Overview
Background
I received PhD (with distinction) in 2014 from The Institute of Biotechnology at The University of Helsinki, Finland, studying membrane traffickign using advanced imaging techniques. In 2015, I relocated to The Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) at The University of Queensland (UQ), Brisbane, Australia for postdoctoral training and changed my research field from basic cell biology to neuroscience and super-resolution imaging. I was awarded a 3-year Academy of Finland Postdoctoral Fellowship (2016) and an ARC DECRA Award (2019) to study the role of a lipid modifying enzyme on neuronal function. In 2022, I became a UQ Amplify Fellow and Group Leader in a joint Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and QBI. My lab aims to understand two central biological questions: how lipid metabolism in the brain supports cognition, learning and memory, and how bidirectional modulation of neuronal lipid functions can be used as a therapeutic strategy for inherited neurodevelopmental disorders, neuroparalytic disorders caused by bacterial toxins and infectious diseases cause by neurotropic and respiratory viruses.
Availability
- Dr Merja Joensuu is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of Helsinki*
Research impacts
My laboratory focuses on how lipids and proteins affect cellular and neuronal membrane trafficking and energy metabolism, and how neurotoxins and viruses exploit cellular endocytic machinery to gain access into cells. We use in vitro cell and primary neuron cultures as our main model system, allowing us to address the effects of pharmacological perturbations and genetic disease conditions on cellular functions. My team uses a combination of imaging techniques, including electron microscopy, confocal imaging and live-cell super-resolution microscopy, as well as molecular approaches, to understand how cells function in health and disease, which is critical for discovering novel therapeutic strategies for the treatment of disease, viral infections and neurointoxication pathologies.
Works
Search Professor Merja Joensuu’s works on UQ eSpace
2024
Journal Article
The DDHD2-STXBP1 interaction mediates long-term memory via generation of saturated free fatty acids
Akefe, Isaac O, Saber, Saber H., Matthews, Benjamin, Venkatesh, Bharat G., Gormal, Rachel S., Blackmore, Daniel G., Alexander, Suzy, Sieriecki, Emma, Gambin, Yann, Bertran-Gonzalez, Jesus, Vitale, Nicolas, Humeau, Yann, Gaudin, Arnaud, Ellis, Sevannah A., Michaels, Alysee A., Xue, Mingshan, Cravatt, Benjamin, Joensuu, Merja, Wallis, Tristan P. and Meunier, Frédéric A. (2024). The DDHD2-STXBP1 interaction mediates long-term memory via generation of saturated free fatty acids. The EMBO Journal, 43 (4), 533-567. doi: 10.1038/s44318-024-00030-7
2023
Journal Article
Presynaptic targeting of botulinum neurotoxin type A requires a tripartite PSG‐Syt1 ‐ SV2 plasma membrane nanocluster for synaptic vesicle entry
Joensuu, Merja, Syed, Parnayan, Saber, Saber H., Lanoue, Vanessa, Wallis, Tristan P., Rae, James, Blum, Ailisa, Gormal, Rachel S., Small, Christopher, Sanders, Shanley, Jiang, Anmin, Mahrhold, Stefan, Krez, Nadja, Cousin, Michael A., Cooper‐White, Ruby, Cooper‐White, Justin J., Collins, Brett M., Parton, Robert G., Balistreri, Giuseppe, Rummel, Andreas and Meunier, Frédéric A. (2023). Presynaptic targeting of botulinum neurotoxin type A requires a tripartite PSG‐Syt1 ‐ SV2 plasma membrane nanocluster for synaptic vesicle entry. The EMBO Journal, 42 (13) e112095, e112095. doi: 10.15252/embj.2022112095
2024
Journal Article
<scp>SV2A</scp> controls the surface nanoclustering and endocytic recruitment of Syt1 during synaptic vesicle recycling
