Peggy KIRSTETTER PhD molecular and cellular biology
Course and current status
Post-doctoral fellow; 04.2002- 12.2006; European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Monterotondo, Italie; Claus Nerlov.
Post-doctoral fellow; 01.2007-12.2007; Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), Illkirch, France; Philippe Kastner/ Susan Chan.
Since 2008; Researcher (CR1, INSERM); Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGBMC), Illkirch, France; Philippe Kastner/ Susan Chan.
Scientific summary
Hematopoiesis is characterized by the development of hematopoietic stem cells into pluripotent progenitor cells and finally into mature blood cells. This orderly and continuous process involves self-renewal, cell fate choice, differentiation and proliferation. Transcription factors are responsible for coordinating these processes but their expression must be tightly regulated to prevent hematological malignancies. In this context, we are interested in the following questions.
How do transcription factors control hematopoiesis ?
How do alterations in their function contribute to leukemogenesis ?
Our current studies focus on the Ikaros family of transcription factors, which act mainly as transcriptional repressors through association with chromatin remodeling complexes. Ikaros (Ikzf1) is a zinc finger protein expressed by all hematopoietic cells.
