Saloomeh Mokhtari
Fourth Year Student, 2012 - 2013
Email address: smokhtar@wakehealth.edu
Education: BS in Cell and Molecular Biology, Genetics, University of Isfahan, Iran
Advisor: Graca Almeida-Porada MD,PhD; Institute of Regenerative Medicine
Research Interests:
Studies suggest that within the marrow there are at least two anatomically and physiologically distinct hematopoeitic niches: the osteoblastic and the vascular niche. Whitin these niches numerous molecules and secreted factors have been implicated in the strictly regulated process of hematopoiesis. Nevertheless, a through understanding of subpopulation of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) that interact with each niche and physiological role of each niche type in the regulation of stem cell hierarchy and function is still missing. We hypothesis that the developmental process whereby the fetal marrow acquires the ability to support hematopoiesis can be used as a model for understanding both the interactions that occur between HSC and the cells comprising the marrow niches, and the role of these niche elements in the initiation/maintenance of hematopoiesis. Therefore, our goal is to identify the cellular interactions that occur within each of the niches at the phenotypical, functional, and transcriptional levels. We further hypothesis that this knowledge will provide the necessary tools for manipulating these niches to facilitate the engraftment and accelerate hematopoietic recover of donor HSC after HSC transplantation.
Awards:
Outstanding Podium Talk in the 13th annual conference of the North Carolina Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society. November 4, 2011.