About Us

Dr. Gerlinde Alexandra Metz

Name: Gerlinde Alexandra Metz

Phone: 403.394.3992

E-mail: gerlinde.metz@uleth.ca

Office: SA8244

Website: http://people.uleth.ca/~gerlinde.metz/

Degrees:
PhD - ETH Zurich
MSc - University of Giessen & ETH Zurich
BSc - University of Giessen

Biography:

The research program of Dr. Gerlinde Metz focuses on the influence of experience and environment on behaviour and brain plasticity. Her work showed that stress affects motor system function, risk of Parkinson’s disease and recovery from stroke. This research indicated that adverse experience at any time in life can become a predisposing or precipitating factor of disease. More recently, her laboratory has developed unique models to explore transgenerational inheritance of stress responses. Through transgenerational programming, experience in parents, grandparents and beyond can influence health and disease from early development to old age.

Dr. Metz completed her undergraduate studies in biology at the University of Giessen and graduate studies in neuroscience at the ETH Zurich. She habilitated in medicine at the University of Jena. She is an AHFMR Senior Scholar. Her research program is characterized by interdisciplinary collaborations around the world.

Recent
Publications:

Faraji J, Moeeini R, Pakdel S, Ghaderi F, Metz GA (2014) Stress inhibits psychomotor performance differently in simple and complex environments. Hormones & Behavior 65(1): 66-75.

Sidler C, Woycicki R, Ilnytskyy Y, Metz G, Kovalchuk I, Kovalchuk O (2013) Immunosenescence is associated with altered gene expression and epigenetic regulation in primary and secondary immune organs. Frontiers in Genetics 4: 211. DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2013.00211.

Ambeskovic M, Fuchs E, Beaumier P, Gerken M, Metz GA (2013) Hair elementary profiles in aging rodents and primates: links to altered cell homeodynamics and disease. Biogerontology 14(5): 557-567.

Hao Y, Metz GA (2013) Non-genetic inheritance of behaviour and stress resilience. Non-Genetic Inheritance 1(1): 9-16. DOI: 10.2478/ngi-2013-0001.

Faraji J, Gomez-Palacio-Schjetnan A, Luczak A, Metz GA (2013) Beyond the silence: bilateral somatosensory stimulation enhances skilled movement quality and neural density in intact behaving rats. Behavioural Brain Research 253: 78-89.

Palacio Schjetnan A, Faraji J, Metz GA, Tatsuno M, Luczak A (2013) Transcranial direct current stimulation in stroke rehabilitation: a review of recent advancements. Stroke Research and Treatment 2013: ID 170256.

Nemati F, Kolb B, Metz GA (2013) Stress and risk avoidance by exploring rats: implications for stress management in fear-related behaviours. Behavioural Processes 94: 89-98.

Zucchi FCR, Yao Y, Ward ID, Ilnytskyy Y, Olson DM, Benzies K, Kovalchuk I, Kovalchuk O, Metz GA (2013) Maternal stress induces epigenetic signatures of psychiatric and neurological diseases in the offspring. PLoS ONE 8(2): e56967.

Metzler MJ, Saucier DM, Metz GA (2013) Enriched childhood experiences moderate age-related motor and cognitive decline. Frontiers in Behavioural Neuroscience 7: 1. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2013.00001.

Ward ID, Zucchi FCR, Robbins JC, Falkenberg EA, Olson DM, Benzies K, Metz GA (2013) Transgenerational programming of maternal behaviour by prenatal stress. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 13(Suppl 1): S9.

Gomez-Lopez N, Tanaka S, Zaeem Z, Metz GA, Olson DM (2013) Maternal circulating leukocytes display early chemotactic responsiveness during late gestation. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 13(Suppl 1): S8.

Faraji J, Kurio K, Metz GA (2012) Concurrent silent strokes impair motor function by limiting behavioral compensation. Experimental Neurology 236(2): 241-248.

Zucchi FCR, Yao Y, Metz GA (2012) The secret language of destiny: stress imprinting and transgenerational origins of disease. Frontiers in Genetics 3: 96. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2012.00096.

Kirkland SW, Smith LK, Metz GA (2012) Task-specific compensation and recovery following focal motor cortex lesion in stressed rats. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience 11(1): 33-59.

Wallace DG, Winter SS, Metz GA (2012) Serial pattern learning during skilled walking. Journal of Integrative Neuroscience 11(1): 17-32.

Babenko O, Kovalchuk I, Metz GA (2012) Epigenetic programming of neurodegenerative diseases by an adverse environment. Brain Research 1444: 96-111.

Babenko O, Golubov A, Ilnytskyy Y, Kovalchuk I, Metz GA (2012) Genomic and epigenomic responses to chronic stress involve miRNA-mediated programming. PLoS ONE 7(1): e29441.

Metzler MJ, Metz GA (2010) Analyzing the barriers and supports of knowledge translation using the PEO model. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy 77(3): 151-158.