Small, Christopher, Harper, Callista, Jiang, Anmin, Kontaxi, Christiana, Pronot, Marie, Yak, Nyakuoy, Malapaka, Anusha, Davenport, Elizabeth C., Wallis, Tristan P., Gormal, Rachel S., Joensuu, Merja, Martínez‐Mármol, Ramón, Cousin, Michael A. and Meunier, Frédéric A. (2024). SV2A controls the surface nanoclustering and endocytic recruitment of Syt1 during synaptic vesicle recycling. Journal of Neurochemistry. doi: 10.1111/jnc.16186
2024
Journal Article
Dynamin1 long- and short-tail isoforms exploit distinct recruitment and spatial patterns to form endocytic nanoclusters
Jiang, Anmin, Kudo, Kye, Gormal, Rachel S., Ellis, Sevannah, Guo, Sikao, Wallis, Tristan P., Longfield, Shanley F., Robinson, Phillip J., Johnson, Margaret E., Joensuu, Merja and Meunier, Frédéric A. (2024). Dynamin1 long- and short-tail isoforms exploit distinct recruitment and spatial patterns to form endocytic nanoclusters. Nature Communications, 15 (1) 4060, 1-21. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-47677-8
2024
Journal Article
Synapsin 2a tetramerisation selectively controls the presynaptic nanoscale organisation of reserve synaptic vesicles
Longfield, Shanley F., Gormal, Rachel S., Feller, Matis, Parutto, Pierre, Reingruber, Jürgen, Wallis, Tristan P., Joensuu, Merja, Augustine, George J., Martínez-Mármol, Ramón, Holcman, David and Meunier, Frédéric A. (2024). Synapsin 2a tetramerisation selectively controls the presynaptic nanoscale organisation of reserve synaptic vesicles. Nature Communications, 15 (1) 2217, 1-18. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46256-1
2023
Other Outputs
Quantified behavioural and lipidomic data in response to memory acquisition in mice
Meunier, F A, Akefe, I O, Saber, S H, Matthews, B, Venkatesh, B V, Gormal, R S, Blackmore, D G, Alexander, S, Sieriecki, E, Gambin, Y, Bertran-Gonzalez, J, Vitale, N, Humeau, Y, Gaudin, A, Ellis, S A, Michaels, A A, Xue, M, Cravatt, B, Joensuu, M and Wallis, T P (2023). Quantified behavioural and lipidomic data in response to memory acquisition in mice. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/4a44503
2023
Conference Publication
Dissection of alpha‐synuclein specific synaptic functions by gene editing
Madhivanan, Kayalvizhi, Parra‐Rivas, Leonardo A., Joensuu, Merja, Sanders, Shanley, Caballero‐Florán, René, Bingham, Dominic, Sharma, Rohan, Jenkins, Paul M., Leterrier, Christophe, Meunier, Frederic A. and Roy, Subhojit (2023). Dissection of alpha‐synuclein specific synaptic functions by gene editing. Alzheimer’s Association International Conference AAIC 2023, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 16-20 July 2023. Hoboken, NJ United States: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/alz.082510
2023
Journal Article
Tau forms synaptic nano-biomolecular condensates controlling the dynamic clustering of recycling synaptic vesicles
Longfield, Shanley F., Mollazade, Mahdie, Wallis, Tristan P., Gormal, Rachel S., Joensuu, Merja, Wark, Jesse R., van Waardenberg, Ashley J., Small, Christopher, Graham, Mark E., Meunier, Frédéric A. and Martínez-Mármol, Ramón (2023). Tau forms synaptic nano-biomolecular condensates controlling the dynamic clustering of recycling synaptic vesicles. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 7277, 1-20. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-43130-4
2023
Conference Publication
Tau - A master regulator of recycling synaptic vesicle clustering at the presynapse
