Associate Professor
Strategic program(s):
Biography
Cora Nijboer was born on November 5th 1980. She studied Medical Biology at Utrecht University which she graduated with honors in 2003. She started as a PhD student in 2003 at a collaborative project between the Laboratory of Neuroimmunology and Developmental Origins of Disease (NIDOD) and the Department of Neonatology at the UMCU under supervision of Professor Heijnen and Professor van Bel. She studied novel treatment strategies to combat neonatal brain damage after hypoxia-ischemia. In 2008 this work resulted in her PhD thesis: “Protecting the newborn brain: molecular mechanisms & therapeutic targets”.
After finishing her PhD she continued her research as a post-doctoral researcher at the NIDOD Laboratory of the UMCU. She has extensively studied how peripheral treatment with small (peptide) inhibitors of crucial cell signaling pathways, including NF-κB, JNK and p53, can reduce cerebral cell death after hypoxia-ischemia in newborn rodents. Her area of interest also includes regenerative mesenchymal stem cell treatment and white matter injury in preterm neonates.
She was awarded a WKZ Research Fund (2013), a fellowship grant of ‘Hersenstichting Nederland’ (2014), a Hersenstichting The Next Step grant (2017), a Marie Sklodowska-Curie CoFund grant (2018) and she leads a project at ZonMw-TAS (2011-2020). Furthermore she has collaborations with Industrial partners like Chiesi Pharmaceuticals and Nutricia Research.
She is currently Associate Professor and group leader of the research line “Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration” within the NIDOD Lab and supervises a team of PhD students, post-docs, technicians and students. She works in very close collaboration with clinicians of the Department of Neonatology.
Neuroprotection and Neuroregeneration of the newborn brain
1:van Tilborg E, Achterberg EJM, van Kammen CM, van der Toorn A, Groenendaal F, Dijkhuizen RM, Heijnen CJ, Vanderschuren LJMJ, Benders MNJL, Nijboer CH. Combined fetal inflammation and postnatal hypoxia causes myelin deficits and autism-like behavior in a rat model of diffuse white matter injury. GLIA. (2018) 66: 78-93.
2: Van Tilborg E, de Theije CGM, van Hal M, Wagenaar N, de Vries LS, Benders M, Rowitch DH, Nijboer CH. Origin and dynamics of oligodendrocytes in the developing brain: implications for perinatal white matter injury. GLIA (2018) 66: 221-238.
3: Wagenaar N, de Theije CGM, de Vries LS, Groenendaal F, Benders MJNL, Nijboer CH. Promoting neuroregeneration after perinatal arterial ischemic stroke: Neurotrophic factors and mesenchymal stem cells. Pediatric Research (2018) 83: 372-384.
4:Braccioli L, Heijnen CJ, Coffer PJ, Nijboer CH. Delayed administration of neural stem cells after hypoxia-ischemia reduces sensorimotor deficits, cerebral lesion size and neuroinflammation in neonatal mice. Pediatric Research (2017) 81:127-135.
5: Van Tilborg E, Heijnen CJ, Benders MJ, van Bel F, Fleiss B, Gressens P, Nijboer CH. Impaired oligodendrocyte maturation in preterm infants: potential therapeutic targets. Progress in Neurobiology (2016) 136:28-49.
6: Donega V, Nijboer CH, van Velthoven CT, Youssef SA, de Bruin A, van Bel F, Kavelaars A, Heijnen CJ. Assessment of long-term safety and efficacy of intranasal mesenchymal stem cell treatment for neonatal brain injury in the mouse. Pediatr Res. 2015; doi: 10.1038/pr.2015.145
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.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.Research aim
Our aim is to explore how neonatal neurobehavior and environmental factors impact brain development, especially focusing on NICU infants both with and without brain injuries, in order to improve long term outcome.