Jens Coorssen

 

Biography

Jens trained in Canada (BSc, MSc, PhD) with subsequent Fellowships at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research (Heidelberg) and the National Institutes of Health (USA). Following a NIH Visiting Scientist appointment he was an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Medicine/Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary. In 2008 he was appointed Foundation Professor of Molecular Physiology at the new School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney.

The Molecular Physiology Unit operates on the philosophy that only by understanding essential molecular mechanisms can we rationally address serious medical disorders, and that this also provides the best strategy for training the next generations of Biomedical Researchers, Clinical Scientists, and Physicians. We strive to make our teaching and training the best possible preparation and guide for our students to become those future colleagues we hold in the highest esteem.

Research operates at the interface of physiology, biochemistry, physical chemistry, molecular biology and biophysics, coupling functional assays/diagnoses with proteomic and lipid analyses to dissect molecular mechanisms. A strong, quantitative Basic Biomedical research program provides solid grounding for Translational Research that addresses problems of more immediate clinical relevance. Much of this work grows from and is supported by a variety of local and international collaborations.

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Areas of Research / Teaching Expertise

  • Exocytosis/membrane fusion
  • Synaptic mechanisms/plasticity
  • Preterm labour
  • Spinal cord/CNS injury
  • Seizure disorders
    Stroke/cardiovascular disease
  • Memory deficits
  • Cancer Proteomics/Lipidomics/Systems Biology

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Grants / Current Projects

2008
Confocal Microscope, Electrophysiology Rig, Liquid Chromatography System, and Nanodrop Spectrophotometer
University of Western Sydney (Special Infrastructure Funding), $483,500
Research Team: Coorssen J, Hennessy A, Lee J, Morley J, Münch G, Lind J, Preis J, Mahns D.

Establishing a mass spectrometer facility for natural products and proteomics research and teaching
at the College of Health and Science within the University of Western Sydney
University of Western Sydney (Research Infrastructure Funding), $470,000
Research Team: Sucher N, Coorssen J, Price W, Münch G, Shalliker A, Higgins V, Chang D, Piller S, Myers S, Stack C, Moffitt M.

Roles of native membrane matrix components in regulated secretion
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, CND$211,965 over 5 years
Research Team: Coorssen Lab

Dietary restriction and spinal cord injury
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, CND$363,000 over 3 years
Research Team: Tetzlaff W, Coorssen J, Pfeifer T, Grigliatti T, Delany A, ICORD team

Genomic and proteomic analyses of spinal cord injury
Nielson Foundation, USD$250,000 over 2 years
Research Team: Tetzlaff W, Coorssen J, Pfeifer T, Grigliatti T, Delany A, ICORD team

2007
Spinal cord injury proteomics
Michael Smith Foundation, CND$200,000 over 3 years
Research Team: Tetzlaff W, Coorssen J, Pfeifer T, Grigliatti T, ICORD team

2006
Role of Cholesterol in the mechanism of calcium-triggered membrane fusion
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, CND$734,190 over 5 years
Research Team: Coorssen Lab

2005
Direct role of cholesterol in the molecular mechanism of Ca2+-triggered membrane fusion
University Research Grants Committee, University of Calgary, CND$6,000 over 2 years
Research Team: Coorssen Lab

The protein machinery of calcium-triggered membrane fusion
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, CND$299,889 over 4 years
Research Team: Coorssen Lab

2004
Proteomic analysis of human fetal membranes in term and preterm labour
Calgary Health Region Perinatal Funding, Child Health Research Office CND$30,000 over 2 years
Research Team: Coorssen J, Wood S.

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Awards and Recognition

  • Foundation Professor of Molecular Physiology, School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney, 2008
  • Senior Scholar, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, 2006
  • New Investigator, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, 2006
  • Young Innovator Award, Vice-President (Research), University of Calgary, 2001
  • Research Scholar, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, 2000
  • Research Scholar, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, 2000
  • Visiting Professor (Exchange Scientist), Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, NICHD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, 1999
  • Fogarty International Fellowship, Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Biophysics, NICHD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA, 1996
  • Post-doctoral Fellowship, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Max-Planck-Institut für Medizinische Forschung, Heidelberg, Germany, 1994
  • Research Fellowship from the Max Planck Society, Max-Planck-Institut für Medizinische Forschung, Heidelberg, Germany, 1994
  • Visiting Fellowship Award from the Max Planck Society, Max-Planck-Institut für Medizinische Forschung, Heidelberg, Germany, 1993
  • Studentship, Medical Research Council of Canada, McMaster University, Canada, 1989
  • Centennial Scholarship, McMaster University, Canada, 1988
  • Governor General's Gold Medal for Graduate Studies, Brock University, Canada, 1988
  • Ontario Graduate Scholarship, McMaster University, Canada, 1988

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Selected Publications

Coorssen JR. Synaptic Proteins and Regulated Exocytosis. In: Encyclopedia of Neuroscience (Binder, Marc D.; Hirokawa, Nobutaka; Windhorst, Uwe, Eds.). Springer, Heidelberg, 2008 (in press).

