Profile photo Michael van der Kooij

Michael van der Kooij

Assistant Professor

Biography

I am a behavioural neuroscientist. After obtaining my PhD at the UMC Utrecht in 2010 I moved to Switzerland. At the EPFL in Lausanne I investigated the effects of chronic stress in rodents. I also looked into the role that mitochondrial energy metabolism played for behaviour. In 2015 I went to Mainz, Germany to specifically interrogate how stress may affect behavioural outcome through metabolic processes with a particular focus on glucose metabolism. Since 2021, I became a principal investigator on a ongoing project involving the role of social stress on the reward system, funded by the DFG (german equivalent of the NWO). In October 2021 I also joined the UMC Utrecht as assistant professor. At the WKZ I aim the study the role of early life stress and neonatal care on functional outcome and metabolic processes. My overall research goals are to understand the neurobiological- as well as (neuro)metabolic processes underlying the negative consequences of stress.

Research groups

Developmental neurobiology

Research aim

It is our goal to increase fundamental knowledge of maturing synaptic connections that moderate cerebellar interactions with cerebral networks. We contribute to improving the bed-to-bench translation of brain therapies for adverse early life events.

Go to group

Protection and repair of the injured newborn brain

Research aim

Our mission is to unravel the impact of early life adversity, such as perinatal asphyxia and stroke, preterm birth and early life stress on brain development and to design strategies to improve outcome of affected infants, shaping a better future.

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Recent publications

Adaptations in hepatic glucose metabolism after chronic social defeat stress in mice Fabiënne S. Meijboom, Annika Hasch, Inigo Ruiz de Azua, Camila Takeno Cologna, Shauni Loopmans, Beat Lutz, Marianne B. Müller, Bart Ghesquière, Michael A. van der Kooij
Scientific Reports, 2024, vol. 14
Transient impact of chronic social stress on effort-based reward motivation in non-food restricted mice Danina Evertse, Pilar Alves-Martinez, Giulia Treccani, Marianne B. Müller, Frank J. Meye, Michael A. van der Kooij
Neurobiology of stress, 2024, vol. 33
Chronic social stress disrupts the intracellular redistribution of brain hexokinase 3 induced by shifts in peripheral glucose levels Michael A van der Kooij, Liliana Rojas-Charry, Maryam Givehchi, Christina Wolf, Diones Bueno, Sabine Arndt, Stefan Tenzer, Lorenzo Mattioni, Giulia Treccani, Annika Hasch, Michael J Schmeisser, Caterina Vianello, Marta Giacomello, Axel Methner
Journal of Molecular Medicine, 2022, vol. 100, p.1441-1453
Early life adversity targets the transcriptional signature of hippocampal NG2+ glia and affects voltage gated sodium (Nav) channels properties Giulia Treccani, Hatice Yigit, Thomas Lingner, Vanessa Schleuβner, Franziska Mey, Michael A van der Kooij, Malin Wennström, David P Herzog, Matthias Linke, Markus Fricke, Michael J Schmeisser, Gregers Wegener, Thomas Mittmann, Jacqueline Trotter, Marianne B Müller
Neurobiology of stress, 2021, vol. 15, p.100338
Chronic social stress lessens the metabolic effects induced by a high-fat diet Tanja Jene, Inigo Ruiz de Azua, Annika Hasch, Jennifer Klüpfel, Julia Deuster, Mirjam Maas, Cora H Nijboer, Beat Lutz, Marianne B Müller, Michael A van der Kooij
Journal of Endocrinology, 2021, vol. 249, p.19-30
Longitudinal CSF proteome profiling in mice to uncover the acute and sustained mechanisms of action of rapid acting antidepressant (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine (HNK) David P Herzog, Natarajan Perumal, Caroline Manicam, Giulia Treccani, Jens Nadig, Milena Rossmanith, Jan Engelmann, Tanja Jene, Annika Hasch, Michael A van der Kooij, Klaus Lieb, Nils C Gassen, Franz H Grus, Marianne B Müller
Neurobiology of stress, 2021, vol. 15

External positions

Principal Investigator - onderzoek - Leibniz Institute for Resilience research