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Ivan Nalvarte

Principal researcher

About me

Associate professor (Docent), group leader

Research description

My research focuses on the female sex hormone estrogen and its signalling in the brain, during development and in adulthood, as well as its implications for neurological disorders. A main topic is estrogen's neruoprotecive role in Alzheimers disease. I also study the impact of estrogen receptors in breast- and prostate cancers.

 

Link to group's research page

 

Seleced publications:

Estrogen receptors and the aging brain.
Maioli S, Leander K, Nilsson P, Nalvarte I
Essays Biochem 2021 Dec;65(6):913-925

 

Loss of liver X receptor β in astrocytes leads to anxiety-like behaviors via regulating synaptic transmission in the medial prefrontal cortex in mice.
Li X, Zhong H, Wang Z, Xiao R, Antonson P, Liu T, Wu C, Zou J, Wang L, Nalvarte I, Xu H, Warner M, Gustafsson JA, Fan X
Mol Psychiatry 2021

 

Motor Function Deficits in the Estrogen Receptor Beta Knockout Mouse: Role on Excitatory Neurotransmission and Myelination in the Motor Cortex

Varshney M, Yu YLN, Katayama S, Lin X, Lin T, Wu WF, Töhönen V, Krjutskov K, Kere J, Fan X, Inzunza J, Gustafsson JÅ, Nalvarte I.

Neuroendocrinology, 2020 Jan 28, DOI: 10.1159/000506162

 

Ventral prostate and mammary gland phenotype in mice with complete deletion of the ERbeta gene

Warner M, Wu W-F, Montanholi L, Nalvarte I, Antonson P, Gustafsson JÅ.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2020 Mar 3;117(9):4902-4909

 

Sex stratified treatment of neurological disorders: Challenges and perspectives

Nalvarte I.

Brain Sci, Feb14, 2020, 10(2)

 

Fluoxetine Affects Differentiation of Midbrain Dopaminergic Neurons In Vitro.

Lupu D, Varshney MK, Mucs D, Inzunza J, Norinder U, Loghin F, Nalvarte I*, Rüegg J*.

Mol Pharmacol. 2018 Oct;94(4):1220-1231. doi: 10.1124/mol.118.112342. Epub 2018 Aug 16.

 

Role of estrogen receptor beta in neural differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells.

Varshney MK, Inzunza J, Lupu D, Ganapathy V, Antonson P, Rüegg J, Nalvarte I*, Gustafsson JÅ*.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2017 Nov 28;114(48):E10428-E10437. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1714094114. Epub 2017 Nov 13.

 

Genes, Gender, Environment, and Novel Functions of Estrogen Receptor Beta in the Susceptibility to Neurodevelopmental Disorders.

Varshney M, Nalvarte I.

Brain Sci. 2017 Feb 23;7(3). pii: E24. doi: 10.3390/brainsci7030024. Review.

 

Memo interacts with c-Src to control Estrogen Receptor alpha sub-cellular localization.

Frei A, MacDonald G, Lund I, Gustafsson JÅ, Hynes NE, Nalvarte I.

Oncotarget. 2016 Aug 30;7(35):56170-56182. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.10856.

 

Memo is a copper-dependent redox protein with an essential role in migration and metastasis.

MacDonald G*, Nalvarte I*, Smirnova T, Vecchi M, Aceto N, Dolemeyer A, Frei A, Lienhard S, Wyckoff J, Hess D, Seebacher J, Keusch JJ, Gut H, Salaun D, Mazzarol G, Disalvatore D, Bentires-Alj M, Di Fiore PP, Badache A, Hynes NE.

Sci Signal. 2014 Jun 10;7(329):ra56. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.2004870.

 

Ret inhibition decreases growth and metastatic potential of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer cells.

Gattelli A, Nalvarte I, Boulay A, Roloff TC, Schreiber M, Carragher N, Macleod KK, Schlederer M, Lienhard S, Kenner L, Torres-Arzayus MI, Hynes NE.

EMBO Mol Med. 2013 Sep;5(9):1335-50. doi: 10.1002/emmm.201302625. Epub 2013 Jul 19.

 

The rs3743205 SNP is important for the regulation of the dyslexia candidate gene DYX1C1 by estrogen receptor β and DNA methylation.

Tammimies K, Tapia-Páez I, Rüegg J, Rosin G, Kere J, Gustafsson JÅ, Nalvarte I.

Mol Endocrinol. 2012 Apr;26(4):619-29. doi: 10.1210/me.2011-1376. Epub 2012 Mar 1.

Teaching portfolio

2019- : Course leader: Biomedicine Master program thesis work and examination, Karolinska Institutet

2018- : Target Organ Toxicology, Nuclear receptor signalling & EDCs, Karolinska Institutet

2016- : Tutor in “Sex hormones and ESC differentiation”, Post-graduate course in Human Embryonic Stem Cells, 2212, Karolinska Institutet

2015-: Co-organizer and Responsible for the course Functional Genomics, Biomedicine Bachelor programme, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

2014-2017: Applied Science Communication (ACB2), Biomedicine Master programme, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

2013- : Applied Science Communication (ACB4), Biomedicine Master programme, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

2014- : Tutor in “Proteomic techniques and applications”, Biomedicine Bachelor programme, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

03/2012: Tutor in WiMo 2012 Wissenschaftsmonat für Medizinstudierende, theory, University of Basel, basel, Switzerland

09-10/2011: Tutor in Introduction to Biology, theory. University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

2008-2009: Tutor in “Proteomic techniques and applications”, Molecular Nutrition undergraduate programme, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden

2008-2009: Responsible for the Theoretical and practical teaching in proteomics for researchers. Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge, Sweden

2007-2009: Molecular biology. Theory and practice. Co-responsible for the course. Biomedicine undergraduate programme, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

2002-2006: Teaching assistance at undergraduate courses in Molecular immunology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and General Chemistry at Södertörns högskola and Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

Education

Associate professor, Docent, 2018 (Molecular Endocrinology, Track: Research, Karolinska Institutet)

Formal Group leader, 2018 (informal since 2014 with Prof. Jan-Åke Gustafsson)

Senior researcher 2013 - (Estrogen signalling, Dept. Bioscinences and Nutrition, Karolinska Instiutet)

Assistant Professor 2013 - 2017 (Estrogen signalling, Dept. Bioscinences and Nutrition, Karolinska Instiutet) 

Post doc 2010-2013 (Breast cancer research, Friedrich Miescher Instsitute, Basel, Switzerland)

Post doc 2006-2010 (Estrogen signalling, Dept. Bisocinences and Nutrition, Karolinska Instiutet)

PhD in Medical Sciences 2002-2006 (Dept. Bioscinences and Nutrition, Karolinska Instiutet)

MSc, Biomolecular Chemistry, Södertörn University / Karolinska Institutet, 2001