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Shahragim Tajbakhsh obtained a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biology from Carleton University, Canada (1988) working on the molecular biology of viruses. He then moved to the Pasteur Institute for postdoctoral work on skeletal myogenesis and genetically modified mice. He initiated an independent group in 2001 called "Stem Cells & Development" where he has been interested in how stem cells establish and regenerate organs and tissues, with a particular focus on skeletal muscle.
The research of Prof. Tajbakhsh focusses on identifying and characterising skeletal muscle stem cells. The aim of his laboratory is to investigate properties of stem cells and their daughters during embryonic and postnatal development of skeletal muscle to understand how this tissue is established, and how it regenerates during disease, and after injury. They are examining the genetic networks that regulate myogenic stem cell emergence, and relating this to how cell order is established in this lineage. They are also investigating how stem and progenitor cells self-renew, essentially via symmetric vs. asymmetric cell divisions, and how the stem cell niche is defined.
Prof. Tajbakhsh is an EMBO member, former Head of the Dept. of Developmental & Stem Cell Biology and Director of the "Laboratory of Excellence" Consortium, REVIVE, regrouping leading labs working on stem cells (2011-2022). Prof. Tajbakhsh is member of the scientific councils of the Association Française contre les myopathies and the Fondation Générale de Santé. He is also President of the Commission "Fundamental Myology" of the AFM and has participated in a number of EU consortia (FP6, EuroStemCell; FP7, EuroSyStem, Optistem, NotchIT).
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