Team

Werdegang

Since I commenced my PhD studies, my research has centred on the neurobiology of stress-related disorders; with particular emphasis on mood and anxiety disorders.  Throughout the course of my studies in the UK, Switzerland and Germany, I have focussed on the development and utilization of state-of-the-art behavioural, pharmacological and molecular approaches to study the neuropathophysiology of these disorders and to assess novel drugs that could be used to treat them.

I performed my BBSRC Case Award PhD at the University of Bristol and Organon Laboratories Ltd (supervised by Dr Alan Hudson and Prof. David Nutt) with the title “Characterisation of a novel antidepressant: Org 34167.  During this time, amongst other studies, I demonstrated that the immediate-early genes c-fos and Egr-1 could be used for mapping the actions of psychotropics in the brain. 

Thereafter, in my first post-doctoral position at the Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research in Basel, Switzerland (supervised by Prof. John F. Cryan), the aim of my studies was the development of novel animal models for studying major depressive disorder.  Towards that end, I setup and established an intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) paradigm, with which to study the reward circuitry in the brains of rodents. Having achieved this, I combined the ICSS paradigm with the olfactory bulbectomy model of depression, one of the few models that require chronic antidepressant administration to reverse the induced deficits. 

Thereafter, I moved to the University of Regensburg, Germany (supervised by Prof. Dr. Inga Neumann) where I studied the potential role of neuropeptides, especially oxytocin and neuropeptide S in the aetiology and potential treatment of mood and anxiety-disorders.  Moreover, given the high prevalence of postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, a highly understudied research topic, I performed a series of studies in which to assess the impact stress during the peripartum period has on the dam.

For an overview of my current research interests, please follow this link.

My research has resulted in >70 peer-reviewed articles in well-respected internationally known journals and has been highly cited (h-index 46; > 7900 citations as of September 2024) and received funding from the DFG, BMBF and H2020.  I have been a member of the ECNP since 2009 and served as a member of the Workshop Committee and currently on the Educational Committee. I am an ad hoc peer-reviewer for over 30 journals as well as multiple grant agencies and hold a number of editorial positions for international journals.

• 1995 – 1999     B.Sc. (Hons) Pharmacology, University of Glasgow, UK
• 1999 – 2003     PhD (Neuropharmacology), University of Bristol, UK
• 2004 – 2006     Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter, Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Basel, Schweiz
• 2006 – 2011     Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter, University of Regensburg
• 2011 – 2013     Vertretungsprof Neurophysiologie, University of Regensburg
• 2013 – 2016     Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiter, University of Regensburg
• Seit 09/2016    W2 Prof. Translationale Psychiatrie an der Klinik für Psychiatrie, Psychosomatik und Psychotherapie des Universitätsklinikums Frankfurt

Wissenschaftliche Schwerpunkte

Molekulare Grundlagen psychiatrischer Störungen am Tiermodell

Eingeworbene Drittmittel

• DFG SL141/10-1 „Stress resilience via Mycobacterium vaccae administration“ 2021 – 2026 – Principle Investigator
• H2020 PRIME - Prevention and Remediation of Insulin Multimorbidity in Europe 2020-2024
• TRR379: Neuropsychobiology of Aggression: A Transdiagnostic Approach in Mental Disorders 2024-2028

Editorial Positionen

• Acta Neuropsychiatrica (since 2011)
• BMC Neuroscience (since 2009)
• Experimental Brain Research (since 2019)
• PLoS ONE (since 2011)
• Neuropharmacology (Section Editor, since 2016)
• Psychopharmacology (since 2016)
• Scientific Reports (since 2016)

Ausgewählte Publikationen (2015-)

1     Jabra, S., Rietsche, M., Muellerleile, J., O'Leary, A., Slattery, D. A., Deller, T., & Fellenz, M. (2024). Sex- and cycle-dependent changes in spine density and size in hippocampal CA2 neurons. Sci Rep, 14(1), 12252. doi:10.1038/s41598-024-62951-x

2     Presta, M., Zoratto, F., Mulder, D., Ottomana, A. M., Pisa, E., Arias Vasquez, A., Slattery, D. A., Glennon, J. C., & Macri, S. (2024). Hyperglycemia and cognitive impairments anticipate the onset of an overt type 2 diabetes-like phenotype in TALLYHO/JngJ mice. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 167, 107102. doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2024.107102