Sanders, Shanley F., Mollazade, Mahdie, Wallis, Tristan P., Gormal, Rachel S., Joensuu, Merja, Wark, Jesse R., Waardenberg, Ashley J., Small, Christopher, Graham, Mark E., Martinez-Marmol, Ramon and Meunier, Frederic A. (2023). Tau - A master regulator of recycling synaptic vesicle clustering at the presynapse. ISN-ESN 2023 Meeting, Porto, Portugal, 8 - 11 August 2023. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1111/jnc.15897
2023
Journal Article
Super-resolved trajectory-derived nanoclustering analysis using spatiotemporal indexing
Wallis, Tristan P., Jiang, Anmin, Young, Kyle, Hou, Huiyi, Kudo, Kye, McCann, Alex J., Durisic, Nela, Joensuu, Merja, Oelz, Dietmar, Nguyen, Hien, Gormal, Rachel S. and Meunier, Frédéric A. (2023). Super-resolved trajectory-derived nanoclustering analysis using spatiotemporal indexing. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 3353, 1-16. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38866-y
2023
Other Outputs
Data for NASTIC
Wallis, Tristan P., Jiang, Anmin, Young, Kyle, Hou, Huioyi, Kudo, Kye, McCann, Alex, Durisic, Nela, Joensuu, Merja, Oelz, Dietmar, Nguyen, Hien, Gormal, Rachel S. and Meunier, Frederic A. (2023). Data for NASTIC. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/0901bca
2023
Journal Article
SARS-CoV-2 infection of human neurons is TMPRSS2 independent, requires endosomal cell entry, and can be blocked by inhibitors of host phosphoinositol-5 kinase
Kettunen, Pinja, Lesnikova, Angelina, Räsänen, Noora, Ojha, Ravi, Palmunen, Leena, Laakso, Markku, Lehtonen, Šárka, Kuusisto, Johanna, Pietiläinen, Olli, Saber, Saber H., Joensuu, Merja, Vapalahti, Olli P., Koistinaho, Jari, Rolova, Taisia and Balistreri, Giuseppe (2023). SARS-CoV-2 infection of human neurons is TMPRSS2 independent, requires endosomal cell entry, and can be blocked by inhibitors of host phosphoinositol-5 kinase. Journal of Virology, 97 (4), e0014423. doi: 10.1128/jvi.00144-23
2023
Other Outputs
Longield et al_2023_NatComm_Raw
Gormal, Rachel, Meunier, Frederic, Martinez-Marmol, Ramon, Mollazade, Mahdie, Wallis, Tristan, Joensuu, Merja, Sanders, Shanley and Small, Christopher (2023). Longield et al_2023_NatComm_Raw. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/a9c9def
2023
Other Outputs
BoNT/A binding and endocytosis in primary neurons
Joensuu, Merja and Meunier, Frederic (2023). BoNT/A binding and endocytosis in primary neurons. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/06039ff
2022
Journal Article
Ancestral SARS-CoV-2, but not Omicron, replicates less efficiently in primary pediatric nasal epithelial cells
Zhu, Yanshan, Chew, Keng Yih, Wu, Melanie, Karawita, Anjana C., McCallum, Georgina, Steele, Lauren E., Yamamoto, Ayaho, Labzin, Larisa I., Yarlagadda, Tejasri, Khromykh, Alexander A., Wang, Xiaohui, Sng, Julian D. J., Stocks, Claudia J., Xia, Yao, Kollmann, Tobias R., Martino, David, Joensuu, Merja, Meunier, Frédéric A., Balistreri, Giuseppe, Bielefeldt-Ohmann, Helle, Bowen, Asha C., Kicic, Anthony, Sly, Peter D., Spann, Kirsten M. and Short, Kirsty R. (2022). Ancestral SARS-CoV-2, but not Omicron, replicates less efficiently in primary pediatric nasal epithelial cells. PLoS Biology, 20 (8) e3001728, 1-19. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001728
2021
Book Chapter
Combining single molecule super-resolution imaging techniques to unravel the nanoscale organization of the presynapse
Small, Christopher, Martínez-Mármol, Ramon, Amor, Rumelo, Meunier, Frederic A. and Joensuu, Merja (2021). Combining single molecule super-resolution imaging techniques to unravel the nanoscale organization of the presynapse. Exocytosis and endocytosis: methods and protocols. (pp. 265-286) edited by Florence Niedergang, Nicolas Vitale and Stéphane Gasman. New York, NY, United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-1044-2_18
