Dr. Yrsa Sverrisdottir is Associate Professor of Physiology in the College of Medicine at Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences. She obtained her MSc. (honors) in Biological Sciences from the University of Iceland (1986) and her PhD in Autonomic Neurophysiology at the Institute of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Gothenburg, Sweden (1999). She also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Sydney Australia. She has worked and published in the field of Physiology and Autonomic Neurophysiology, including sympathetic microneurography, for over 20 years, and has held positions in some of the leading autonomic neuroscience labs around the world. She is also the Senior Associate Editor of Frontiers in Autonomic Neuroscience, on the Review Editorial Board of Frontiers in Integrative Physiology, a Peer reviewer for the Medical Research Council, United Kingdom and a Topic Editor, Frontiers in Autonomic Neuroscience. And a Journal Peer Reviewer for a number of peer review journals such as; Circulation, Hypertension, Clinical Endocrinology, Clinical Autonomic Research< JCEM and AJP to name a few.
She has successfully established the technique for her research in Brazil, Portugal, the United Kingdom (Oxford, Brighton, Cardiff) and Denmark (Copenhagen). Her passion for exploring the autonomic nervous system and establishing international collaborations has been the inspiraton to design, conduct and oversee multiple government-funded research projects, the results of which have contributed to the field of autonomic neuroscience.
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor - Physiology
Basic Medical Sciences Department, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), UAE
Honorary Clinical Scientist
Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, Department of Functional Neurosurgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, UK
Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, Department of Functional Neurosurgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, UK & Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, UK
Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburgh, Sweden & Institute for Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
The Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Institute for Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden
Professional Education
PhD Autonomic Neurophysiology
University of Gothenburg, Sweden
MSc (Hons) Biological Sciences
University of Iceland, Iceland
Teaching
2012-15 Exeter College, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
2000-10 University of Gothenburg, Sweden
2008 University of Lisbon, Portugal
2005-07 Astra Zeneca, Gothenburg, Sweden
2007-10 KeyCompetence Pharmaceutical Education, Gothenburg, Sweden
1986-88 Department of Physiology, University of Iceland
2000-2016 Supervised 20 postgarduate students for PhD and postdoctoral education.
Honors and Awards
St Jude Medical Research Project Grant with Dr. Alexander Green
Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford
Spinal Modulation Research Grant with Dr. Alexander Green
Nuffield Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Oxford
Bial Pharmaceuticals Foundation Project Grant with Prof Hugo Critchley
University of Sussex, Brighton and Sussex Medical School
NIHR Research Capability Funding Research Fellow (RCF)
Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) Trust, Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics, Oxford University, Oxford - British Heart Foundation (BHF) Research Fellow, Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, John Radcliffe Hospital and the Department of Physiology, Anatomy & Genetics, Oxford University, Oxford
Selma Anderson Foundation project grant
Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy
Principal Investigator
Swedish Medical Research Council (MFR/VR). Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden
Swedish Medical Research Council (MFR/VR) Principal Investigator Project Grant
International Postdoctoral Research Scholarship
Swedish Foundation for International cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT) and Postdoctoral Transition Grant for Internationalisation
rincipal Investigator, Novo Nordisk project grant to set up microneurography in Curitiba, Brazil and study the effects of growth restriction in utero on sympathetic nerve activity and cardiovascular parameters in young adulthood
Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology
Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg University, Sweden
MFR PhD Research Fellowship
Swedish Medical Research Council, Institute for Clinical Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital
PhD Fellowship Project Grant
Swedish Medical Research Council
1st Prize for best poster presentation at the first International Society for Autonomic Neuroscience (ISAN)
Congress in Cairns
PhD Fellowship
Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg University, Sweden. Awarded from the Nordic Research Academy (NorFA)
Publications
Membership of Professional Bodies and Associations
British Medical Association
International Society of Autonomic Neuroscience (ISAN)
American Autonomic Society
European Federation of Autonomic Neuroscience (EFAS)
European Ferederation of Neuroscience
European Society of Hypertension
Scandinavian Physiological Society
North America Neuromodulation Society (NANS)
Research Interests
- Human sympathetic nervous system
- Endocrinology
- Deep Brain Stimulation
- Autonomic Neuromodulation
- Cardiovascular disease
Clinical and Community Service
2016 Oxfam, Invited Inspirational Speaker, Oxford, UK
2014 Women in Science, Invited Speaker, Merton College, University of Oxford, UK