Zerina Kurtovic
justzeri.bsky.social
Zerina Kurtovic
@justzeri.bsky.social
☮️👩🏻‍🔬🛤👩🏻‍🌾

Postdoc studying peripheral neuroimmune interactions in arthritis pain at Svensson lab, Karolinska Institutet

Amateur urban gardener & traveler
Pinned
Want to flow-analyze or FACS your sensory neurons without relying on reporter mice? Check out our new short report 👇https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.19.688847v1
A novel method to sort and enrich sensory neurons
Peripheral sensory neurons, residing in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), relay sensory information from the periphery to the central nervous system. Although single-cell transcriptomic studies have iden...
www.biorxiv.org
Want to flow-analyze or FACS your sensory neurons without relying on reporter mice? Check out our new short report 👇https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.11.19.688847v1
A novel method to sort and enrich sensory neurons
Peripheral sensory neurons, residing in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), relay sensory information from the periphery to the central nervous system. Although single-cell transcriptomic studies have iden...
www.biorxiv.org
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 AM
”As our approach in this process is a holistic one, we have everything in place to make sure that a researcher’s decision to come to KI and Sweden is the best they’ve ever made” ♥️
Heads-up for major new faculty search at KI — with great startup packages and a wide range of subject areas.
Save the date! On 25 June, Karolinska Institutet will be starting a major recruitment drive for 20 junior researchers with a focus on excellence and mobility news.ki.se/ki-to-recruit-junior-researchers-with-a-focus-on-excellence
June 19, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Not long after I started my lab, a prominent scientist told me it was “impossible” to be a successful PI and a mother

Don’t ever let the naysayers tell you it can’t be done - of course it can!

#HappyMothersDay this weekend to all the amazing scientist mamas raising their wonderful kids 🥰
May 9, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Are you an established (”distinguished”) researcher outside Europe? Thinking of moving here for some reason? Grant opportunity just dropped: www.vr.se/english/appl...
Grant for recruiting international visiting researcher to Sweden
The purpose of the grant is to provide higher education institutions and other research organisations the opportunity to develop and strengthen a research field by recruiting a distinguished researche...
www.vr.se
April 1, 2025 at 7:17 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Abstract Submission Open!!

As we slide into the weekend, it's the ideal time to think about your abstract for #EMDS2025. Lots of opportunities for #ECRs to present...and prizes up for grabs!

👉 www.emds2025.com

@britsocimm.bsky.social @cytokinesociety.bsky.social @societymucosalimm.bsky.social
March 21, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Nociceptor neurons promote PDAC progression and cancer pain by interaction with cancer-associated fibroblasts and suppression of NK cells
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Nociceptor neurons promote PDAC progression and cancer pain by interaction with cancer-associated fibroblasts and suppression of natural killer cells - Cell Research
Cell Research - Nociceptor neurons promote PDAC progression and cancer pain by interaction with cancer-associated fibroblasts and suppression of natural killer cells
www.nature.com
March 24, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
My dear colleague Gustaw Eriksson has just published a comprehensive cellular atlas of the endometrium in women with PCOS, showing cell-type-specific disease signatures. This reveals new promising therapeutic targets for PCOS-related endometrial dysfunction.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Single-cell profiling of the human endometrium in polycystic ovary syndrome - Nature Medicine
A transcriptomic atlas of the endometrium of women with polycystic ovary syndrome uncovers both disease signatures and potential therapeutic targets.
www.nature.com
March 20, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Excited to post for the first time to present our exciting new paper @Nature. The fruit of massive work by Tommaso Vicanolo, @alazozcan.bsky.social and Jackson Li, and our superb collaborators Laiguan and Stefan Uderhardt. True teamwork!
Free link: rdcu.be/eeeA2
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Matrix-producing neutrophils populate and shield the skin
Nature - A population of neutrophils in the skin produces extracellular matrix, providing a defence strategy by reinforcing the barrier properties of the skin and helping to block the entry of...
rdcu.be
March 19, 2025 at 9:28 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Review
Pain signaling by G protein-coupled receptors and receptor tyrosine kinases
www.cell.com/trends/pharm...
March 10, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Who funds biomedical research? @nature.com
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
March 10, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Yesterday, Sven from our lab shared his beautiful immunos of human DRG at our department seminar @ki.se 🤩 Here’s a snap!
March 6, 2025 at 6:34 AM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
The new and emerging field of peripheral neuroimmunology is revealing how unique interactions between neurons and immune cells in various organs can profoundly impact mammalian health.

