Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla

Prof. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla is a prominent academic leading research in epigenetics and stem cell biology. She holds the position of Professor for Stem Cell Biology at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU) and is Director of multiple institutes, including the Institute for Epigenetics and Stem Cells and the Stem Cell Center at Helmholtz Munich. Her work focuses on understanding the epigenetic mechanisms underlying cellular reprogramming, totipotency, and early embryonic development.

Education: Maria-Elena earned her undergraduate degree in Biology from the National University of Mexico (UNAM), followed by a PhD in Molecular Biology at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, before establishing her independent research group in 2008.

Research Interests: Her lab investigates how chromatin dynamics and epigenetic regulation shape cell fate decisions in early embryos. Key areas include the role of histone modifications, nuclear organization, and transposable elements in maintaining totipotency and driving cellular plasticity. Her work aims to engineer cells for regenerative therapies targeting neurodegenerative diseases and brain injuries.

Publications: Recent work highlights discoveries in nuclear architecture, epigenetic pathways, and transposable element regulation during embryogenesis. These studies underscore the importance of chromatin dynamics in developmental processes and therapeutic applications.

Awards: She has received prestigious accolades, including the 2025 Leibniz Prize (Germany’s highest scientific honor), membership in the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and recognition by the World Economic Forum as a Young Scientist.

Advising & Grants: She mentors a multidisciplinary team of postdocs and doctoral researchers, fostering a diverse and collaborative environment. Her lab’s funding includes ERC grants and initiatives like the LifeTime European Initiative, supporting her vision to bridge basic and translational research.

Labs & Teams: The Torres-Padilla Lab at Helmholtz Munich integrates microscopy, genomics, and computational biology to study epigenetic principles in development. Collaborations span disciplines, including the Epigenetics@HelmholtzMunich network, to advance cell-based therapies.

Her future work aims to leverage epigenetic insights to create ‘cells à la carte’ for regenerative medicine, emphasizing ethical and societal impacts of scientific innovation.