bHLH Transcription Factors in Development and Disease

Reshma Taneja obtained her Ph.D. at Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore working on gene transcription under the supervision of Professor KP Gopinathan. During the course of her postdoctoral training in Prof Pierre Chambon's laboratory at the IGBMC in France she started working on a bHLH transcription factor Stra13, which was identified as a retinoic target gene. Her own laboratory initially at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, and currently at the National University of Singapore has had a long-standing interest in bHLH proteins and their ability to regulate cellular differentiation programs. Her group has made ground-breaking discoveries including generating Stra13-/- mice which first revealed its function in homeostasis of the immune system, as well as in skeletal muscle biology. In addition, her laboratory has identified novel transcriptional repression mechanisms mediated by recruitment of chromatin modifying enzymes that impact the function of bHLH factorsin cellular differentiation. Currently, she holds an appointment at the Department of Physiology at the National University of Singapore and an adjunct appointment at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Her work has been well funded over the years from major funding bodies including the National Institutes of Health, The Muscular Dystrophy Association, March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Lupus Research Foundation in the USA; and from National Medical Research Council, Singapore Stem Cell Consortium, and Ministry of Education in Singapore. She has won several honors and awards including the prestigious Scholar Award from the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. She serves as reviewer for several international funding agencies including NIH, NSF, NSERC Canada, Research Grants Council Hong Kong, Israel Science Foundation, Telethon, Association Française contre les Myopathies, French National Research Agency, and the National Medical Research CouncilSingapore.

1. Molecular and Cellular Regulation of Skeletal Mygenesis 2. Proneural bHLH Genes in Development and Disease 3. The Hand2 Gene Dosage Effect in Developmental Defects and Human Congenital Disorders 4. E Proteins in Lymphocyte Development and Lymphoid Diseases 5. Id Proteins: Small Molecules, Mighty Regulators 6. E(spl): Genetic, Developmental and Evolutionary Aspects of a Group of Invertebrate Hes Proteins with Close Ties to Notch Signaling 7. Expression Dynamics and Functions of Hes Factors in Development and Diseases 8. Hey bHLH Transcription Factors 9. Stra13 and Sharp-1, the Non-Grouchy Regulators of Development and Disease 10. DEC1/STRA13/SHARP2 and DEC2/SHARP1 Coordinate Physiological Processes, Including Circadian Rhythms in Response to Environmental Stimuli