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Former team members

Rachel Cheong

Former Postdoctoral fellow, 2013-2014, and Assistant Researcher, 2015-2021.

Publications from TNU:

Gabery S, Kwa JE, Cheong RY, Baldo B, Ferrari Bardile C, Tan B, McLean C, Georgiou-Karistianis N, Poudel GR, Halliday G, Pouladi MA and Petersén Å.
Early white matter pathology in the fornix of the limbic system in Huntington disease.
Acta Neuropathologica. 142(5): 791-806 (2021) doi: 10.1007/s00401-021-02362-8.

Cheong RY, Baldo B, Sajjad MU, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Effects of mutant huntingtin inactivation on Huntington disease-related behaviours in the BACHD mouse model.
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology. 47(4): 564-578. (2021) doi: 10.1111/nan.12682. 

Cheong RY, Tonetto S, von Hörsten S and Petersén Å.
Imbalance of the oxytocin-vasopressin system contributes to the neuropsychiatric phenotype in the BACHD mouse model of Huntington disease.
Psychoneuroendocrinology 119, 104773 (2020)

Cheong RY, Gabery S and Petersén Å.
The Role of Hypothalamic Pathology for Non-Motor Features of Huntington's Disease.
Journal of Huntington's disease 8 (4): 375-391 (2019)

Baldo B, Gabery S, Soylu-Kucharz R, Cheong RY, Henningsen JB, Englund E, McLean C, Kirik D, Halliday G and Petersén Å.
SIRT1 is increased in affected brain regions and hypothalamic metabolic pathways are altered in Huntington disease.
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology 45 (4): 361-379 (2019)

Fjalldal S, Follin C, Gabery S, Sundgren PC, Björkman-Burtscher IM, Lätt J, Mannfolk P, Nordström CH, Rylander L, Ekman B, Cheong R, Pålsson A, Petersén Å and Erfurth EM.
Detailed assessment of hypothalamic damage in craniopharyngioma patients with obesity.
International Journal of Obesity (Lond). 2019 43: 533-544 (2019) 

Baldo B, Sajjad MU, Cheong RY, Bigarreau J, Vijayvargia R, McLean C, Perrier AL, Seong IS, Halliday G, Petersén Å and Kirik D.
Quantification of Total and Mutant Huntingtin Protein Levels in Biospecimens Using a Novel alphaLISA Assay.
ENeuro 5 (4): ENEURO.0234-18.2018 (2018)

Siebzehnrübl FA, Raber KA, Urbach YK, Schulze-Krebs A, Canneva F, Moceri S, Habermeyer J, Achoui D, Gupta B, Steindler DA, Stephan M, Nguyen HP, Bonin M, Riess O, Bauer A, Aigner L, Couillard-Despres S, Paucar MA, Svenningsson P, Osmand A, Andreew A, Zabel C, Weiss A, Kuhn R, Moussaoui S, Blockx I, Van der Linden A, Cheong RY, Roybon L, Petersén Å and von Hörsten S.
Early postnatal behavioral, cellular, and molecular changes in models of Huntington disease are reversible by HDAC inhibition.
PNAS 115 (37): E8765-E8774 (2018)

Gawlik KI, Harandi VM, Cheong RY, Petersén Å and Durbeej M.
Laminin α1 reduces muscular dystrophy in dy2J mice.
Matrix Biology 70: 36-79 (2018)

Gabery S, Georgiou-Karistianis N, Lundh SH, Cheong RY, Churchyard A, Chua P, Stout JC, Egan GF, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Volumetric Analysis of the Hypothalamus in Huntington Disease Using 3T MRI: The IMAGE-HD Study.
PLoS One 10(2): e0117593 (2015)

Baldo B, Cheong RY and Petersén Å.
Effects of Deletion of Mutant Huntingtin in Steroidogenic Factor 1 Neurons on the Psychiatric and Metabolic Phenotype in the BACHD Mouse Model of Huntington Disease.
PLoS One 9(10): e107691 (2014)

Rana Soylu Kucharz

Former PhD student in TNU (defence date 2016-01-28) and former Postdoctoral fellow in TNU, 2016-2019.

Publications from TNU:

Dickson E, Sai Dwijesha A, Andersson N, Lundh S, Björkqvist M, Petersén Å and Soylu-Kucharz R.
Microarray profiling of hypothalamic gene expression changes in Huntington’s disease mouse models.
bioRxiv 2022.03.15.484411; https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.15.484411

Soylu-Kucharz R, Khoshnan A and Petersén Å.
IKKβ signaling mediates metabolic changes in the hypothalamus of a Huntington's disease mouse model.
iScience. 2022 Jan 17. doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.103771. Journal pre-proof published online ahead of print.

