Catarina  Osorio

contact

  • c.osorio@erasmusmc.nl
  • +31 010 70 34120
  • Room: Ee-1253a
  • Dr. Molewaterplein 40, Faculty Building, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

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Dr. Catarina Osorio (C.)

Research Interests

  1. I am a neurodevelopmental neuroscientist investigating how genetic perturbations and neuronal activity shape cerebellar circuit development and contribute to rare neurological disorders. My research integrates mouse genetics, molecular and cellular neuroscience, transcriptomics, electrophysiology and behavioral approaches to identify disease mechanisms and therapeutic windows in disorders such as spinocerebellar ataxias, neurodevelopmental motor and language delays. My work focuses on defining how activity-dependent and molecular mechanisms regulate cerebellar maturation and how developmental dysfunction leads to motor and cognitive impairment.
  2. List of publications: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/collections/mybibliography/

Education

2014

Ph.D. in Neurosciences

in Cardiff University

2007

Master’s in Medicine and Molecular Oncology

in University of Porto

2005

Licentiate Degree in Biology (Genetics and Microbiology specialisation)

in University of Lisbon

Positions

2022

Assistant Professor

in Erasmus Medical Center

2021

EMBO Scientific Exchange Fellow

in VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research

2017

Postdoctoral Fellow

in Erasmus Medical Center

2014

Postdoctoral Researcher

in King’s College London

2012

Ph.D. student in Neurosciences

in Andalusian Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine Centre (CABIMER)

2009

Ph.D. student in Neurosciences

in Cardiff University

2008

Research student

in University of Lisbon

2006

Master student in Medicine and Molecular Oncology

in Portuguese Institute of Oncology

2005

Research student

in Institute of Molecular Pathology and Immunology of the University of Porto (IPATIMUP)

Honors & Awards

2023

Erasmus MC Research Innovation Grant

Erasmus Medical Center

2022

Vaillant Fonds

Dr. CJ Vaillant Foundation

2021

Incentive Grants for Women in STEM

Dutch Research Council (NWO)

2021

EMBO Scientific Exchange Grants

European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)

2021

Vaillant Fonds

Dr. CJ Vaillant Foundation

2020

Open Competition Domain XS Grant

Dutch Research Council (NWO)

2019

Brain Awareness Week Grant

FENS DANA Foundation

2018

Off-Road Fellowship

The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development (ZonMw)

2018

Seal of Excellence

European Commission

2018

Best oral presentation

Dutch Ataxia Symposium

2016

Public engagement small grants scheme

King’s College London

2009

Ph.D. scholarship

Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT)

2007

Second best oral communication

Portuguese Society of Hematology

Publications

1. Purkinje cell intrinsic activity shapes cerebellar development and function.

Osório C, White JJ, Torrents-Solé P, Yang J, Mandemaker N, Olivero F, Kirwan F, Post L, Hemmat Z, de Winter F, Regolo E, Fiocchi FR, Serra I, Tjon S, Ozgur Z, van den Hout MCGN, van IJcken WFJ, López-Bendito G, Badura A, Lim L, van Woerden GM, Schonewille M
in Nature communications 2026

2. A robust method for primary cerebellar culture and genetic manipulation of Purkinje cells from postnatal mice

Heiling Lu, Friederike Stephani, Myrna Aulia, Edwin Mientjes, Martijn Schonewille, Catarina Osório
in Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2026

3. Fingolimod Prevents Neuroinflammation but Has a Limited Effect on the Development of Ataxia in a Mouse Model for SCA1

Chen Yang, Nienke Gravendeel, Amy Chin On, Laura Post, Ryan van Bergen, Catarina Osorio, Martijn Schonewille
in International Journal of Molecular Science 2025

4. Purkinje cell intrinsic activity shapes cerebellar development and function

in Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory 2024

5. Pre-ataxic loss of intrinsic plasticity and motor learning in a mouse model of SCA1

6. Tsc1 Haploinsufficiency Leads to Pax2 Dysregulation in the Developing Murine Cerebellum

Ines Serra, Ana Stravs, Catarina Osório, Maria Roa Oyaga, Martijn Schonewille, Christian Tudorache, and Aleksandra Badura
in Front Mol Neurosci. 2022

7. Region-specific preservation of Purkinje cell morphology and motor behavior in the ATXN1[82Q] mouse model of spinocerebellar ataxia 1.

White JJ, Bosman LWJ, Blot FGC, Osório C, Kuppens BW, Krijnen WHJJ, Andriessen C, De Zeeuw CI, Jaarsma D, Schonewille M
in Brain pathology (Zurich, Switzerland) 2021

8. Differential spatiotemporal development of Purkinje cell populations and cerebellum-dependent sensorimotor behaviors.

Beekhof GC, Osório C, White JJ, van Zoomeren S, van der Stok H, Xiong B, Nettersheim IH, Mak WA, Runge M, Fiocchi FR, Boele HJ, Hoebeek FE, Schonewille M
in eLife 2021

9. TRPC3 is a major contributor to functional heterogeneity of cerebellar Purkinje cells.

Wu B, Blot FG, Wong AB, Osório C, Adolfs Y, Pasterkamp RJ, Hartmann J, Becker EB, Boele HJ, De Zeeuw CI, Schonewille M
in eLife 2019

10. Aberrant outputs of cerebellar nuclei and targeted rescue of social deficits in an autism mouse model.

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