Person
Rastegar, Sepand
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Biography and Research Interest
Biography
Sepand Rastegar is a developmental and molecular biologist whose research is devoted to understanding the mechanisms of gene regulation in nervous system development and regeneration. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, before pursuing his PhD at the University of Ulm in Germany. During his doctoral studies, he explored the role of the BMP signaling pathway in Xenopus and zebrafish gastrulation, contributing significantly to the understanding of early embryonic development (Blader et al., 1997).
Following his PhD, Sepand conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC) in Strasbourg. His work there focused on unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying neural tube dorsoventral patterning in zebrafish, solidifying his expertise in developmental biology (Rastegar et al., 2002).
In 2002, Sepand joined the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), where he continued advancing research on neural development. He is currently a principal investigator at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), where his research investigates the molecular mechanisms governing nervous system development and maintenance in zebrafish. His focus includes gene regulatory networks involved in neurogenesis and regeneration in the embryonic spinal cord and adult telencephalon (Armant et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2020; Baranasic et al., 2022; Chen et al., 2023).
As a Privatdozent at KIT, Sepand is also deeply engaged in teaching, contributing to educational initiatives in neurobiology, molecular biology, and genetics.
Sepand’s research group actively participates in two major European projects: DANIO-CODE and DANIO-ReCODE. DANIO-CODE is an international initiative aimed at annotating functional elements of the zebrafish genome (Baranasic et al., 2022). DANIO-ReCODE builds on this effort, leveraging advanced genomics and computational tools to decipher transcription regulation during regeneration.
References
Chen F, Köhler M, Cucun G, Takamiya M, Kizil C, Cosacak MI, Rastegar S. sox1a:eGFP transgenic line and single-cell transcriptomics reveal the origin of zebrafish intraspinal serotonergic neurons. iScience. 2023 Jul 11;26(8):107342. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107342. PMID: 37529101; PMCID: PMC10387610.
Baranasic D, Hörtenhuber M, Balwierz PJ, Zehnder T, Mukarram AK, Nepal C, Várnai C, Hadzhiev Y, Jimenez-Gonzalez A, Li N, Wragg J, D'Orazio FM, Relic D, Pachkov M, Díaz N, Hernández-Rodríguez B, Chen Z, Stoiber M, Dong M, Stevens I, Ross SE, Eagle A, Martin R, Obasaju O, Rastegar S, et al. Multiomic atlas with functional stratification and developmental dynamics of zebrafish cis-regulatory elements. Nat Genet. 2022 Jul;54(7):1037-1050. doi: 10.1038/s41588-022-01089-w.
Zhang G, Ferg M, Lübke L, Takamiya M, Beil T, Gourain V, Diotel N, Strähle U, Rastegar S. Bone morphogenetic protein signaling regulates Id1-mediated neural stem cell quiescence in the adult zebrafish brain via a phylogenetically conserved enhancer module. Stem Cells. 2020 Jul;38(7):875-889. doi: 10.1002/stem.3182. PMID: 32246536.
Armant O, März M, Schmidt R, Ferg M, Diotel N, Ertzer R, Bryne JC, Yang L, Baader I, Reischl M, Legradi J, Mikut R, Stemple D, van IJcken W, van der Sloot A, Lenhard B, Strähle U, Rastegar S. Genome-wide, whole mount in situ analysis of transcriptional regulators in zebrafish embryos. Dev Biol. 2013 Aug 15;380(2):351-362. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2013.05.006. PMID: 23684812; PMCID: PMC4351915.
Rastegar S, Albert S, Le Roux I, Fischer N, Blader P, Müller F, Strähle U. A floor plate enhancer of the zebrafish netrin1 gene requires Cyclops (Nodal) signaling and the winged helix transcription factor FoxA2. Dev Biol. 2002 Dec 1;252(1):1-14. doi: 10.1006/dbio.2002.0837. PMID: 12453456.
Blader P*, Rastegar S*, Fischer N, Strähle U. (Co-first authors). Cleavage of the BMP-4 antagonist chordin by zebrafish tolloid. Science. 1997 Dec 12;278(5345):1937-1940. doi: 10.1126/science.278.5345.1937. PMID: 9395394.
Sepand Rastegar is a developmental and molecular biologist whose research is devoted to understanding the mechanisms of gene regulation in nervous system development and regeneration. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg, France, before pursuing his PhD at the University of Ulm in Germany. During his doctoral studies, he explored the role of the BMP signaling pathway in Xenopus and zebrafish gastrulation, contributing significantly to the understanding of early embryonic development (Blader et al., 1997).
