Behavioural Neurogenetics

Judith.Homberg @radboudumc.nl

Department of Cognitive Neuroscience
Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre
Trigon Building /route 205
Kapittelweg 29
6525 EN Nijmegen
The Netherlands

• Coordinator of Eranid Project "STANDUP", aiming to investigate the relationship between sensory processing sensitivity and drug addiction in humans and rats.

• Partner in Era-net NEURON project "RESPOND" (RolE of Serotonin in the Pathogenesis Of Neurodevelopmental Disorders ): https://respond.mdc-berlin.de/

• Principal investigator of an EFRO project investigating the effect of early nutrition on healthy brain development

• Principal investigator of a DCN project focusing on the role of myelination in depression using rat models

• Principal investigator of a Science without Borders project aiming to develop a nanosystem to bring BDNF over the blood-brain barrier and to remediate depressive-like symptoms in rats.

• Principal investigator of a KNAW China exchange project aiming to elucidate the role of serotonin-mediated neurodevelopment versus neurotransmission in vulnerability to depression

• Principal investigator of a DCN project focusing on the role of maternal serotonergic genes on neurodevelopment of offspring in rats and humans

• 2013: European Behaviour and Neural Genetics Society (IBANGS) Young Scientist Award

• 2012: Top reviewer of the Journal Neuropharmacology

• 2011: European Behavioural Pharmacology Society (EBPS) Young Investigator Prize

• 2011: Aspasia Award for highly qualified Women in Science

• 2010: NWO VIDI grant

• Kroeze Y, Oti M, van Beusekom E, Cooijmans RH, van Bokhoven H, Kolk SM, Homberg JR, Zhou H. Transcriptome Analysis Identifies Multifaceted Regulatory Mechanisms Dictating a Genetic Switch from Neuronal Network Establishment to Maintenance During Postnatal Prefrontal Cortex Development. Cereb Cortex. 2017. doi: 10.1093/cercor/bhw407.

• Homberg JR, Schubert D, Asan E, Aron EN. Sensory processing sensitivity and serotonin gene variance: Insights into mechanisms shaping environmental sensitivity. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016 Dec;71:472-483.

• Miceli S, Nadif Kasri N, Joosten J, Huang C, Kepser L, Proville R, Selten MM, van Eijs F, Azarfar A, Homberg JR, Celikel T, Schubert D. Reduced Inhibition within Layer IV of Sert Knockout Rat Barrel Cortex is Associated with Faster Sensory Integration. Cereb Cortex. 2017 Feb 1;27(2):933-949.

• Karel P, Calabrese F, Riva M, Brivio P, Van der Veen B, Reneman L, Verheij M, Homberg J. d-Cycloserine enhanced extinction of cocaine-induced conditioned place preference is attenuated in serotonin transporter knockout rats. Addict Biol. 2016 Dec 12. doi: 10.1111/adb.12483.

• Kroeze Y, Peeters D, Boulle F, van den Hove DL, van Bokhoven H, Zhou H, Homberg JR (2015) Long-term consequences of chronic fluoxetine exposure on the expression of myelination-related genes in the rat hippocampus. Transl Psychiatry. 2015 Sep 22;5:e642. doi: 10.1038/tp.2015.145.

• Van der Doelen R, Kozicz T, Homberg JR (2013). Adaptive fitness: early life adversity improves adult stress coping in heterozygous serotonin transporter knockout rats, Molecular Psychiatry. 18(12):1244-5.

• Nonkes LJP, de Pooter M, Homberg JR (2012). Behavioral therapy based on distraction alleviates impaired fear extinction in male serotonin transporter knockout rats. Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, 37(4):224-30.