Nice review in JLB.

The peripheral neuroimmune system

academic.oup.com/jleukbio/art...
The peripheral neuroimmune system
The peripheral neuroimmune reflex arc illustrates how immune cells can simultaneously respond to both motor and sensory nerves but also transmit signals to
academic.oup.com
March 5, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
🚨 Paper Announcement🎉 🥂
Read about our fascinating discoveries around the pain-relieving effect of the JAK inhibitor baricitinib in an arthritis context !
Our pre-clinical study highlights exciting findings and is now available in the prestigious journal ARD: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
February 20, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
What do Europeans think of science and technology?

- 83% believe science and tech have a positive impact,
- 67% say science makes life easier, healthier and more comfortable,
- 58% want to learn more about scientific advances.

Find out more in the new Eurobarometer.
ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
Europeans strongly support science and technology according to new Eurobarometer survey
The latest Eurobarometer survey on ‘European citizens' knowledge and attitudes towards science and technology' released today shows more than 8 in 10 citizens (83%) think that the overall influence of...
ec.europa.eu
February 8, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Twelve unique stories from the #lab, each illustrated by the amazing Yulia Lapko. For anyone finishing up #school and wondering what to do next - #STEM is a great next step, whatever your start in life.
February 1, 2025 at 1:47 PM
EPS2022 was one of the best science meetings that I have been to. Great scientific discussion for both junior and senior PhD students!
📢 Join us for the next European Pain School!

🗓️ 7–13 June 2025

📍 Certosa di Pontignano, Siena – a stunning setting for cutting-edge learning.

📝 Apply by: 28 February 2025 eps2025.azuleon.org/application

💡 This year’s focus: Cancer Pain Research, featuring topics like:
EPS 2025 :: Application
The website of the European Pain School :: EPS 2025
eps2025.azuleon.org
January 23, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Many members of our lab are proud alumni of the European Pain School, and we cannot recommend this conference highly enough to all PhD students and postdocs in pain research!
📢 Join us for the next European Pain School!

🗓️ 7–13 June 2025

📍 Certosa di Pontignano, Siena – a stunning setting for cutting-edge learning.

📝 Apply by: 28 February 2025 eps2025.azuleon.org/application

💡 This year’s focus: Cancer Pain Research, featuring topics like:
EPS 2025 :: Application
The website of the European Pain School :: EPS 2025
eps2025.azuleon.org
January 23, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
In-depth article on chronic pain, with my friend @robgereau.bsky.social and Allan Basbaum heavily interviewed as scientists studying pain: ‘We die in pain, we don’t die of pain.’

www.nytimes.com/2025/01/12/m...
Chronic Pain Afflicts Billions of People. It’s Time for a Revolution.
As many as two billion people suffer from it — including me. Can science finally bring us relief?
www.nytimes.com
January 12, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
"If talent and opportunity were equally distributed, the average winner would come from a middle income background.

The reality?

The average laureate grew up in a household just below the top 10%. More than 50% come from the top 5%"

By Torsten Bell

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The science behind winning a Nobel Prize? Being a man from a wealthy family | Torsten Bell
A lot of talent is wasted in a world where more than half of laureates come from households in the richest 5%
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2024 at 2:59 PM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
The oestrous cycle stage affects mammary tumor sensitivity to chemotherapy
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
December 5, 2024 at 12:15 AM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
Nature

Organ-specific sympathetic innervation defines visceral functions
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Organ-specific sympathetic innervation defines visceral functions - Nature
Multi-modal transcriptomic analyses of the sympathetic nervous system reveal organ-specific neural innervation and modular regulation of visceral functions.
www.nature.com
December 2, 2024 at 3:41 AM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
“Negative reinforcement, such as receiving overly harsh criticism or being scolded by a research mentor, and being held to unreasonable expectations were two of the most detrimental aspects of research affecting student mental health.”

#ImprovingAcademia 🧪

www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Behind the graduate mental health crisis in science - Nature Biotechnology
Survey results identify how scientific research and teaching contribute to the graduate student mental health crisis.
www.nature.com
November 28, 2024 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by Zerina Kurtovic
So happy to (finally!!) announce that our paper studying synovial tissue dendritic cells in joint health and rheumatoid arthritis is now out in Immunity! 🚨 doi.org/10.1016/j.im...
November 27, 2024 at 6:37 PM