3     Ritz, N. L., Bastiaanssen, T. F. S., Cowan, C. S. M., Smith, L., Theune, N., Brocka, M., Myers, E. M., Moloney, R. D., Moloney, G. M., Shkoporov, A. N., Draper, L. A., Hill, C., Dinan, T. G., Slattery, D. A., & Cryan, J. F. (2024). Social fear extinction susceptibility is associated with Microbiota-Gut-Brain axis alterations. Brain Behav Immun, 120, 315-326. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2024.06.009

4     Ritz, N. L., Brocka, M., Butler, M. I., Cowan, C. S. M., Barrera-Bugueno, C., Turkington, C. J. R., Draper, L. A., Bastiaanssen, T. F. S., Turpin, V., Morales, L., Campos, D., Gheorghe, C. E., Ratsika, A., Sharma, V., Golubeva, A. V., Aburto, M. R., Shkoporov, A. N., Moloney, G. M., Hill, C., Clarke, G., Slattery, D. A., Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2024). Social anxiety disorder-associated gut microbiota increases social fear. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 121(1), e2308706120. doi:10.1073/pnas.2308706120

5     Slattery, D. A. (2024). Insights from animal models on insulin signalling disturbances and related diseases in neurological and mental conditions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 161, 105694. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105694

6     Yotova, A. Y., Li, L. L., O'Leary, A., Tegeder, I., Reif, A., Courtney, M. J., Slattery, D. A., & Freudenberg, F. (2024). Synaptic proteome perturbations after maternal immune activation: Identification of embryonic and adult hippocampal changes. Brain Behav Immun. doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2024.07.040

7     Brum, M., Nieberler, M., Kehrwald, C., Knopf, K., Brunkhorst-Kanaan, N., Etyemez, S., Allers, K. A., Bittner, R. A., Slattery, D. A., McNeill, R. V., Reif, A., & Kittel-Schneider, S. (2023). Phase-and disorder-specific differences in peripheral metabolites of the kynurenine pathway in major depression, bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia. World J Biol Psychiatry, 24(7), 564-577. doi:10.1080/15622975.2023.2169348

8     Cabana-Dominguez, J., Anton-Galindo, E., Fernandez-Castillo, N., Singgih, E. L., O'Leary, A., Norton, W. H., Strekalova, T., Schenck, A., Reif, A., Lesch, K. P., Slattery, D. A., & Cormand, B. (2023). The translational genetics of ADHD and related phenotypes in model organisms. Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 144, 104949. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104949

9     Candemir, E., Fattakhov, N., Leary, A. O., Slattery, D. A., Courtney, M. J., Reif, A., & Freudenberg, F. (2023). Disrupting the nNOS/NOS1AP interaction in the medial prefrontal cortex impairs social recognition and spatial working memory in mice. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol, 67, 66-79. doi:10.1016/j.euroneuro.2022.11.006

10   Gruber, J., Hanssen, R., Qubad, M., Bouzouina, A., Schack, V., Sochor, H., Schiweck, C., Aichholzer, M., Matura, S., Slattery, D. A., Zopf, Y., Borgland, S. L., Reif, A., & Thanarajah, S. E. (2023). Impact of insulin and insulin resistance on brain dopamine signalling and reward processing - An underexplored mechanism in the pathophysiology of depression? Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 149, 105179. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105179

11   Gryksa, K., Schmidtner, A. K., Masis-Calvo, M., Rodriguez-Villagra, O. A., Havasi, A., Wirobski, G., Maloumby, R., Jagle, H., Bosch, O. J., Slattery, D. A., & Neumann, I. D. (2023). Selective breeding of rats for high (HAB) and low (LAB) anxiety-related behaviour: A unique model for comorbid depression and social dysfunctions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 152, 105292. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105292

12   Ottomana, A. M., Presta, M., O'Leary, A., Sullivan, M., Pisa, E., Laviola, G., Glennon, J. C., Zoratto, F., Slattery, D. A., & Macri, S. (2023). A systematic review of preclinical studies exploring the role of insulin signalling in executive function and memory. Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 155, 105435. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105435

13   Sullivan, M., Fernandez-Aranda, F., Camacho-Barcia, L., Harkin, A., Macri, S., Mora-Maltas, B., Jimenez-Murcia, S., O'Leary, A., Ottomana, A. M., Presta, M., Slattery, D. A., Scholtz, S., & Glennon, J. C. (2023). Insulin and disorders of behavioural flexibility. Neurosci Biobehav Rev, 150, 105169. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105169

