- Dr. Jan Kehr, PhD, a founder and CEO of Pronexus Analytical AB, is Adjunct Professor in neuropharmacology at Uppsala University, and a Senior scientist at Department of Pharmacology and Physiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Dr. Kehr completed his PhD thesis in 1983. In 1987 he joined the group of Prof. Urban Ungerstedt at Karolinska Institutet, working on development and applications of microdialysis technique.
- Between 1990-1995, Dr. Kehr was employed as a Senior scientist and Product manager at Carnegie Medicin AB (today CMA/Microdialysis AB, Harvard Bioscience, Inc).
- During the years 1984-2022, Dr. Kehr published as a principal investigator or a co-author 120 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, 7 book chapters and 7 chapters in conference proceedings.
- His major research interest is focused on techniques for in vivo monitoring of neurotransmitters, metabolites, biomarker molecules, as well as, drug levels in rodent models of psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders. Of particular interest is microdialysis and allied bioanalytical techniques including UHPLC-MS/MS.
Professional Appointments
- 2005: Senior scientist - Section for pharmacological neurochemistry, Department of physiology and pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm & Lecturer at the undergraduate and postgraduate (PhD) programs: Medicine, Biomedicine, Opticians: Pharmacology, medicinal chemistry.
- 2013-2017: Professor adjunct - Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences Division of Biological Research on Drug Dependence, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
- 2009-2010: Research scientist - Division for narcotics and drug dependency research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm.
- 2007-2008 Study director - Biomedicine program KI, course: Pharmacology and Toxicology.
- 2005-2008 Study director - Postgraduate program KI, Nanobiology and biological physics Nanomedicine: Applications of nanoparticles in biomedicine (course organizer).
- 1996 - 2004 Researcher - Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm.
Industry
- 2003: Founder, CEO - Pronexus Analytical AB, Bromma, Sweden.
- 1992-1995: Product manager - Project leader for applications development, CMA Microdialysis AB, Stockholm, Sweden.
- 1990-1992: Senior scientist and applications specialist - CMA Microdialysis AB, (former Carnegie Medicin AB) Stockholm, Sweden.
Education
- 1987-1989: Postdoc and a guest scientist in Prof. U. Ungerstedt´s group, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
- 1981-1987: Researcher, senior research assistant - Institute of Neurobiology, Czech. Academy of Sciences, Kosice, Czechoslovakia.
- 1981-1983: Ph.D., (chemistry)
- 1977-1981: M.S., chemistry, bioanalytical chemistry: P.J. Safarik University, Kosice, Czechoslovakia.
- 1976-1977: Chemistry: University of Chemical Technology, Prague, Czechoslovakia.
10 selected top publications
- Lumsden EW, Troppoli TA, Myers SJ, Zanos P, Aracava Y, Kehr J, Lovett J, Kim S, Wang FH, Schmidt S, Jenne CE, Yuan P, Morris PJ, Thomas CJ, Zarate CA Jr, Moaddel R, Traynelis SF, Pereira EFR, Thompson SM, Albuquerque EX, Gould TD (2019). Antidepressant-relevant concentrations of the ketamine metabolite (2R,6R)-hydroxynorketamine do not block NMDA receptor function. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 116:5160-5169.
- Laguna A, Schintu N, Nobre A, Alvarsson A, Volakakis N, Jacobsen JK, Gómez-Galán M, Sopova E, Joodmardi E, Yoshitake T, Deng Q, Kehr J, Ericson J, Svenningsson P, Shupliakov O, Perlmann T (2015). Dopaminergic control of autophagic-lysosomal function implicates Lmx1b in Parkinson's disease. Nature Neurosci, 18:826-835.
- Kadkhodaei B, Alvarsson A, Schintu N, Ramsköld D, Volakakis N, Joodmardi E, Yoshitake T, Kehr J, Decressac M, Björklund A, Sandberg R, Svenningsson P, Perlmann T (2013). Transcription factor Nurr1 maintains fiber integrity and nuclear-encoded mitochondrial gene expression in dopamine neurons. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 110:2360-2365.
- Hascup KN, Hascup ER, Stephens ML, Glaser PEA, Yoshitake T, Mathé AA, Gerhardt GA, Kehr J (2011). Resting Glutamate Levels and Rapid Glutamate Transients in the Prefrontal Cortex of the Flinders Sensitive Line Rat - A Genetic Rodent Model of Depression. Neuropsychopharmacology, 36:1769-1777.
- Kehr J, Yoshitake T, Wang FH, Razani H, Gimenez-Llort L, Jansson A, Yamaguchi M, Ögren SO (2002). Galanin is a potent in vivo modulator of mesencephalic serotonergic neurotransmission. Neuropsychopharmacology, 27:341-356.
- Bonito-Oliva A, Pignatelli M, Spigolon G, Yoshitake T, Seiler S, Longo F, Piccinin S, Kehr J, Mercuri NB, Nisticò R, Fisone G (2014). Cognitive Impairment and Dentate Gyrus Synaptic Dysfunction in Experimental Parkinsonism. Biol Psychiatry, 75:701-710.
- Yoshitake T, Wang FH, Kuteeva E, Holmberg K, Yamaguchi M, Crawley JN, Steiner R, Bartfai T, Ögren SO, Hökfelt T, Kehr J (2004). Enhanced hippocampal noradrenaline and serotonin release in galanin-overexpressing mice following repeated forced swimming test. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 101:354-359.
- Kehr J, Yoshitake T (2013). Monitoring molecules in neuroscience: historical overview and current advancements. Frontiers in Bioscience (Elite Ed): Neurobiology of sub-second dopamine signaling, E5:947-954.
- Hascup ER, Hascup KN, Pomerleau F, Huettl P, Hajos-Korcsok E, Kehr J, Gerhardt GA (2012). An allosteric modulator of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR₂), (+)-TFMPIP, inhibits restraint stress-induced phasic glutamate release in rat prefrontal cortex. J Neurochem, 122:619-27.
- Kehr J, Ichinose F, Yoshitake S, Goiny M, T Sievertsson T, Nyberg F, Yoshitake T (2011). Mephedrone, compared with MDMA (ecstasy) and amphetamine, rapidly increases both dopamine and serotonin levels in nucleus accumbens of awake rats. Br J Pharmacol, 164:1949-1958.
Awards & Other merits of relevance
- 2009: Hirlinga e.V., Deutschlands Alzheimer Forscher: Ausgezeichnete Alzheimer-Forschung: Die Hirnliga-Preise.
- 2005-2011: Member of the editorial board: Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology (American Scientific Publishers).
- 2010-2016: Member of the editorial advisory board: Pharmacopsychiatry (Thieme).
- 2008-2020: Member of the Technical committee SIS/TK 516: Nanotechnology, SIS, Swedish Institute for Standards.
