Valerie Joers

Valerie Joers,

Research Assistant Professor

Department: Department of Neuroscience
Business Phone: (352) 329-3383
Business Email: vjoers@ufl.edu

Teaching Profile

Courses Taught
2019
GMS6757 Introduction to Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias: Clinical and Mechanistic Principles

Research Profile

Dr. Joers’s research program investigates the role of cannabinoid signaling to regulate peripheral and central immune cell crosstalk that may contribute to brain pathologies in age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. Understanding the function of cannabinoid receptors in immunity may provide therapeutic targets to treat the dysregulated immune system in aging and age-related disorders.

Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID)

0000-0001-6743-6587

Publications

2022
Editorial: Cannabinoids in neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration and pain: Focus on non-neuronal cells.
Frontiers in neuroscience. 16 [DOI] 10.3389/fnins.2022.1114775. [PMID] 36605549.
2022
Inflammation and immune dysfunction in Parkinson disease.
Nature reviews. Immunology. 22(11):657-673 [DOI] 10.1038/s41577-022-00684-6. [PMID] 35246670.
2021
Experimental colitis promotes sustained, sex-dependent, T-cell-associated neuroinflammation and parkinsonian neuropathology.
Acta neuropathologica communications. 9(1) [DOI] 10.1186/s40478-021-01240-4. [PMID] 34412704.
2020
Characterization of a Cul9-Parkin double knockout mouse model for Parkinson’s disease.
Scientific reports. 10(1) [DOI] 10.1038/s41598-020-73854-y. [PMID] 33037272.
2020
Microglia, inflammation and gut microbiota responses in a progressive monkey model of Parkinson’s disease: A case series
Neurobiology of Disease. 144 [DOI] 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.105027. [PMID] 32712266.
2020
Microglial Phenotypes and Their Relationship to the Cannabinoid System: Therapeutic Implications for Parkinson’s Disease.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland). 25(3) [DOI] 10.3390/molecules25030453. [PMID] 31973235.
2020
Molecular Signatures of Neuroinflammation Induced by αSynuclein Aggregates in Microglial Cells.
Frontiers in immunology. 11 [DOI] 10.3389/fimmu.2020.00033. [PMID] 32082315.
2020
Transgenic Mice Expressing Human α-Synuclein in Noradrenergic Neurons Develop Locus Ceruleus Pathology and Nonmotor Features of Parkinson’s Disease
The Journal of Neuroscience. 40(39):7559-7576 [DOI] 10.1523/jneurosci.1468-19.2020.
2020
Transgenic Mice Expressing Human α-Synuclein in Noradrenergic Neurons Develop Locus Ceruleus Pathology and Nonmotor Features of Parkinson’s Disease
The Journal of Neuroscience. 40(39):7559-7576 [DOI] 10.1523/jneurosci.1468-19.2020.
2017
Microglial phenotypes in Parkinson’s disease and animal models of the disease.
Progress in neurobiology. 155:57-75 [DOI] 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2016.04.006. [PMID] 27107797.
2017
Parkinsonism without dopamine neuron degeneration in aged l-dopa-responsive dystonia knockin mice.
Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society. 32(12):1694-1700 [DOI] 10.1002/mds.27169. [PMID] 28949038.
2016
Neurotoxin-Induced Catecholaminergic Loss in the Colonic Myenteric Plexus of Rhesus Monkeys.
Journal of Alzheimer's disease & Parkinsonism. 6(6) [DOI] 10.4172/2161-0460.1000279. [PMID] 28090391.
2014
Cardiac sympathetic denervation in 6-OHDA-treated nonhuman primates.
PloS one. 9(8) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0104850. [PMID] 25133405.
2014
Modeling and imaging cardiac sympathetic neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease.
American journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging. 4(2):125-59 [PMID] 24753981.
2014
Systemic administration of 6-OHDA to rhesus monkeys upregulates HLA-DR expression in brain microvasculature.
Journal of inflammation research. 7:139-49 [DOI] 10.2147/JIR.S67285. [PMID] 25258551.
2014
Titer and product affect the distribution of gene expression after intraputaminal convection-enhanced delivery.
Stereotactic and functional neurosurgery. 92(3):182-94 [DOI] 10.1159/000360584. [PMID] 24943657.
2013
Induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neural cells survive and mature in the nonhuman primate brain.
Cell reports. 3(3):646-50 [DOI] 10.1016/j.celrep.2013.02.016. [PMID] 23499447.
2013
Intracerebral transplantation of differentiated human embryonic stem cells to hemiparkinsonian monkeys.
Cell transplantation. 22(5):831-8 [DOI] 10.3727/096368912X647144. [PMID] 23594934.
2012
A monoclonal antibody-GDNF fusion protein is not neuroprotective and is associated with proliferative pancreatic lesions in parkinsonian monkeys.
PloS one. 7(6) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0039036. [PMID] 22745701.
2012
Nonuniform cardiac denervation observed by 11C-meta-hydroxyephedrine PET in 6-OHDA-treated monkeys.
PloS one. 7(4) [DOI] 10.1371/journal.pone.0035371. [PMID] 22539969.
2011
The effects of diet composition on body fat and hepatic steatosis in an animal (Peromyscus californicus) model of the metabolic syndrome.
Comparative medicine. 61(1):31-8 [PMID] 21819679.
2011
The PPAR-γ agonist pioglitazone modulates inflammation and induces neuroprotection in parkinsonian monkeys.
Journal of neuroinflammation. 8 [DOI] 10.1186/1742-2094-8-91. [PMID] 21819568.
2010
Intraoperative intracerebral MRI-guided navigation for accurate targeting in nonhuman primates.
Cell transplantation. 19(12):1587-97 [DOI] 10.3727/096368910X514323. [PMID] 20587170.
2009
Preclinical assessment of stem cell therapies for neurological diseases.
ILAR journal. 51(1):24-41 [PMID] 20075496.
2009
Response of aged parkinsonian monkeys to in vivo gene transfer of GDNF.
Neurobiology of disease. 36(2):303-11 [DOI] 10.1016/j.nbd.2009.07.022. [PMID] 19660547.
2008
GDNF-secreting human neural progenitor cells increase tyrosine hydroxylase and VMAT2 expression in MPTP-treated cynomolgus monkeys.
Cell transplantation. 17(4):383-95 [PMID] 18522241.
2004
Sedative effects and serum drug concentrations of oxymorphone and metabolites after subcutaneous administration of a liposome-encapsulated formulation in dogs.
Journal of veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics. 27(5):369-72 [PMID] 15500576.
Sexually dimorphic responses to MPTP found in microglia, inflammation and gut microbiota in a progressive monkey model of Parkinson’s disease
. [DOI] 10.1101/2020.01.30.925883.

Grants

Sep 2022 ACTIVE
Networking and Expanding Undergraduate Research on the Neurobiology of Aging to Advance Diversity
Role: Co-Investigator
Funding: NATL INST OF HLTH NIA
Apr 2022 ACTIVE
The role of cannabinoid receptor 2 in the clearance of Tau by microglia
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: ALZHEIMERS ASSO
Feb 2020 – Sep 2023
The role of cannabinoid receptor 2 in inflammatory responses triggered by alpha-synuclein
Role: Principal Investigator
Funding: FOX FOU, MICHAEL J

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(352) 329-3383
Emails:
Business:
vjoers@ufl.edu
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
PO Box 100244
GAINESVILLE FL 32610