Dickson E, Soylu-Kucharz R , Petersén Å and Björkqvist M.
Hypothalamic expression of huntingtin causes distinct metabolic changes in Huntington's disease mice.
Molecular Metabolism. 2022 Jan 7;101439. doi: 10.1016/j.molmet.2022.101439. Online ahead of print.

Henningsen JB, Soylu-Kucharz R, Björkqvist M and Petersén Å.
Effects of excitotoxicity in the hypothalamus in transgenic mouse models of Huntington disease.
Heliyon. 2021 Aug 14;7(8):e07808. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07808. eCollection 2021 Aug.

Baldo B, Gabery S, Soylu-Kucharz R, Cheong RY, Henningsen JB, Englund E, McLean C, Kirik D, Halliday G and Petersén Å.
SIRT1 is increased in affected brain regions and hypothalamic metabolic pathways are altered in Huntington disease.
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology 45 (4): 361-379 (2019)

Soylu-Kucharz R, Sandelius Å, Sjögren M, Blennow K, Wild E, Zetterberg H and Björkqvist M.
Neurofilament Light Chain Levels in CSF and blood are associated with neurodegeneration and disease severity in the R6/2 mouse model of Huntington´s disease.
Scientific Reports 7:14114 (2017)

Soylu-Kucharz R, Baldo B and Petersén Å.
Metabolic and behavioral effects of mutant huntingtin deletion in Sim1 neurons in the BACHD mouse model of Huntington's disease.
Scientific Reports 6: 28322 (2016)

Soylu-Kucharz R, Adlesic N, Baldo B, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Hypothalamic overexpression of mutant huntingtin causes dysregulation of brown adipose tissue.
Sci Rep. Sep 30;5:14598 (2015)

Wiesner D, Sinniger J, Henriques A, Dieterlé S, Müller H, Rasche V, Ferger B, Dirrig-Grosch S, Soylu-Kucharz R, Petersén A, Walther P, Linkus B, Kassubek J, Wong PC, Ludolph AC and Dupuis L.
Low dietary protein content alleviates motor symptoms in mice with mutant dynactin/dynein mediated neurodegeneration.
Human Molecular Genetics 24(8): 2228-2240 (2015)

Baldo B, Soylu R and Petersén Å.
Maintenance of Basal Levels of Autophagy in Huntington’s Disease Mouse Models Displaying Metabolic Dysfunction.
PLOS ONE 8 (12) e83050 (2013)

Hult Lundh S, Nilsson N, Soylu R, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Hypothalamic expression of mutant huntingtin contributes to the development of depressive-like behavior in the BAC transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease.
Human Molecular Genetics 22: 3485-3497 (2013)

Lundh SH, Soylu R and Petersén Å.
Expression of Mutant Huntingtin in Leptin Receptor-Expressing Neurons Does Not Control the Metabolic and Psychiatric Phenotype of the BACHD Mouse. 
PLoS ONE 7(12): e51168 (2012)

Gabery S, Sajjad MU, Hult S, Soylu R, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Characterization of a rat model of Huntington's disease based on targeted expression of mutant huntingtin in the forebrain using adeno-associated viral vectors.
European Journal of Neuroscience 36(6):2789-800 (2012)

Hult S*, Soylu R*, Björklund T, Belgardt BF, Mauer J, Brüning JC, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Mutant huntingtin causes metabolic imbalance by disruption of hypothalamic neurocircuits.
Cell Metabolism 13: 428-439 (2011) *equal contribution

Mikrouli E, Wörtwein G, Soylu R, Mathé AA and Petersén Å.
Increased numbers of orexin/hypocretin neurons in a genetic rat depression model.
Neuropeptides 45(6): 401-406 (2011)

Braunstein KE, Eschbach J, Ròna-Vörös K, Soylu R, Mikrouli E, Larmet Y, Rene F, Gonzalez de Aguilar JL, Loeffler JP, Müller HP, Bucher S, Kaulisch T, Niessen HG, Tillmanns J, Fischer K, Schwalenstocker B, Kassubek J, Pichler B, Stiller D, Petersen Å, Ludolph AC and Dupuis L.
A point mutation in the dynein heavy chain gene leads to striatal atrophy and compromises neurite outgrowth of striatal neurons.
Human Molecular Genetics 19: 4385-4398 (2010)

Hult S, Schultz K, Soylu R and Petersén Å.
Hypothalamic and Neuroendocrine Changes in Huntington's Disease.
Current Drug Targets 11: 1237-1249 (2010)


Jo Beldring Henningsen

Former Postdoctoral fellow in TNU, 2016-2018.