14   Winter, J., Meyer, M., Berger, I., Royer, M., Bianchi, M., Kuffner, K., Peters, S., Stang, S., Langgartner, D., Hartmann, F., Schmidtner, A. K., Reber, S. O., Bosch, O. J., Bludau, A., Slattery, D. A., van den Burg, E. H., Jurek, B., & Neumann, I. D. (2023). Chronic oxytocin-driven alternative splicing of Crfr2alpha induces anxiety. Mol Psychiatry, 28(11), 4742-4755. doi:10.1038/s41380-021-01141-x

15   O'Leary, A., Fernandez-Castillo, N., Gan, G., Yang, Y., Yotova, A. Y., Kranz, T. M., Grunewald, L., Freudenberg, F., Anton-Galindo, E., Cabana-Dominguez, J., Harneit, A., Schweiger, J. I., Schwarz, K., Ma, R., Chen, J., Schwarz, E., Rietschel, M., Tost, H., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Pane-Farre, C. A., Kircher, T., Hamm, A. O., Burguera, D., Mota, N. R., Franke, B., Schweiger, S., Winter, J., Heinz, A., Erk, S., Romanczuk-Seiferth, N., Walter, H., Strohle, A., Fehm, L., Fydrich, T., Lueken, U., Weber, H., Lang, T., Gerlach, A. L., Nothen, M. M., Alpers, G. W., Arolt, V., Witt, S., Richter, J., Straube, B., Cormand, B., Slattery, D. A., & Reif, A. (2022). Behavioural and functional evidence revealing the role of RBFOX1 variation in multiple psychiatric disorders and traits. Mol Psychiatry, 27(11), 4464-4473. doi:10.1038/s41380-022-01722-4

16   Butlen-Ducuing, F., Balkowiec-Iskra, E., Dalla, C., Slattery, D. A., Ferretti, M. T., Kokras, N., Balabanov, P., De Vries, C., Mellino, S., & Santuccione Chadha, A. (2021). Implications of sex-related differences in central nervous system disorders for drug research and development. Nat Rev Drug Discov, 20(12), 881-882. doi:10.1038/d41573-021-00115-6

17   Chruscicka, B., Cowan, C. S. M., Wallace Fitzsimons, S. E., Borroto-Escuela, D. O., Druelle, C. M., Stamou, P., Bergmann, C. A., Dinan, T. G., Slattery, D. A., Fuxe, K., Cryan, J. F., & Schellekens, H. (2021). Molecular, biochemical and behavioural evidence for a novel oxytocin receptor and serotonin 2C receptor heterocomplex. Neuropharmacology, 183, 108394. doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108394

18   Freudenberg, F., Candemir, E., Chen, X., Li, L. L., Esen-Sehir, D., Schenk, N., Kinoshita, M., Grunewald, L., Frerichs, V., Fattakhov, N., Manchen, J., Bikas, S., Kumar, A., A, O. L., Slattery, D. A., von Engelhardt, J., Courtney, M. J., & Reif, A. (2021). Hippocampal overexpression of NOS1AP promotes endophenotypes related to mental disorders. EBioMedicine, 71, 103565. doi:10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103565

19   Slattery, D. A., & Cryan, J. F. (2021). Membrane molecules for mood. Trends Neurosci, 44(8), 602-604. doi:10.1016/j.tins.2021.05.001

20   Candemir, E., Post, A., Dischinger, U. S., Palme, R., Slattery, D. A., O'Leary, A., & Reif, A. (2019). Limited effects of early life manipulations on sex-specific gene expression and behavior in adulthood. Behav Brain Res, 369, 111927. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2019.111927

21   Gururajan, A., Reif, A., Cryan, J. F., & Slattery, D. A. (2019). The future of rodent models in depression research. Nat Rev Neurosci, 20(11), 686-701. doi:10.1038/s41583-019-0221-6

22   Hillerer, K. M., Slattery, D. A., & Pletzer, B. (2019). Neurobiological mechanisms underlying sex-related differences in stress-related disorders: Effects of neuroactive steroids on the hippocampus. Front Neuroendocrinol, 55, 100796. doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2019.100796

23   Martinetz, S., Meinung, C. P., Jurek, B., von Schack, D., van den Burg, E. H., Slattery, D. A., & Neumann, I. D. (2019). De Novo Protein Synthesis Mediated by the Eukaryotic Elongation Factor 2 Is Required for the Anxiolytic Effect of Oxytocin. Biol Psychiatry, 85(10), 802-811. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.01.010

24   Mattern, F., Post, A., Solger, F., O'Leary, A., Slattery, D. A., Reif, A., & Haaf, T. (2019). Prenatal and postnatal experiences associated with epigenetic changes in the adult mouse brain. Behav Brain Res, 359, 143-148. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2018.10.037

