Dr Timothy Couttas
Brain and Mind Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health
Dr Timothy Couttas is a research fellow at the Brain and Mind Centre, specialising in lipid biochemistry, mental health and neurodegenerative diseases. Dr Couttas received his Bachelor of Science, with first class honours, at UNSW Sydney (2008). Dr Couttas went on to complete his PhD at UNSW (2012) in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, where he developed hexapeptide ligand enrichment, coupled with mass spectrometry that employed selective immonium ion scanning for the identification of novel methylated lysine residues. His findings helped build the first methyllysine integrated network in Saccharomyces cerevisiae at the NSW Systems Biology Initiative, UNSW Sydney. In 2013 Dr Couttas joined the Prince of Wales Clinical School, as a Research Associate, investigating lipid imbalance in Alzheimer's disease, where he employed sophisticated mass spectrometry techniques to identify loss of the neuroprotective lipid Sphingosine 1-phospahte (S1P), as well as the destabilisation of myelin-enriched sphingolipids at the prodromal stages of Alzheimer’s disease. In 2015 he was awarded a prestigious NHMRC-ARC Dementia Research Development Fellowship to continue investigating the molecular mechanisms involved in demyelination, ageing and Alzheimer’s disease, resulting in the discovery of reduced de novo ceramide synthesis as an early pathogenic event. Dr Couttas’ work has been published in top biomedical journals including Nature Communications, Neurobiology of Aging, and Journal of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as attracting international recognition at various conferences including the International Bioscience of Lipids, Keystone and International Society of Neurochemistry. Presently, Dr Couttas is investigating lipidomic and metabolomic response following the use of antipsychotics, as well as the impacts of cannabinoids on patients suffering from Schizophrenia and acute psychotic symptoms.
Publications
Book Chapters
- Couttas, T., Don, A. (2016). Fluorescent Assays for Ceramide Synthase Activity. In Mark G. Waugh (Eds.), Lipid Signaling Protocols (2nd Edition), (pp. 23-34). New York: Humana Press. [More Information]
Journals
- Couttas, T., Boost, C., Pahlisch, F., Sykorova, E., Leweke, J., Koethe, D., Endepols, H., Rohleder, C., Leweke, F. (2023). Simultaneous Assessment of Serum Levels and Pharmacologic Еffects of Cannabinoids on Еndocannabinoids and N-Acylethanolamines by Liquid Chromatography–Тandem Mass Spectrometry. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 8(4), 657-669. [More Information]
- Liu, X., Chung, L., Liu, D., Chen, J., Huang, Y., Teo, J., Han, X., Zhao, Y., Guan, F., Tran, C., Lee, J., Couttas, T., McCaughan, G., Gorrell, M., Don, A., Qi, Y., et al (2022). Ablation of sphingosine kinase 2 suppresses fatty liver- associated hepatocellular carcinoma via downregulation of ceramide transfer protein. Oncogenesis, 11(1), 1-12. [More Information]
- Couttas, T., Jieu, B., Rohleder, C., Leweke, F. (2022). Current State of Fluid Lipid Biomarkers for Personalized Diagnostics and Therapeutics in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and Related Psychoses: A Narrative Review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 1-12. [More Information]
2023
- Couttas, T., Boost, C., Pahlisch, F., Sykorova, E., Leweke, J., Koethe, D., Endepols, H., Rohleder, C., Leweke, F. (2023). Simultaneous Assessment of Serum Levels and Pharmacologic Еffects of Cannabinoids on Еndocannabinoids and N-Acylethanolamines by Liquid Chromatography–Тandem Mass Spectrometry. Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research, 8(4), 657-669. [More Information]
2022
- Liu, X., Chung, L., Liu, D., Chen, J., Huang, Y., Teo, J., Han, X., Zhao, Y., Guan, F., Tran, C., Lee, J., Couttas, T., McCaughan, G., Gorrell, M., Don, A., Qi, Y., et al (2022). Ablation of sphingosine kinase 2 suppresses fatty liver- associated hepatocellular carcinoma via downregulation of ceramide transfer protein. Oncogenesis, 11(1), 1-12. [More Information]
- Couttas, T., Jieu, B., Rohleder, C., Leweke, F. (2022). Current State of Fluid Lipid Biomarkers for Personalized Diagnostics and Therapeutics in Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders and Related Psychoses: A Narrative Review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 13, 1-12. [More Information]
2020
- Couttas, T., Rustam, Y., Song, H., Qi, Y., Teo, J., Chen, J., Reid, G., Don, A. (2020). A Novel Function of Sphingosine Kinase 2 in the Metabolism of Sphinga-4,14-Diene Lipids. Metabolites, 10(6), 1-19. [More Information]
- Aji, G., Huang, Y., Ng, M., Wang, W., Lan, T., Li, M., Li, Y., Chen, Q., Li, R., Yan, S., Tran, C., Burchfield, J., Couttas, T., Chen, J., Chung, L., Liu, D., Wadham, C., Hogg, P., Vadas, M., Gamble, J., Don, A., Qi, J., et al (2020). Regulation of hepatic insulin signaling and glucose homeostasis by sphingosine kinase 2. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 117(39), 24434-24442. [More Information]