Following his PhD, Sepand conducted postdoctoral research at the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC) in Strasbourg. His work there focused on unraveling the molecular mechanisms underlying neural tube dorsoventral patterning in zebrafish, solidifying his expertise in developmental biology (Rastegar et al., 2002).
In 2002, Sepand joined the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM), where he continued advancing research on neural development. He is currently a principal investigator at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), where his research investigates the molecular mechanisms governing nervous system development and maintenance in zebrafish. His focus includes gene regulatory networks involved in neurogenesis and regeneration in the embryonic spinal cord and adult telencephalon (Armant et al., 2013; Zhang et al., 2020; Baranasic et al., 2022; Chen et al., 2023).
As a Privatdozent at KIT, Sepand is also deeply engaged in teaching, contributing to educational initiatives in neurobiology, molecular biology, and genetics.
Sepand’s research group actively participates in two major European projects: DANIO-CODE and DANIO-ReCODE. DANIO-CODE is an international initiative aimed at annotating functional elements of the zebrafish genome (Baranasic et al., 2022). DANIO-ReCODE builds on this effort, leveraging advanced genomics and computational tools to decipher transcription regulation during regeneration.
References
Chen F, Köhler M, Cucun G, Takamiya M, Kizil C, Cosacak MI, Rastegar S. sox1a:eGFP transgenic line and single-cell transcriptomics reveal the origin of zebrafish intraspinal serotonergic neurons. iScience. 2023 Jul 11;26(8):107342. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107342. PMID: 37529101; PMCID: PMC10387610.
Baranasic D, Hörtenhuber M, Balwierz PJ, Zehnder T, Mukarram AK, Nepal C, Várnai C, Hadzhiev Y, Jimenez-Gonzalez A, Li N, Wragg J, D'Orazio FM, Relic D, Pachkov M, Díaz N, Hernández-Rodríguez B, Chen Z, Stoiber M, Dong M, Stevens I, Ross SE, Eagle A, Martin R, Obasaju O, Rastegar S, et al. Multiomic atlas with functional stratification and developmental dynamics of zebrafish cis-regulatory elements. Nat Genet. 2022 Jul;54(7):1037-1050. doi: 10.1038/s41588-022-01089-w.
Zhang G, Ferg M, Lübke L, Takamiya M, Beil T, Gourain V, Diotel N, Strähle U, Rastegar S. Bone morphogenetic protein signaling regulates Id1-mediated neural stem cell quiescence in the adult zebrafish brain via a phylogenetically conserved enhancer module. Stem Cells. 2020 Jul;38(7):875-889. doi: 10.1002/stem.3182. PMID: 32246536.
Armant O, März M, Schmidt R, Ferg M, Diotel N, Ertzer R, Bryne JC, Yang L, Baader I, Reischl M, Legradi J, Mikut R, Stemple D, van IJcken W, van der Sloot A, Lenhard B, Strähle U, Rastegar S. Genome-wide, whole mount in situ analysis of transcriptional regulators in zebrafish embryos. Dev Biol. 2013 Aug 15;380(2):351-362. doi: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2013.05.006. PMID: 23684812; PMCID: PMC4351915.
Rastegar S, Albert S, Le Roux I, Fischer N, Blader P, Müller F, Strähle U. A floor plate enhancer of the zebrafish netrin1 gene requires Cyclops (Nodal) signaling and the winged helix transcription factor FoxA2. Dev Biol. 2002 Dec 1;252(1):1-14. doi: 10.1006/dbio.2002.0837. PMID: 12453456.
Blader P*, Rastegar S*, Fischer N, Strähle U. (Co-first authors). Cleavage of the BMP-4 antagonist chordin by zebrafish tolloid. Science. 1997 Dec 12;278(5345):1937-1940. doi: 10.1126/science.278.5345.1937. PMID: 9395394.
Non-Zebrafish Publications
Friedle, H., Rastegar, S., Paul, H., Kaufmann, E. and Knochel, W. (1998) Xvent-1 mediates BMP-4-induced suppression of the dorsal-lip-specific early response gene XFD-1' in Xenopus embryos. EMBO J. 17(8):2298-2307.
Rastegar, S., Friedle, H., Frommer, G. and Knochel, W. (1999) Transcriptional regulation of Xvent homeobox genes. Mech. Dev. 81:139-149.
Hennigfeld, K.A., Rastegar, S., Adler, G. and Knochel, W. (2000) Smadl and Smad4 are components of the BMP-4 induced transcription complex of the Xvent-2B promoter. J. Biol. Chem. 275(29):21827-21835.
Hennigfeld, K.A., Friedle, H., Rastegar, S. and Knochel, W. (2002) Autoregulation of Xvent-2B: Direct interaction and functional cooperation of Xvent-2 and Smadl. J. Biol. Chem. 277:2097-2103.