2020
Journal Article
Modular transient nanoclustering of activated β2-adrenergic receptors revealed by single-molecule tracking of conformation-specific nanobodies
Gormal, Rachel S., Padmanabhan, Pranesh, Kasula, Ravikiran, Bademosi, Adekunle T., Coakley, Sean, Giacomotto, Jean, Blum, Ailisa, Joensuu, Merja, Wallis, Tristan P., Lo, Harriet P., Budnar, Srikanth, Rae, James, Ferguson, Charles, Bastiani, Michele, Thomas, Walter G., Pardon, Els, Steyaert, Jan, Yap, Alpha S., Goodhill, Geoffrey J., Hilliard, Massimo A., Parton, Robert G. and Meunier, Frédéric A. (2020). Modular transient nanoclustering of activated β2-adrenergic receptors revealed by single-molecule tracking of conformation-specific nanobodies. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117 (48), 30476-30487. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2007443117
2020
Journal Article
Neuropilin-1 facilitates SARS-CoV-2 cell entry and infectivity
Cantuti-Castelvetri, Ludovico, Ojha, Ravi, Pedro, Liliana D., Djannatian, Minou, Franz, Jonas, Kuivanen, Suvi, van der Meer, Franziska, Kallio, Katri, Kaya, Tuğberk, Anastasina, Maria, Smura, Teemu, Levanov, Lev, Szirovicza, Leonora, Tobi, Allan, Kallio-Kokko, Hannimari, Österlund, Pamela, Joensuu, Merja, Meunier, Frédéric A., Butcher, Sarah J., Winkler, Martin Sebastian, Mollenhauer, Brit, Helenius, Ari, Gokce, Ozgun, Teesalu, Tambet, Hepojoki, Jussi, Vapalahti, Olli, Stadelmann, Christine, Balistreri, Giuseppe and Simons, Mikael (2020). Neuropilin-1 facilitates SARS-CoV-2 cell entry and infectivity. Science, 370 (6518) abd2985, 856-860. doi: 10.1126/science.abd2985
2020
Journal Article
Radial contractility of actomyosin rings facilitates axonal trafficking and structural stability
Wang, Tong, Li, Wei, Martin, Sally, Papadopulos, Andreas, Joensuu, Merja, Liu, Chunxia, Jiang, Anmin, Shamsollahi, Golnoosh, Amor, Rumelo, Lanoue, Vanessa, Padmanabhan, Pranesh and Meunier, Frédéric A. (2020). Radial contractility of actomyosin rings facilitates axonal trafficking and structural stability. Journal of Cell Biology, 219 (5) e201902001, 1-S7. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201902001
2020
Book Chapter
Single-molecule imaging of recycling synaptic vesicles in live neurons
Joensuu, Merja, Martínez-Mármol, Ramon, Mollazade, Mahdie, Padmanabhan, Pranesh and Meunier, Frédéric A. (2020). Single-molecule imaging of recycling synaptic vesicles in live neurons. Single molecule microscopy in neurobiology. (pp. 81-114) edited by Nobuhiko Yamamoto and Yasushi Okada. New York, NY United States: Humana Press. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0532-5_5
Funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Merja Joensuu is:
- Available for supervision
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Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
The role of saturated free fatty acids in learning and memory
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Secretory pathway membrane trafficking and lipid metabolism in health and disease
Principal Advisor
Completed supervision
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Characterization and role of lateral trapping and nanocluster organization of the endocytic machinery
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Frederic Meunier
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Identifying Key Changes in Brain Free Fatty Acids Associated with Memory in Health, Ageing and Disease: A Mechanistic Study
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Tristan Wallis, Professor Frederic Meunier
Media
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