Research

Research Priorities: Epigenetics, stem cells, reprogramming, cellular plasticity, developmental biology

Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla is a Mexican-French biologist, who studies the mechanisms that underlie the plasticity of cells. Her focus is foremost on epigenetic principles, which are the cellular processes that influence the activity of genes. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla elucidated the role histones, a class of core proteins, play during cell differentiation, as well as other regulatory processes. Her discoveries considerably deepened the understanding of totipotency, which is the ability of cells to form a complete organism. The research of Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla can be of importance for cell therapies.

To replace diseased cells with healthy ones in cell regeneration or replacement therapy, it must first be understood how new cells are generated. In this context, Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla is concerned with the reprogramming of cells. Her working group combines high-resolution microscopy with approaches from genomics to study the epigenetic principles that underlie cellular reprogramming on early embryos as well as stem cells models.

Her team’s research is focused foremost on deciphering the mechanisms of cellular plasticity and the establishment of totipotency and pluripotency during mammalian early embryon development: In this state, cells posses the ability to generate all cell types of the body. The group is devoted specifically to find out how cellular plasticity is controlled by epigenetic processes. Their research contributed to the discovery of key determinants and chromatin regulators of totipotency. Thelater are proteins that control the material of which chromosomes are formed.

An understanding of this significant transition during development is essential to understand how a stem cell can generate differentiated cells. These insights can be useful in future cell therapies.

Career

• since 2021 Head, Stem Cell Center, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Munich, Germany
• since 2020 Director of Biomedicine, Helmholtz Pioneer Campus, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Munich, Germany
• since 2016 Director, Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Munich, Germany
• since 2016 Chair of Stem Cell Biology, Faculty of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU), Munich, Germany
• 2010-2012 Deputy Director, Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Department, Institut de génétique et de biologie moléculaire et cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
• 2012 Director of Research, Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM), France
• 2009 Independent Group Leader, IGBMC, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
• 2007 Chargée de Recherche, INSERM, France
• 2006-2008 Senior Scientist, IGBMC, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
• 2002-2006 EMBO Postdoctoral Fellow, The Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
• 2001 Visitor, University of California (UC) Riverside, Riverside, USA
• 1998-2002 Ph.D.-Student, Universität Paris V, Paris, France
• 1994-1998 Studies in Biology, Faculty of Sciences, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico-City, Mexico

Functions

• since 2023 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Centre for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne (UNIL), Lausanne, Switzerland
• 2022-2024 Member, Selection Committee “Cell and Developmental Biology”, Academia Europaea
• since 2022 Member, Editorial Board, EMBO Reports
• since 2021 Member, Editorial Board, Science
• since 2021 Member, Editorial Board, Cell Stem Cell
• since 2021 Member, Peer Review Panel “Starting Grants”, European Research Council (ERC)
• since 2022 Member, Centre for Molecular Biology Severo Ochoa, Madrid, Spain
• since 2021 Member, UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
• since 2020 Member, Kuratorium and Brain Trust, BIOTOPIA – Naturkundemuseum Bayern, Botanical Institute, Munich, Germany
• since 2019 Member, Editorial Board, Development
• since 2018 Member, Steering Committee, Single Cell Omics Germany, Germany
• 2018-2021 Member, Editorial Board, Journal of Cell Biology
• 2018-2019 Member, Award-Committee, ATIP-Avenir Program, INSERM / Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), France
• 2017-2019 External Scientific Advisor, 4D Nucleome Project, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, USA
• since 2017 Member, Center for Integrative Biology, Toulouse, France
• 2017 Co-Chair, Annual Meeting “Summer Davos”, World Economic Forum
• since 2016 Member, Editorial Board, Genes and Development

Projects

• 2021-2025 Vice-Speaker, Collaborative Research Centres (SFB) 1064 “Chromatin Dynamics”, German Research Council (DFG), Germany
• 2020-2024 Member and Awardee, 4D Nucleome Project, NIH, Bethesda, USA
• 2020-2021 Member, Global Future Council on Data Policy, World Economic Forum
• 2020 Pioneers of Change Summit “Frontier Technologies”, World Economic Forum
• 2019-2026 Member, Board, International Helmholtz-Edinburgh Research School for Epigenetics “EpiCrossBorders“, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Munich, Germany
• 2019-2020 Leader, Work Package, LifeTime European Initiative
• 2019-2020 Founding Member, LifeTime European Initiative
• since 2018 Member, Think Tank, Helmholtz Association, Germany
• 2018-2026 Co-Coordinator, Networks “EpiGene2Sys” and “EpiGene3Sys”, Germany
• 2018-2023 Member, COST Action “International Nucleome Consortium” (INC), COST Association, Brussels, Belgium
• 2012-2015 Founder and Coordinator, Nuclear Dynamics & Signalling Programme, IGBMC, Illkirch-Graffenstaden, France
• 2011 Starting Grant, European Research Council (ERC)
• 2011 Elected RISE1 Member, Network of Excellence “EpiGeneSys”, 7th Framework Programme for Research (FP7), European Union

Honours and Memberships

• since 2023 Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany
• 2023 Member, Latin American Academy of Sciences (ACAL)
• 2021 Member, Academia Europea
• 2019 Honorary Professor, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
• 2018 Awardee, German Stem Cell Network (GSCN) Award, Max Delbrück Center (MDC), Berlin, Germany
• 2015 Member, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
• 2015 Outstanding Young Scientist, World Economic Forum
• 2014 Award, Fondation Schlumberger pour l’Education et la Recherche, Paris, France
• 2014 Prix du Cercle Gutenberg, Fondation Université de Strasbourg, Straßburg, France
• 2011 Young Investigator, EMBO
• 2009 Avenir Grant for Group Leaders, INSERM
• 2003-2005 Postdoc Fellow, EMBO