, I will employ for the first time super-resolution microscopy to visualise astrocyte processes and microRNAs in rodent and human brain. I will then target candidate microRNAs to influence astrocyte morphology, and increase local translation of neurotransmitter and ion channels in astrocytic processes. In turn, this allows the clearing of excess glutamate and potassium from the synaptic cleft and hence prevents synchronous neuronal discharges that generate seizures. During the fellowship, I will acquire new research skills in modelling epilepsy and through training and secondments, where I will visualise locally produced proteins in astrocyte processes after microRNA targeting. The ground-breaking nature of the project will enhance my creative and innovative potential. With advanced training and international mobility, the fellowship will help me to diversify my scientific and non-scientific skills needed to help me reach my career goal of transitioning into an independent principal investigator in molecular imaging and translational neuroscience focused on astrocyte biology and pathophysiology. These findings will have strong therapeutic relevance, offering a novel strategy for seizure-suppressive or disease-modifying actions via targeting microRNAs that regulate aberrant astrocyte morphology that could benefit patients with drug-resistant, refractory epilepsy, which affects approximately 2 million people in Europe. 01/12/2018 30/11/2020

Current Postgraduate Students

Student Name Degree Supervision
Aleksejenko ,Natalija PhD-track Supervisor

Internal Collaborators

Type Name Company Role
Internal Keith Rochfort Dublin City University, School of Biotechnology Academic
Internal Phil Cummins Dublin City University, School of Biotechnology Academic

External Collaborators

Type Name Company Role
External David Henshall Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, FutureNeuro Academic
External Ingmar Schoen Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Academic
External Dmitri Rusakov Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London Academic
External Iben Lundgaard Lund University Academic
External Jessica Kwok University of Leeds Academic
External Andreas Lieb Medical University Innsbruck Academic

Modules Coordinated

Term Title Subject
2022 Gene Cloning and Gene Expression 2 BE533
2022 Bioanalytical Practicals I BE353
2022 How life works 2 BE102
2022 Environmental Toxicology BE436