Natalia Gunko, Ph.D. Titles and Appointments Associate Professor Schools Medical School Departments Cell Biology Biography Professional name: Natalia V Gounko https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=U3gVskQAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate Natalia V. Gounko, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Director of the Electron Microscopy Core Facility at UT Southwestern Medical Center. She is a neuroscientist and electron microscopy expert with more than 20 years of research experience studying cellular and ultrastructural changes in the brain under normal and disease-related conditions. Dr. Gounko’s work combines advanced electron microscopy, correlative light and electron microscopy (CLEM), nanoscale imaging, and method development to support discoveries in neuroscience and cell biology. Her independent research has focused on how stress-related signaling molecules affect brain cell communication, synaptic structure, and neuronal remodeling, with critical implications for understanding learning, memory, stress-related disorders, and neurodegenerative disease. Before joining UT Southwestern in 2024, Dr. Gounko served as Head of Electron Microscopy Core Facilities in major international scientific hubs across Singapore and Belgium, including at A*STAR (Singapore) and VIB-KU Leuven (Belgium). In these leadership roles, she established, modernized, and managed advanced bioimaging platforms, supervised multidisciplinary scientific and technical staff, developed customized imaging workflows, and supported a broad range of collaborative research projects. At VIB-KU Leuven, she also served as a Principal Investigator at the Assistant Professor level in the Department of Neurosciences. Dr. Gounko has contributed significantly to the development of innovative imaging approaches. Her technical milestones include optimizing CLEM methods for 2D and 3D tissue analysis, improving in-resin fluorescence preservation for integrated light and electron microscopy, creating automated serial-section imaging workflows, and modernizing Golgi staining techniques for high-resolution 3D imaging of individual neurons. Her work has resulted in numerous highly cited, peer-reviewed publications in leading scientific journals, including Cell, Neuron, Molecular Psychiatry, Translational Psychiatry, PNAS, and Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. At UT Southwestern, Dr. Gounko leads the Electron Microscopy Core Facility, an institutionally supported resource that provides electron microscopy expertise, sample preparation, high-throughput imaging, training, and project consultation to investigators across the campus and collaborating institutions. Her goal is to empower researchers to apply cutting-edge microscopy technologies to answer complex biological questions at cellular and nanoscale resolution. 2024-present Associate Professor and Director of Electron Microscopy Core Facility, Department of Cell Biology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA 2015-2023 Assistant Professor, Head of Electron Microscopy Core facility, Department of Neuroscience KU Leuven and VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium 2012-2015 Staff scientist, Manager of Electron Microscopy Unit, Joint IMCB-IMB EM Suite, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology/Institute of Medical Biology, A*Star, Singapore 2011-2012 Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Scripps Research Institute, Cell Biology Department, San Diego, CA, USA 2007-2011 Postdoctoral Fellow University of California, San Diego, Division of Biological Sciences, San Diego, CA, USA 2003-2006 Ph.D. in Biology, University of Groningen, Medical Faculty, Groningen, The Netherlands. Publications Featured Publications Corticotropin-releasing factor-dependent synaptic plasticity in acute stress: From rapid signaling to circuit remodeling and allostatic load. Vandael D, Gounko NV, Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2026 Jun 188 106832 Cdk5-dependent rapid formation and stabilization of dendritic spines by corticotropin-releasing factor. Vandael D, Vints K, Baatsen P, Sliwinska MA, Gabarre S, De Groef L, Moons L, Rybakin V, Gounko NV, Transl Psychiatry 2024 Jan 14 1 29 EndophilinA-dependent coupling between activity-induced calcium influx and synaptic autophagy is disrupted by a Parkinson-risk mutation. Bademosi AT, Decet M, Kuenen S, Calatayud C, Swerts J, Gallego SF, Schoovaerts N, Karamanou S, Louros N, Martin E, Sibarita JB, Vints K, Gounko NV, Meunier FA, Economou A, Versées W, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J, Soukup SF, Verstreken P, Neuron 2023 May 111 9 1402-1422.e13 Mitochondria metabolism sets the species-specific tempo of neuronal development. Iwata R, Casimir P, Erkol E, Boubakar L, Planque M, Gallego López IM, Ditkowska M, Gaspariunaite V, Beckers S, Remans D, Vints K, Vandekeere A, Poovathingal S, Bird M, Vlaeminck I, Creemers E, Wierda K, Corthout N, Vermeersch P, Carpentier S, Davie K, Mazzone M, Gounko NV, Aerts S, Ghesquière B, Fendt SM, Vanderhaeghen P, Science 2023 Feb 379 6632 eabn4705 Prolyl endopeptidase-like is a (thio)esterase involved in mitochondrial respiratory chain function. Rosier K, McDevitt MT, Smet J, Floyd BJ, Verschoore M, Marcaida MJ, Bingman CA, Lemmens I, Dal Peraro M, Tavernier J, Cravatt BF, Gounko NV, Vints K, Monnens Y, Bhalla K, Aerts L, Rashan EH, Vanlander AV, Van Coster R, Régal L, Pagliarini DJ, Creemers JWM, iScience 2021 Dec 24 12 103460 Torsin and NEP1R1-CTDNEP1 phosphatase affect interphase nuclear pore complex insertion by lipid-dependent and lipid-independent mechanisms. Jacquemyn J, Foroozandeh J, Vints K, Swerts J, Verstreken P, Gounko NV, Gallego SF, Goodchild R, EMBO J 2021 Sep 40 17 e106914 Corticotropin-releasing factor induces functional and structural synaptic remodelling in acute stress. Vandael D, Wierda K, Vints K, Baatsen P, De Groef L, Moons L, Rybakin V, Gounko NV, Transl Psychiatry 2021 Jul 11 1 378 A workflow for streamlined acquisition and correlation of serial regions of interest in array tomography. Gabarre S, Vernaillen F, Baatsen P, Vints K, Cawthorne C, Boeynaems S, Michiels E, Vandael D, Gounko NV, Munck S, BMC Biol 2021 Jul 19 1 152 Loss of Furin in β-Cells Induces an mTORC1-ATF4 Anabolic Pathway That Leads to β-Cell Dysfunction. Brouwers B, Coppola I, Vints K, Dislich B, Jouvet N, Van Lommel L, Segers C, Gounko NV, Thorrez L, Schuit F, Lichtenthaler SF, Estall JL, Declercq J, Ramos-Molina B, Creemers JWM, Diabetes 2021 Feb 70 2 492-503 An accelerated procedure for approaching and imaging of optically branded region of interest in tissue. Vints K, Baatsen P, Gounko NV, Methods Cell Biol 2021 162 205-221 Results 1-10 of 48 1 2 3 4 5 Next Last
