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Department of Biochemistry

Sepideh Zareparsi, Ph.D.

Graduate Training: Oregon Health Sciences University
Fellowships: University of Michigan, Kellogg Eye Center

Assistant Professor
Department of Ophthalmology
Sensory Neuroscience Research Center
Department of Biochemistry
WVU Eye Institute
One Stadium Drive
PO Box 9193
Morgantown, WV 26506-9193
Phone: 304-598-6881
Fax: 304-293-6928
Email: zareparsis@rcbhsc.wvu.edu

Research Interests:

GENETICS BASIS OF COMPLEX DISORDERS

My laboratory is interested in studying the genetic basis of age-related complex disorders, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma. Our research approach is multi-disciplinary involving clinical characterization, genetic epidemiology, molecular biology, micro array analysis, and biostatistics. We are now at an exciting stage where the technology to discover the genetic basis of complex disorders is becoming increasingly more feasible. My laboratory employs two complementary approaches utilizing both genetic epidemiology methodologies and micro array analysis to identify genes involved in pathogenesis of complex disorders. Linkage analyses can aid in the identification of regions that harbor susceptibility genes. Genome-wide association studies can identify not only the genes in regions implicated by linkage analysis but also the genes with smaller effects on disease risk that may otherwise go undetected. Micro array analysis can facilitate our understanding of how variation in gene expression contributes to complex biological phenomena including aging and disease pathogenesis.

Selected References:

Manuscripts

  • Akimoto M, Cheng H, Zhu D, Brzezinski JA, Khanna R, Filippova E, Oh ECT, Jing Y, Linares JL, Brooks M, Zareparsi S, Mears AJ, Hero A, Glaser T, Swaroop A. Targeting of GFP to newborn rods by Nrl promoter and temporal expression profiling of flow-sorted photoreceptors. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (USA) (2006, in press).
     
  • Diehl AG, Zareparsi S, Qian M, Khanna M, Gage PJ. Extraocular muscle morphogenesis and gene expression are regulated by Pitx2 gene dose.  Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (2006, in press).
     
  • Fisher SA, Abecasis GR, Yashar BM, Zareparsi S, Swaroop A, Iyengar SK, Klein BE, Klein R, Lee KE, Majewski J, Schultz DW, Klein ML, Seddon JM, Santangelo SL, Weeks DE, Conley YP, Mah TS, Schmidt S, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA, Gorin MB, Schultz HL, Pardi F, Lewis CM, Weber BH. Meta-Analysis of Genome Scans of Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Human Molecular Genetics (2005), 14(15):2257-2264.
     
  • Zareparsi S, Branham KEH, Li M, Shah S, Klein RJ, Ott J, Hoh J, Abecasis GR, Swaroop A. Strong association of Y402H variation in Complement Factor H at 1q32 to susceptibility for age-related macular degeneration. American Journal of Human Genetics (2005), 77(1):149-153.
     
  • Zareparsi S, Buraczynska M, Branham KEH, Shah S, Eng D, Li M, Pawar H, Yashar BM, Moroi S, Lichter PR, Petty HR, Richards JE, Abecasis GR, Elner VM, Swaroop A. Toll-like receptor 4 variant D299G is associated with susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration. Human Molecular Genetics (2005), 14(11):1449-1455.
     
  • Abecasis GR, Yashar BM, Zhao Y, Ghiasvand N, Zareparsi S, Branham KEH, Reddick A, Trager EH, Yoshida S, Bahling J, Filippova E, Elner S, Johnson MW, Vine AK, Sieving PA, Jacobson SG, Richards JE, Swaroop A. Age-related macular degeneration: a high resolution genome scan for susceptibility loci in a population enriched for late-stage disease. American Journal of Human Genetics (2004), 74(3):482-494.
     
  • Fleury G, Hero A, Zareparsi S, Swaroop A. Gene discovery using Pareto depth sampling distributions.  Journal of the Franklin Institute (2004), 341:55-75.
     
  • Zareparsi S, Reddick AC, Branham KEH, Moore KB, Jessup L, Thoms S, Smith-Wheelock M, Yashar BM, Swaroop A. Association of apolipoprotein E alleles with susceptibility to age-related macular degeneration: studies in a large cohort from a single center. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (2004), 45(5):1306-1310.
     
  • Hayward C, Shu X, Cideciyan A, Lennon A, Barran P, Zareparsi S, Sawyer L, Hendry G, Dhillon B, Milam AH, Luthert PJ, Swaroop A, Hastie ND, Jacobson SG, Wright AF. Mutation in a short-chain collagen gene, CTRP5, results in extracellular deposit formation in late-onset retinal degeneration: a genetic model for age-related macular degeneration. Human Molecular Genetics (2003), 12(20):2657-2667.
     
  • Buraczynska M, Mears AJ, Zareparsi S, Farjo R, Filippova E, Yuan Y, MacNee SP, Hughes B, Swaroop A. Gene expression profile of native human retinal pigment epithelium. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (2002), 43(3):603-607.
     
  • Yu J, Othman MI, Farjo R, Zareparsi S, MacNee SP, Yoshida S, Swaroop A. Evaluation and optimization of procedures for target labeling and hybridization of cDNA microarrays. Molecular Vision (2002), 8:130-137.

Reviews

  • Zareparsi S, Hero A, Zack DJ, Williams RW, Swaroop A. Seeing the unseen: microarray-based gene expression profiling in vision. Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science (2004), 45(8):2457-2462.