Mojgan Rastegar
Associate Professor
Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics
Canada
Biography
Dr. Mojgan Rastegar received her PhD and DEA (Diplôme d’Etudes Approfondies) from the Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL) Brussels, Belgium; and her MSc and BSc from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and Tehran University, Tehran, Iran. Her first post-doctoral training was in the area of Epigenetic Control of Multi-Drug Resistance in Breast Cancer and Leukemia which was done in Indiana University Cancer Center, IUPUI, IN, USA. In Canada, Dr. Rastegar further studied the Regulatory role of Epigenetics and Chromatin Remodelling in Stem Cell Differentiation, Mammalian Development, and Brain Disorders in McGill University in Montreal, Quebec with Professor Mark Featherstone; and Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario with Professor James Ellis. Dr. Rastegar is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Medical Genetics, and a member of the Regenerative Medicine Program at the University of Manitoba. She serves as an editor of Frontiers in Genetics (Epigenetics) and reviewer of Acta Neuropathologica, Scientific Reports, Journal of Biological Chemistry, PLOS ONE, Autism research, Molecular Pathology, Molecular cancer, and Current Genomics among others. She serves as a provincial, national and international grant reviews and has served on provincial and national review panels. Her lab applies molecular and stem cell biology techniques along with gene therapy strategies to investigate the underlying pathobiology of human disease.
Research Interest
Dr. Rastegar's research program is dedicated to study the genetic networks and epigenetic regulatory mechanisms that control brain development and function. A clear focus is on DNA methylation and the DNA methyl binding protein MeCP2. Dr. Rastegar's laboratory applies molecular and stem cell biology techniques along with gene therapy strategies to investigate the underlying pathobiology of neurodevelopmental disorders including Rett Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorders, and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. The outcome of their studies will help design novel therapeutic strategies in the future for these diseases.
Publications
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Yasui DH, Aflatooni AO, Gonzales ML, Hu DJ, Gavino BJ, Golub MS, Vincent JB, Schanen NC, Olson CO, Rastegar M, and LaSalle JM. Mice with an Isoform-ablating Mecp2 exon 1 Mutation Recapitulates the Neurologic Deficits of Rett syndrome. Human Molecular Genetics 2014; 23(9):2447-58.
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Olson CO*, Zachariah RM*, Ezeonwuka CD*, Liyanage VRB, and Rastegar M. Brain Region-Specific Expression of MeCP2 Isoforms Correlates with DNA Methylation within Mecp2 Regulatory Elements. PLOS ONE 2014; 9(3) 1-16: e90645.
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Liyanage VRB, Zachariah RM, Davie JR, and Rastegar M. Ethanol Deregulates Mecp2/MeCP2 in Differentiating Neural Stem Cells via Interplay Between 5-methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine at the Mecp2 Regulatory Elements. Experimental Neurology 2015; 265 102-117.