Merrett DL, Kirkland SW, Metz GA (2010) Synergistic effects of age and stress in a rodent model of stroke. Behavioural Brain Research, 214(1): 55-59.

Knieling M, Metz GA, Antonow-Schlorke I, Witte OW (2009) Enriched environment promotes efficiency of compensatory movements after cerebral ischemia in rats. Neuroscience 163(3): 759-769.

Zucchi FCR, Kirkland SW, Jadavji NM, van Waes LT, Klein A, Supina RD, Metz GA (2009) Predictable stress versus unpredictable stress: a comparison in a rodent model of stroke. Behavioural Brain Research 205(1): 67-75.

Shriner AM, Drever FR, Metz GA (2009) The development of skilled walking in the rat. Behavioural Brain Research 205(2): 426-435.

Klein A, Metz GA, Papazoglou A, Nikkhah G (2007) Differential effects on forelimb grasping behaviour induced by fetal dopaminergic grafts in hemiparkinsonian rats. Neurobiology of Disease 27(1): 24-35.

Faraji J, Metz GA (2007) Sequential bilateral striatal lesions have additive effects on single skilled limb use in rats. Behavioural Brain Research, 177(2): 195-204.Jadavji

NM, Foroud A, Whishaw IQ, Metz GA (2006) Silencing Huntington's chorea: is RNA interference a potential cure? Impulse 3: 1-13

Field EF, Metz GA, Pellis SM, Whishaw IQ. Sexually dimorphic postural adjustments during vertical behaviour are altered in a unilateral 6-OHDA rat model of Parkinson's disease. Behav Brain Res. 2006 Nov 1;174(1):39-48. Epub 2006 Aug 22.

Jadavji NM, Kolb B, Metz GA. Enriched environment improves motor function in intact and unilateral dopamine-depleted rats. Neuroscience. 2006 Jul 21;140(4):1127-38. Epub 2006 May 6.

Reinhart CJ, McIntyre DC, Metz GA, Pellis SM. Play fighting between kindling-prone (FAST) and kindling-resistant (SLOW) rats. J Comp Psychol. 2006 Feb;120(1):19-30.

Farr TD, Liu L, Colwell KL, Whishaw IQ, Metz GA. Bilateral alteration in stepping pattern after unilateral motor cortex injury: a new test strategy for analysis of skilled limb movements in neurological mouse models. J Neurosci Methods. 2006 May 15;153(1):104-13. Epub 2005 Nov 22.

Metz GA, Jadavji NM, Smith LK. Modulation of motor function by stress: a novel concept of the effects of stress and corticosterone on behavior.
Eur J Neurosci. 2005 Sep;22(5):1190-200.

Metz GA, Tse A, Ballermann M, Smith LK, Fouad K. The unilateral 6-OHDA rat model of Parkinson's disease revisited: an electromyographic and behavioural analysis.
Eur J Neurosci. 2005 Aug;22(3):735-44.

Smith LK, Metz GA. Dietary restriction alters fine motor function in rats. Physiol Behav. 2005 Aug 7;85(5):581-92.

Metz GA, Antonow-Schlorke I, Witte OW. Motor improvements after focal cortical ischemia in adult rats are mediated by compensatory mechanisms. Behav Brain Res. 2005 Jul 1;162(1):71-82. Epub 2005 Mar 28.

Metz GA, Schwab ME. Behavioral characterization in a comprehensive mouse test battery reveals motor and sensory impairments in growth-associated protein-43 null mutant mice. Neuroscience. 2004;129(3):563-74.

Riek-Burchardt M, Henrich-Noack P, Metz GA, Reymann KG (2004) Detection of chronic sensorimotor impairments in the ladder rung walking task in rats with endothelin-1-induced mild focal ischemia. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 137(2): 227-233.

Metz GA, Piecharka DM, Kleim JA, Whishaw IQ (2004) The topographic representation of movement to microstimulation of motor cortex is similar in control rats and rats depleted of dopamine (DA) by nigrostriatal bundle 6-hydroxydopamine. Brain Research, 1026(1):126-135.

Whishaw IQ, Li K, Whishaw PA, Gorny B, Metz GA (2003) Rotorod assessment reveals distinct forelimb and hind limb stepping impairments in dopamine-depleted rats: Use of the rotorod as a method for the qualitative analysis of skilled walking. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 126(1): 13-23.

Metz GA, Gonzalez CL, Piecharka DM, Whishaw IQ (2003) Acute alcohol administration improves skilled reaching success but not posture in intact but not 6-OHDA dopamine depleted rats: A subsystems analysis with relations to the anxiolytic effects of alcohol. Behavioral Brain Research, 142(1-2): 167-174.

Metz GA, Suchowersky O, Whishaw IQ (2003) Skilled Reaching: A useful tool to investigate animal models of human neurodegenerative disease. In: Neurobehavioral Methods and Effects in Occupational and Environmental Health (Lucchini R, Alessio L,eds). Proceedings of the National Institutes of Safety and Prevention, 95-101.