Prof. Sarah Vergult
- Assistant Professor
- Head of the Functional Genomics lab
Contact
Campus UZ, C. Heymanslaan 10, Blok B (entrance 36), 9000 Ghent
Postal address: Campus UZ, C. Heymanslaan 10, MRB1 (entrance 34), 9000 Ghent
E-mail | LinkedIn | X (Twitter) | UGent Research Explorer | ORCID
Personalia
Biography
- 2019 - present: Professor - Ghent University
- 2012 - 2019: Postdoc - Ghent University
- 2012: PhD - Ghent University
- 2008: Master Bio-Engineering - Ghent University
Fun Fact
Sarah enjoys singing in the car. Luckily, she commutes to work by car, so every morning and evening, you’ll find her relieving stress with some lively sing-alongs. So, if you spot her in a traffic jam, roll down your window and join in the fun!
Member of
- Center for Medical Genetics Ghent
- Belgian Society for Human Genetics
- Belgian Society for Neurosciences
- European Society of Human Genetics
- Ghent University RARE-MED consortium
Research tracks
Sarah completed her PhD in 2012 focussing on the implementation of mate-pair sequencing for the detection of structural variation in the genome of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). These genomic studies triggered her interest to functionally unravel the molecular causes. Therefore, during her postdoctoral research, she shifted to functional work. In 2019, Sarah was appointed as an assistant professor within the RARE-MED consortium at Ghent University. Leveraging her experiences in both molecular diagnostics and fundamental research, Sarah’s work with the FunGen team aims to bridge the gap between fundamental and clinical research.
Expertise
- 3D genome
- Functional genomics
- Regulation
- CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing
- Neurodevelopmental disorders
- Gene regulation
Publications
Key publications
- Interpreting the impact of noncoding structural variation in neurodevelopmental disorders. (2021) GENETICS IN MEDICINE. 23(1). p.34-46
- Transcriptional and functional consequences of alterations to MEF2C and its topological organization in neuronal models. (2022) BIORXIV.
- Haploinsufficiency of ZFHX3, encoding a key player in neuronal development, causes syndromic intellectual disability. (2024) AJHG. 111(3). p.509-528