Research Areas of Interest:

• Neuronal network establishment and maintenance
• Neurodevelopmental disorders
• Neurodegeneration and neuronal aging

Selected Publications

• Qu, Y., Lim, J.J., An, O., Yang, H., Toh, Y.C. & Chua, J.J.E. (2023) FEZ1 participates in human embryonic brain development by modulating neuronal progenitor subpopulation specification and migrations. iScience, 26, 108497.
• Altas, B., Tuffy, L.P., Patrizi, A., Dimova, K., Soykan, T., Brandenburg, C., Romanowski, A.J., Whitten, J.R., Robertson, C.D., Khim, S.N., Crutcher, G.W., Ambrozkiewicz, M.C., Yagensky, O., Krueger-Burg, D., Hammer, M., Hsiao, H.H., Laskowski, P.R., Dyck, L., Puche, A.C., Sassoe-Pognetto, M., Chua, J.J.E., Urlaub, H., Jahn, O., Brose, N. & Poulopoulos, A. (2023) Region-Specific Phosphorylation Determines Neuroligin-3 Localization to Excitatory Versus Inhibitory Synapses. Biol Psychiatry.
• SFPQ promotes RAS-mutant cancer cell growth by modulating 5′-UTR mediated translational control of CK1α. Kok VJT, Tang JY, Eng GWL, Tan SY, Chin JTF, Quek CH, Lai WX, Lim TK, Lin Q, Chua JJE, Cheong JK. NAR Cancer. 2022 Sep 27;4(3):zcac027.
• HEBP1 – An early trigger for neuronal cell death and circuit dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease. Chua JJE. Semin Cell Dev Biol. 2022 Jul 13:S1084-9521(22)00234-8.
• FEZ1 Forms Complexes with CRMP1 and DCC to Regulate Axon and Dendrite Development. Chua JY, Ng SJ, Yagensky O, Wanker EE and Chua JJE. eNeuro, 2021; 8. doi:10.1523/ENEURO.0193-20.2021 *featured as cover slide on the home page of eNeuro.
• Loss of FEZ1, a gene deleted in Jacobsen syndrome, causes locomotion defects and early mortality by impairing motor neuron development. Gunaseelan S, Wang Z, Tong VKJ, Ming SWS, Razar R, Srimasorn S, Ong WY, Lim KL*. and Chua JJE*. Hum. Mol. Genet., 2021; 30, 5-20. *co-corresponding authors.
• Increased expression of heme-binding protein 1 early in Alzheimer’s disease is linked to neurotoxicity. Yagensky O, Kohansal-Nodehi M, Gunaseelan S, Rabe T, Zafar S, Zerr I, Hartig W, Urlaub H and Chua JJ. eLife, 2019; 8, e47498.
• SynGO: An Evidence-Based, Expert-Curated Knowledge Base for the Synapse. Koopmans F, van Nierop P, Andres-Alonso M, Byrnes A, Cijsouw T, Coba MP, Cornelisse LN, Farrell RJ, Goldschmidt HL, Howrigan DP et al. Neuron, 2019; 103, 217-234 e214.
• Phosphorylation of FEZ1 by Microtubule Affinity Regulating Kinases regulates its function in presynaptic protein trafficking. Butkevich E, Härtig W, Nikolov M, Erck C, Grosche J, Urlaub H, Schmidt CF, Klopfenstein DR, Chua JJ. Scientific Reports. 2016; 6, 26965, doi:10.1038/srep26965.
• The Roles of Microtubule-Based Transport at Presynaptic Nerve Terminals. Yagensky O, Kalantary Dehaghi T, Chua, JJ. Frontiers in synaptic neuroscience. 2016; 8, 3, doi:10.3389/fnsyn.2016.00003.
• The GTPase Rab26 links synaptic vesicles to the autophagy pathway. Binotti B, Pavlos NJ, Riedel D, Wenzel D, Vorbrüggen G, Schalk AM, Kühnel K, Boyken J, Erck C, Martens H, Chua JJ*, Jahn R*. Elife. 2015 Feb 2; 4:e05597. * Corresponding authors
• Molecular profiling of synaptic vesicle docking sites reveals novel proteins but few differences between glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses. Boyken J, Grønborg M, Riedel D, Urlaub H, Jahn R, Chua JJ. Neuron. 2013 Apr 24; 78(2):285-97
• Synthesis of two SAPAP3 isoforms from a single mRNA is mediated via alternative translational initiation. Chua JJ, Schob C, Rehbein M, Gkogkas CG, Richter D, Kindler S. Sci Rep. 2012; 2:484.
• Phosphorylation-regulated axonal dependent transport of syntaxin 1 is mediated by a Kinesin-1 adapter. Chua JJ, Butkevich E, Worseck JM, Kittelmann M, Grønborg M, Behrmann E, Stelzl U, Pavlos NJ, Lalowski MM, Eimer S, Wanker EE, Klopfenstein DR, Jahn R. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Apr 10; 109(15):5862-7.
• The architecture of an excitatory synapse. Chua JJ, Kindler S, Boyken J, Jahn R. 2010 Mar 15; 123(Pt 6):819-23.