25   Schmidtner, A. K., Slattery, D. A., Glasner, J., Hiergeist, A., Gryksa, K., Malik, V. A., Hellmann-Regen, J., Heuser, I., Baghai, T. C., Gessner, A., Rupprecht, R., Di Benedetto, B., & Neumann, I. D. (2019). Minocycline alters behavior, microglia and the gut microbiome in a trait-anxiety-dependent manner. Transl Psychiatry, 9(1), 223. doi:10.1038/s41398-019-0556-9

26   Slattery, D. A., & Young, J. W. (2019). Current status of the neurobiology of aggression and impulsivity. Neuropharmacology, 156, 107665. doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.107665

27   Freudenberg, F., O'Leary, A., Aguiar, D. C., & Slattery, D. A. (2018). Challenges with modelling anxiety disorders: a possible hindrance for drug discovery. Expert Opin Drug Discov, 13(4), 279-281. doi:10.1080/17460441.2018.1418321

28   Jacobson, L. H., Vlachou, S., Slattery, D. A., Li, X., & Cryan, J. F. (2018). The Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid B Receptor in Depression and Reward. Biol Psychiatry, 83(11), 963-976. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.02.006

29   Perani, C. V., Langgartner, D., Uschold-Schmidt, N., Fuchsl, A. M., Neumann, I. D., Reber, S. O., & Slattery, D. A. (2017). Adrenal gland plasticity in lactating rats and mice is sufficient to maintain basal hypersecretion of corticosterone. Stress, 20(3), 303-311. doi:10.1080/10253890.2017.1325462

30   Slattery, D. A., & Cryan, J. F. (2017). Modelling depression in animals: at the interface of reward and stress pathways. Psychopharmacology (Berl), 234(9-10), 1451-1465. doi:10.1007/s00213-017-4552-6

31   Slattery, D. A., Neumann, I. D., Flor, P. J., & Zoicas, I. (2017). Pharmacological modulation of metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 and 7 impairs extinction of social fear in a time-point-dependent manner. Behav Brain Res, 328, 57-61. doi:10.1016/j.bbr.2017.04.010

32   Neumann, I. D., & Slattery, D. A. (2016). Oxytocin in General Anxiety and Social Fear: A Translational Approach. Biol Psychiatry, 79(3), 213-221. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2015.06.004

33   Reber, S. O., & Slattery, D. A. (2016). Editorial: Using Stress-Based Animal Models to Understand the Mechanisms Underlying Psychiatric and Somatic Disorders. Front Psychiatry, 7, 192. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00192

34   Slattery, D. A., & Hillerer, K. M. (2016). The maternal brain under stress: Consequences for adaptive peripartum plasticity and its potential functional implications. Front Neuroendocrinol, 41, 114-128. doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2016.01.004

35   Slattery, D. A., Uzunov, D. P., & Cryan, J. F. (2016). 11-beta hydroxysteroid type 1 knockout mice display an antidepressant-like phenotype in the forced swim test. Acta Neuropsychiatr, 28(1), 55-60. doi:10.1017/neu.2015.50

36   Jurek, B., Slattery, D. A., Hiraoka, Y., Liu, Y., Nishimori, K., Aguilera, G., Neumann, I. D., & van den Burg, E. H. (2015). Oxytocin Regulates Stress-Induced Crf Gene Transcription through CREB-Regulated Transcription Coactivator 3. J Neurosci, 35(35), 12248-12260. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1345-14.2015

37   Langgartner, D., Fuchsl, A. M., Uschold-Schmidt, N., Slattery, D. A., & Reber, S. O. (2015). Chronic subordinate colony housing paradigm: a mouse model to characterize the consequences of insufficient glucocorticoid signaling. Front Psychiatry, 6, 18. doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2015.00018

38   Perani, C. V., Neumann, I. D., Reber, S. O., & Slattery, D. A. (2015). High-fat diet prevents adaptive peripartum-associated adrenal gland plasticity and anxiolysis. Sci Rep, 5, 14821. doi:10.1038/srep14821

39   Slattery, D. A., Naik, R. R., Grund, T., Yen, Y. C., Sartori, S. B., Fuchsl, A., Finger, B. C., Elfving, B., Nordemann, U., Guerrini, R., Calo, G., Wegener, G., Mathe, A. A., Singewald, N., Czibere, L., Landgraf, R., & Neumann, I. D. (2015). Selective breeding for high anxiety introduces a synonymous SNP that increases neuropeptide S receptor activity. J Neurosci, 35(11), 4599-4613. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4764-13.2015