Post Doctoral Researcher
Research
​
I received my bachelor’s degree in biomolecular research from the University of Applied Sciences Utrecht in The Netherlands. For my PhD, I crossed the Atlantic and joined the lab of Peter Douglas at UT Southwestern in Dallas, Texas. In the Douglas lab I investigated why dopaminergic neurons are hypersensitive to mechanical stress. During these studies, we uncovered a Dopaminergic Stress Response (DSR) which appears to actively compromise neuronal function to promote cell survival. This stress response could provide an explanation behind neuronal dysfunction upon mechanical stress, such as after a traumatic brain injury, and might extend to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease. In my current role in the Dillin lab, I am studying non-canonical DNA conformations during aging and am developing new tools to study these transient structures.
​
Publications
​
Zuurbier KR, Solano Fonseca R, Arneaud SLB, Wall JM, Kim J, Tatge L, Otuzoglu G, Bali S, Metang P, Douglas PM. Yin Yang 1 and guanine quadruplexes protect dopaminergic neurons from cellular stress via transmissive dormancy. Nature Communications. 15, 10592 (2024)
​
Zuurbier KR, Solano Fonseca R, Arneaud SLB, Tatge L, Otuzoglu G, Douglas PM. Cytosolic dopamine determines hypersensitivity to blunt force trauma. iScience. 27, 110094 (2024)
​
Watterson A, Tatge L, Wajahat N, Arneaud SLB, Solano Fonseca R, Beheshti ST, Metang P, Mihelakis M, Zuurbier KR, Corley CD, Dehghan I, McDonald JG, Douglas PM. Intracellular lipid surveillance by small G protein geranylgeranylation. Nature, 605, 736–740 (2022)
​
Arneaud SLB, McClendon J, Tatge L, Watterson A, Zuurbier KR, Madhu B, Gumienny TL, Douglas PM. Reduced bone morphogenic protein signaling along the gut–neuron axis by heat shock factor promotes longevity. Aging Cell, e13693 (2022)
​
Solano Fonseca R, Arneaud SLB, Egge N, Zuurbier KR, McClendon J, Douglas PM. Glycolytic preconditioning in astrocytes mitigates trauma-induced neurodegeneration. Elife. 10, e69438 (2021)
​
Egge N, Arneaud SLB, McClendon J, Solano Fonseca R, Zuurbier KR, Douglas PM. Trauma-induced regulation of VHP-1 modulates the cellular response to mechanical stress. Nature Communications. 12 (1), 1-18 (2021)
​
Yanev P, Poinsatte K, Hominick D, Khurana N, Zuurbier KR, Berndt M, Plautz EJ, Dellinger MT, Stowe AM. Impaired meningeal lymphatic vessel development worsens stroke outcome. Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism. 40 (2), 263-275 (2020)
​
Sadler R, Cramer JV, Heindl S, Kostidis S, Betz D, Zuurbier KR, Northoff BH, Heijink M, Goldberg MP, Plautz EJ, Roth S, Malik R, Dichgans M, Holdt LM, Benakis C, Giera M, Stowe AM, Liesz A. Short-chain fatty acids improve poststroke recovery via immunological mechanisms. Journal of Neuroscience. 40 (5), 1162-1173 (2020)
​
Selvaraj UM, Zuurbier KR, Whoolery CW, Plautz EJ, Chambliss KL, Kong X, Zhang S, Kim SH, Katzenellenbogen BS, Katzenellenbogen JA, Mineo C, Shaul PW, Stowe AM. Selective Nonnuclear Estrogen Receptor Activation Decreases Stroke Severity and Promotes Functional Recovery in Female Mice. Endocrinology. 159 (11), 3848-3859 (2018)