Publications from TNU:

Henningsen JB, Soylu-Kucharz R, Björkqvist M and Petersén Å.
Effects of excitotoxicity in the hypothalamus in transgenic mouse models of Huntington disease.
Heliyon. 2021 Aug 14;7(8):e07808. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e07808. eCollection 2021 Aug.

Baldo B, Gabery S, Soylu-Kucharz R, Cheong RY, Henningsen JB, Englund E, McLean C, Kirik D, Halliday G and Petersén Å.
SIRT1 is increased in affected brain regions and hypothalamic metabolic pathways are altered in Huntington disease.
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology 45 (4): 361-379 (2019)


Barbara Baldo

Former Postdoctoral fellow in TNU, 2012-2017.

Publications from TNU:

Gabery S, Kwa JE, Cheong RY, Baldo B, Ferrari Bardile C, Tan B, McLean C, Georgiou-Karistianis N, Poudel GR, Halliday G, Pouladi MA and Petersén Å.
Early white matter pathology in the fornix of the limbic system in Huntington disease.
Acta Neuropathologica. 142(5): 791-806 (2021) doi: 10.1007/s00401-021-02362-8.

Cheong RY, Baldo B, Sajjad MU, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Effects of mutant huntingtin inactivation on Huntington disease-related behaviours in the BACHD mouse model.
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology. 47(4): 564-578. (2021) doi: 10.1111/nan.12682.

Baldo B, Gabery S, Soylu-Kucharz R, Cheong RY, Henningsen JB, Englund E, McLean C, Kirik D, Halliday G and Petersén Å.
SIRT1 is increased in affected brain regions and hypothalamic metabolic pathways are altered in Huntington disease.
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology 45 (4): 361-379 (2019) 

Baldo B, Sajjad MU, Cheong RY, Bigarreau J, Vijayvargia R, McLean C, Perrier AL, Seong IS, Halliday G, Petersén Å and Kirik D.
Quantification of Total and Mutant Huntingtin Protein Levels in Biospecimens Using a Novel alphaLISA Assay.
ENeuro 5 (4): ENEURO.0234-18.2018 (2018)

Ast A, Buntru A, Schindler F, Hasenkopf R, Schulz A, Brusendorf L, Klockmeier K, Grelle G, McMahon B, Niederlechner H, Jansen I, Diez L, Edel J, Boeddrich A, Franklin SA, Baldo B, Schnoegl S, Kunz S, Purfürst B, Gaertner A, Kampinga HH, Morton AJ, Petersén Å, Kirstein J, Bates GP and Wanker EE.
mHTT Seeding Activity: A Marker of Disease Progression and Neurotoxicity in Models of Huntington's Disease.
Molecular Cell 71 (5): 675-688 (2018)

Soylu-Kucharz R, Baldo B and Petersén Å.
Metabolic and behavioral effects of mutant huntingtin deletion in Sim1 neurons in the BACHD mouse model of Huntington's disease.
Scientific Reports 6: 28322 (2016)

Soylu-Kucharz R, Adlesic N, Baldo B, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Hypothalamic overexpression of mutant huntingtin causes dysregulation of brown adipose tissue.
Sci Rep. 2015 Sep 30;5:14598

Baldo B and Petersén Å.
Analysis of nonmotror features in murine models of Huntington disease.
In MS LeDoux (Ed): Movement Disorders 35: 584-597. Elsevier (2015)

Baldo B, Cheong RY and Petersén Å.
Effects of Deletion of Mutant Huntingtin in Steroidogenic Factor 1 Neurons on the Psychiatric and Metabolic Phenotype in the BACHD Mouse Model of Huntington Disease.
PLoS One 9(10): e107691 (2014)

Baldo B, Soylu R and Petersén Å.
Maintenance of Basal Levels of Autophagy in Huntington’s Disease Mouse Models Displaying Metabolic Dysfunction.
PLoS One 8(12) (2013)


Sofia Hult Lundh

Former PhD student in TNU; PhD defence date 2014-05-28.

