Section: Rotations

Postdoctoral Position Available

Charles Sagerstrom, Ph.D.

Academic Role: Associate Professor

Faculty Appointment(s) In:
   Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology

Other Affiliation(s):
   Interdisciplinary Graduate Program

Rotation Project Background

During early embryogenesis the primordium of the central nervous system (CNS) consists of an epithelium - the neural plate - that is only a single cell-layer thick. The neural plate subsequently undergoes an extraordinary set of developmental steps to form all structures of the adult CNS. This process raises two separate, but interrelated, questions: 1). How is each neural structure positioned correctly? and 2). How is the differentiation of each structure regulated? We are particularly interested in understanding the earliest steps in these processes and we focus our work on how the caudal CNS (the cerebellum, brainstem and spinal cord) is formed.

We have isolated several genes that are expressed in the neural plate and we use zebrafish embryos to explore the role of these genes in formation of the caudal CNS. We combine in vivo experiments aimed at defining the biological role of each gene with in vitro biochemical experiments aimed at understanding their mechanism of action.

Potential Rotation Projects

1. Role of Pbx4 in controlling histone acetylation.   The Pbx4 transcription factor binds both histone deacetylases (HDACs) and histone acetyltransferases (HATs) in vitro, but it is not clear if these interactions are essential in vivo.  This project entails identifying HDAC and HAT binding sites on Pbx4 and testing binding mutants in cell culture reporter assays as well as in zebrafish embryos.
2. Identification of novel Nlz-interacting proteins.  The Nlz protein acts a repressor of transcription, but appears to require cofactors to access target promoters.  This project entails identifying Nlz-interacting proteins by ‘pull-down’ from zebrafish embryo lysates.
3. Deriving a genetic pathway for the formation of hindbrain rhombomere (r) 4 and 5.  A number of genes are required for formation of r4 and r5, but it is not clear how they fit into a genetic pathway.  This project entails gene misexpression in wild type and mutant zebrafish embryos using mRNA injections and transgenic lines.

Office: LRB-815, Lab 870 D-F
Phone: 508-856-8006
E-mail: Charles.Sagerstrom@umassmed.edu
Keywords: Neurobiology, Gene Expression, Developmental Biology

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Postdoctoral Position Available A postdoctoral position is available to study in this laboratory. Contact Dr. Sagerström for additional details.