- Tran, C., Heng, B., Teo, J., Humphrey, S., Qi, Y., Couttas, T., Stefen, H., Brettle, M., Fath, T., Guillemin, G., Don, A. (2020). Sphingosine 1-phosphate but not Fingolimod protects neurons against excitotoxic cell death by inducing neurotrophic gene expression in astrocytes. Journal of Neurochemistry, 153(2), 173-188. [More Information]
2019
- Lemay, A., Courtemanche, O., Couttas, T., Jamsari, G., Gagné, A., Bossé, Y., Joubert, P., Don, A., Marsolais, D. (2019). High FA2H and UGT8 transcript levels predict hydroxylated hexosylceramide accumulation in lung adenocarcinoma. Journal of Lipid Research, 60(10), 1776-1786. [More Information]
- Lei, M., Teo, J., Song, H., McEwen, H., Lee, J., Couttas, T., Duncan, T., Chesworth, R., Bertz, J., Przybyla, M., Don, A., et al (2019). Sphingosine Kinase 2 Potentiates Amyloid Deposition but Protects against Hippocampal Volume Loss and Demyelination in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease. Journal of Neuroscience, 39(48), 9645-9659. [More Information]
2018
- Turner, N., Lim, X., Toop, H., Osborne, B., Brandon, A., Taylor, E., Fiveash, C., Govindaraju, H., Teo, J., McEwen, H., Couttas, T., Cooney, G., Don, A., et al (2018). A selective inhibitor of ceramide synthase 1 reveals a novel role in fat metabolism. Nature Communications, 9(1). [More Information]
- Couttas, T., Kain, N., Tran, C., Chatterton, Z., Kwok, J., Don, A. (2018). Age-Dependent Changes to Sphingolipid Balance in the Human Hippocampus are Gender-Specific and May Sensitize to Neurodegeneration. Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, 63(2), 503-514. [More Information]
- Chen, J., Qi, Y., Zhao, Y., Kaczorowski, D., Couttas, T., Coleman, P., Don, A., Bertolino, P., Gamble, J., Vadas, M., McCaughan, G., et al (2018). Deletion of sphingosine kinase 1 inhibits liver tumorigenesis in diethylnitrosamine-treated mice. Oncotarget, 9(21), 15635-15649. [More Information]
2017
- Lei, M., Shafique, A., Shang, K., Couttas, T., Zhao, H., Don, A., Karl, T. (2017). Contextual fear conditioning is enhanced in mice lacking functional sphingosine kinase 2. Behavioural Brain Research, 333, 9-16. [More Information]
2016
- Couttas, T., Don, A. (2016). Fluorescent Assays for Ceramide Synthase Activity. In Mark G. Waugh (Eds.), Lipid Signaling Protocols (2nd Edition), (pp. 23-34). New York: Humana Press. [More Information]
- Couttas, T., Kain, N., Suchowerska, A., Quek, L., Turner, N., Fath, T., Garner, B., Don, A. (2016). Loss of ceramide synthase 2 activity, necessary for myelin biosynthesis, precedes tau pathology in the cortical pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Neurobiology of Aging, 43(July), 89-100. [More Information]
2015
- Couttas, T., Lim, X., Don, A. (2015). A three-step assay for ceramide synthase activity using a fluorescent substrate and HPLC. Lipids, 50(1), 101-109. [More Information]
2014
- Don, A., Hsiao, J., Bleasel, J., Couttas, T., Halliday, G., Kim, W. (2014). Altered lipid levels provide evidence for myelin dysfunction in multiple system atrophy. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 2(1), 1-14. [More Information]
- Couttas, T., Kain, N., Daniels, B., Lim, X., Shepherd, C., Kril, J., Pickford, R., Li, H., Garner, B., Don, A. (2014). Loss of the neuroprotective factor Sphingosine 1-phosphate early in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. Acta Neuropathologica Communications, 2(1), 1-13. [More Information]
- Don, A., Lim, X., Couttas, T. (2014). Re-configuration of sphingolipid metabolism by oncogenic transformation. Biomolecules, 4(1), 315-353. [More Information]
2012
- Couttas, T., Raftery, M., Padula, M., Herbert, B., Wilkins, M. (2012). Methylation of translation-associated proteins in Saccharomyces cerevisiae: Identification of methylated lysines and their methyltransferases. Proteomics, 12(7), 960-972. [More Information]
2011
- Couttas, T., Raftery, M., Erce, M., Wilkins, M. (2011). Monitoring cytoplasmic protein complexes with blue native gel electrophoresis and stable isotope labelling with amino acids in cell culture: analysis of changes in the 20S proteasome. Electrophoresis, 32(14), 1819-1823. [More Information]
2008
- Couttas, T., Raftery, M., Bernardini, G., Wilkins, M. (2008). Immonium ion scanning for the discovery of post-translational modifications and its application to histones. Journal of Proteome Research, 7(7), 2632-2641. [More Information]
Selected Grants
2023
- Investigation into lipidmolecular pathways contributing towards inflammation in schizophrenia: Identifying clinically accessible fluid biomarkers for early diagnosis., Couttas T, Faculty of Medicine and Health/Moyira Elizabeth Vine Fund for Research into Schizophrenia Program
2020
- Tracking lipidomic response with ageing and cognitive decline to identify novel markers for dementia, Couttas T, Brain and Mind Centre/Brain and Mind Research Development Grant