Publications from TNU:

Dickson E, Sai Dwijesha A, Andersson N, Lundh S, Björkqvist M, Petersén Å and Soylu-Kucharz R.
Microarray profiling of hypothalamic gene expression changes in Huntington’s disease mouse models.
bioRxiv 2022.03.15.484411; https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.03.15.484411

Pircs K, Petri R, Madsen S, Brattås PL, Vuono R, Ottosson DR, St-Amour I, Hersbach BA, Matusiak-Brückner M, Lundh SH, Petersén Å, Déglon N, Hébert SS, Parmar M, Barker RA and Jakobsson J.
Huntingtin Aggregation Impairs Autophagy, Leading to Argonaute-2 Accumulation and Global MicroRNA Dysregulation.
Cell Reports 24(6): 1397-1406 (2018)

Wagner L, Björkqvist M, Hult Lundh S, Wolf R, Börgel A, Schlenzig D, Ludwig HH, Rahfeld JU,  Leavitt B, Demuth HU, Petersén Å and von Hörsten S.
Neuropeptide Y (NPY) in cerebrospinal fluid from patients with Huntington's Disease: increased NPY levels and differential degradation of the NPY1-30 fragment.
Journal of Neurochemistry 137(5): 820-37 (2016)

Gabery S, Georgiou-Karistianis N, Lundh SH, Cheong RY, Churchyard A, Chua P, Stout JC, Egan GF, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Volumetric Analysis of the Hypothalamus in Huntington Disease Using 3T MRI: The IMAGE-HD Study.
PLoS One 10(2): e0117593 (2015)

Hyrskyluoto A, Bruelle C, Lundh SH, Do HT, Kivinen J, Rappou E, Reijonen S, Waltimo T, Petersén Å, Lindholm D and Korhonen L.
Ubiquitin specific protease-14 reduces cellular aggregates and protects against mutant huntingtin-induced cell degeneration: involvement of the proteasome and ER stress-activated kinase IRE1α.
Human Molecular Genetics 23: 5928-5939 (2014)

Hult Lundh S, Nilsson N, Soylu R, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Hypothalamic expression of mutant huntingtin contributes to the development of depressive-like behavior in the BAC transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease.
Human Molecular Genetics 22: 3485-3497 (2013)

Lundh SH, Soylu R and Petersén Å.
Expression of Mutant Huntingtin in Leptin Receptor-Expressing Neurons Does Not Control the Metabolic and Psychiatric Phenotype of the BACHD Mouse. 
PLoS One 7(12): 1-9 (2012)

Gabery S, Sajjad MU, Hult S, Soylu R, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Characterization of a rat model of Huntington's disease based on targeted expression of mutant huntingtin in the forebrain using adeno-associated viral vectors.
European Journal of Neuroscience 36(6): 2789-800 (2012)

Hult S*, Soylu R*, Björklund T, Belgardt BF, Mauer J, Brüning JC, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Mutant huntingtin causes metabolic imbalance by disruption of hypothalamic neurocircuits.
Cell Metabolism 13: 428-439 (2011) *equal contribution

Hult S, Schultz K, Soylu R and Petersén Å.
Hypothalamic and Neuroendocrine Changes in Huntington's Disease.
Current Drug Targets 11: 1237-1249 (2010)


Muhammad Umar Sajjad

Former Postdoctoral fellow in TNU, 2011-2013.

Publications from TNU:

Cheong RY, Baldo B, Sajjad MU, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Effects of mutant huntingtin inactivation on Huntington disease-related behaviours in the BACHD mouse model.
Neuropathology and Applied Neurobiology. 47(4): 564-578. (2021) doi: 10.1111/nan.12682. 

Baldo B, Sajjad MU, Cheong RY, Bigarreau J, Vijayvargia R, McLean C, Perrier AL, Seong IS, Halliday G, Petersén Å and Kirik D.
Quantification of Total and Mutant Huntingtin Protein Levels in Biospecimens Using a Novel alphaLISA Assay.
ENeuro 5 (4): ENEURO.0234-18.2018 (2018)

Gabery S, Sajjad MU, Hult S, Soylu R, Kirik D and Petersén Å.
Characterization of a rat model of Huntington's disease based on targeted expression of mutant huntingtin in the forebrain using adeno-associated viral vectors.
European Journal of Neuroscience 36(6): 2789-800 (2012)


Yongxia Zhou

Former Postdoctoral fellow in TNU, 2010.

Publications from TNU:

Soneson C, Fontes M, Zhou Y, Denisov V, Paulsen JS, Kirik D and Petersén Å; The Huntington Study Group PREDICT-HD investigators.
Early changes in the hypothalamic region in prodromal Huntington disease revealed by MRI analysis.  
Neurobiology of Disease 40: 531-543 (2010)