Coorssen JR. Proteomics and the Study of the Nervous System. In: Encyclopedia of Neuroscience (Binder, Marc D.; Hirokawa, Nobutaka; Windhorst, Uwe, Eds.). Springer, Heidelberg, 2008 (in press).

Furber KA, Brandman D, Coorssen JR. Enhancement of the Ca2+-triggering steps of native membrane fusion via thiol-reactivity. Journal of Chemical Biology 2008; DOI 10.1007/s12154-008-0013-3 (Epub 3/10/08).

Churchward MA, Brandman D, Rogasevskaia T, Coorssen, J.R. Copper (II) sulfate charring for high sensitivity on-plate fluorescent detection of lipids and sterols: Quantitative analyses of the composition of functional secretory vesicles. Journal of Chemical Biology 2008; 1:79-87.

Furber KA, Churchward MA, Rogasevskaia T, Coorssen JR. Identifying critical components of native Ca2+-triggered membrane fusion: integrating studies of proteins and lipids. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 2008; (in press).

Churchward MA, Rogasevskaia T, Brandman DM, Khosravani H, Nava P, Atkinson JK, Coorssen JR. Specific lipids supply critical intrinsic negative curvature ― an essential component of native Ca2+-triggered membrane fusion. Biophysical Journal. 2008;94:3976-3995.

Butt RH, Pfeifer TA, Delaney A, Grigliatti TA, Tetzlaff WG, Coorssen JR. Enabling coupled quantitative genomic and proteomic analyses from rat spinal cord samples. Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. 2007;6:1574-1588.

Harris L, Churchward MA, Butt RH, Coorssen JR. Assessing detection methods for gel-based proteomic analyses. Journal of Proteome Research. 2007; 6:1418-1425.

Butt RH, Lee M, Amadi Pershahid S, Backlund P, Wood S, Coorssen JR. An initial proteomic analysis of human preterm labour: placental membranes. Journal of Proteome Research. 2006;5:3161-3172.

Taylor RC, Coorssen JR. Proteome resolution by 2D gel electrophoresis varies with the commercial source of IPG strips. Journal of Proteome Research. 2006;5:2919-2927.

Rogasevskaia T. Coorssen JR. Rafts define the efficiency of native Ca2+-triggered membrane fusion. Journal of Cell Science. 2006;119:2688-2694.

Howell JM, Winstone TL, Coorssen JR, Turner RJ. An evaluation of in vitro protein-protein interaction techniques: assessing contaminating background proteins. Proteomics. 2006;6:2050-2069.

Butt RH, Coorssen JR. Pre-extraction Sample Handling by Automated Frozen Disruption Significantly Improves Subsequent Proteomic Analyses. Journal of Proteome Research. 2006;5:437-448.

Hibbert JE, Butt RH, Coorssen JR. Actin is not an essential component in the mechanism of Ca2+-triggered vesicle fusion. International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology. 2006;38:461-471.

Churchward MA, Rogasevskaia T, Höfgen J, Bau J, Coorssen JR. Cholesterol facilitates the native mechanism of Ca2+-triggered membrane fusion. Journal of Cell Science. 2005;118: 4833-4848.

Churchward M, Butt RH, Lang JC, Hsu KK, Coorssen JR. Enhanced detergent extraction for analysis of membrane proteomes by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Proteome Science. 2005;3:5.

Butt RH, Coorssen JR. Postfractionation for Enhanced Proteomic Analyses: Routine Electrophoretic Methods Increase the Resolution of Standard 2D-PAGE. Journal of Proteome Research. 2005;4:982-991.

Szule JA Coorssen JR. Comment on 'Transmembrane Segments of Syntaxin Line the Fusion Pore of Ca2+-Triggered Exocytosis'. Science. 2004;306:813.

Szule JA, Jarvis S, Hibbert JE, Spafford JD, Braun JEA, Zamponi G, Wessel, GM, Coorssen JR. Specific presynaptic proteins function upstream of triggered membrane fusion. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2003;278;24251-24254.

Coorssen JR, Blank PS, Albertorio F, Bezrukov L, Kolosova I, Chen X, Backlund P, Zimmerberg J. Regulated secretion: SNARE density, vesicle fusion, and calcium dependence. Journal of Cell Science. 2003;116:2087-2097.

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