معرفی
Julia Cordero is Professor of Systemic Signaling Biology at the University of Glasgow's Institute of Cancer Sciences and serves as an Honorary Group Leader at the CRUK Beatson Institute. Her laboratory, based at the Wolfson Wohl Cancer Research Centre, investigates the local and systemic functions of the adult intestine in health and disease, with a particular focus on how intestinal stem cells adapt to environmental changes and how intestinal dysfunction affects whole-body physiology.
Dr. Cordero was born and raised in Argentina where she completed her undergraduate biology studies at Universidad Nacional de San Luis. She moved to the USA for her PhD studies in the laboratory of Ross Cagan at Washington University in St Louis, where she researched developmental tissue patterning in Drosophila. In 2009, she relocated to Glasgow to conduct postdoctoral work in Owen Sansom's group at the CRUK Beatson Institute, funded by prestigious Marie-Curie and EMBO fellowships, investigating intestinal regeneration and cancer using both flies and mice.
Her research focuses on three main areas: (1) tissue intrinsic mechanisms regulating stem cell proliferation in the adult intestine, using cell-specific transcriptomics of fly intestinal stem/progenitor cells followed by genetic studies; (2) systemic mechanisms regulating stem cell proliferation, investigating novel interorgan communication programs driving intestinal regeneration; and (3) whole-body functions of the intestine in health and disease, exploring the mechanistic basis of systemic manifestations of intestinal disorders including gut-brain axis disruptions. Her laboratory combines Drosophila melanogaster and mouse model systems, leveraging the genetic power of flies for multi-organ in vivo studies while validating findings in mammalian models.
Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on intestinal stem cell regulation, organ communication, and disease mechanisms, with increasing emphasis on systemic effects of intestinal dysfunction, particularly the gut-brain axis. Her work spans from fundamental molecular mechanisms to translational applications, with several papers highlighting potential therapeutic targets for intestinal regeneration and cancer treatment.
- Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship from the Royal Society (2013-2018)
- Sir Henry Dale Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust and Royal Society
- Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship
- Marie-Curie Fellowship
- EMBO long-term Fellowship
Professor Cordero's laboratory currently includes multiple postdoctoral researchers and PhD students investigating various aspects of intestinal biology and disease. Her research is supported by significant grants including a Wellcome Trust award (2022-2027) for studying local and systemic intestinal functions, a Cancer Research UK grant (2019-2021) on cancer-driven behavioral changes, and a Royal Society grant (2024-2026) on gut-driven control of sleep and circadian behaviors. Her laboratory combines advanced genetic approaches in Drosophila with mammalian models to create a comprehensive understanding of intestinal function and its systemic implications.
