Professor Julia Cordero

  • Professor of Systemic Signalling Biology (Therapeutic Science Research)

telephone: 0141-330-7256
email: Julia.Cordero@glasgow.ac.uk

Institute of Cancer Sciences, Wolfson Wohl Cancer Res Centre, Garscube Estate, Switchback Road, G61 1qh

Import to contacts

ORCID iDhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1701-9480

Biography

Julia Cordero-Principal Investigator

Julia Cordero was born and raised in Argentina. After completing her University studies in her home country, Julia moved to the USA to her PhD studies in the laboratory of Ross Cagan at Washington University in St Louis where she studied developmental tissue patterning in Drosophila.

In 2009, Julia moved to Owen Sansom’s group at the CRUK Beatson Institute in Glasgow for her postdoctoral work, funded by Marie-Curie and EMBO long-term fellowships. During her post-doc Julia discovered novel mechanisms driving intestinal regeneration and cancer using both flies and mice.

Julia started her independent research group towards the end of 2014 at the Institute of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow, funded by a Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship from the Royal Society, a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust and Royal Society and, most recently, a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship.

Julia is Professor of Systemic Signaling Biology at the University of Glasgow and Honorary Group Leader at the CRUK Beatson Institute. Julia’s laboratory combines Drosophila and mouse model systems to study local and whole-body functions of the intestine in health and disease.

Outside of the lab, Julia enjoys travelling, physical exercise and, most of all, spending time with her family.

Research interests

Local and systemic functions of the adult intestine in health and disease

Research in my laboratory is devoted to understanding how intestinal stem cells (ISCs) adapt and respond to changes in their micro and macro-environment, how the intestine controls whole-body homeostasis and how intestinal dysfunction can lead to broader organismal instability.
We use the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a primary research model system due to its unparalleled genetic power and amenability for multi-organ in vivo studies.

Research aims:

1) Tissue intrinsic mechanisms regulating stem cell proliferation in the adult intestine: We are using cell-specific transcriptomics of fly intestinal stem/progenitor cells (ISCs/EBs) followed by genetic and functional studies in flies and mammalian models to identify conserved mechanisms driving intestinal regeneration and tumourigenesis.

2) Systemic mechanisms regulating stem cell proliferation in the adult intestine. Very little is known about the role of non-intestinal tissue in intestinal homeostasis and regeneration. We are combining multi-organ transcriptomics, with genetic screens and functional studies in Drosophila to identify novel interorgan communication programs driving intestinal regeneration.

3) Whole-body functions of the intestine in health and disease. Disruptions of intestinal homeostasis—such as those caused by damage, inflammation and tumourigenesis—have profound organismal implications, including alterations in central nervous system-controlled behaviours. The mechanistic basis of such phenomena are largely unknown. We are taking a multidisciplinary approach in Drosophila to understand the mechanisms leading to multiple systemic manifestations of intestinal disorders, including disruptions of the gut-brain axis.

Research groups

  • Colorectal/Lower GI/intestinal/gut microbiome

Publications

List by: Type | Date

Jump to: 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2010 | 2009
Number of items: 30.

2022

Chen, Z., Cordero, J. , Alqarni, A. M., Slack, C., Zeidler, M. P. and Bellantuono, I. (2022) Zoledronate extends health span and survival via the mevalonate pathway in a FOXO-dependent manner. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 77(8), pp. 1494-1502. (doi: 10.1093/gerona/glab172) (PMID:34137822) (PMCID:PMC9373971)

Medina, A., Bellec, K. , Polcownuk, S. and Cordero, J. B. (2022) Investigating local and systemic intestinal signalling in health and disease with Drosophila. Disease Models and Mechanisms, 15(3), dmm049332. (doi: 10.1242/dmm.049332) (PMID:35344037) (PMCID:PMC8990086)

2021

Hodgson, J. A. , Parvy, J.-P., Yu, Y., Vidal, M. and Cordero, J. B. (2021) Drosophila larval models of invasive tumorigenesis for in vivo studies on tumour/peripheral host tissue interactions during cancer cachexia. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(15), 8317. (doi: 10.3390/ijms22158317) (PMID:34361081) (PMCID:PMC8347517)

Nászai, M. et al. (2021) RAL GTPases mediate EGFR-driven intestinal stem cell proliferation and tumourigenesis. eLife, 10, e63807. (doi: 10.7554/eLife.63807) (PMID:34096503) (PMCID:PMC8216719)

Perochon, J. , Yu, Y., Aughey, G. N., Medina, A. B., Southall, T. D. and Cordero, J. B. (2021) Dynamic adult tracheal plasticity drives stem cell adaptation to changes in intestinal homeostasis in Drosophila. Nature Cell Biology, 23(5), pp. 485-496. (doi: 10.1038/s41556-021-00676-z) (PMID:33972729) (PMCID:PMC7610788)

2020

Richardson, H. E., Cordero, J. B. and Grifoni, D. (2020) Basic and translational models of cooperative oncogenesis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(16), 5919. (doi: 10.3390/ijms21165919) (PMID:32824656) (PMCID:PMC7460600)

Bellec, K. and Cordero, J. B. (2020) The peroxisome: a new player in intestinal epithelial repair. Developmental Cell, 53(2), pp. 131-132. (doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.03.023) (PMID:32315607)

2019

Parvy, J.-P., Yu, Y., Dostalova, A., Kondo, S., Kurjan, A., Bulet, P., Lemaitre, B., Vidal, M. and Cordero, J. B. (2019) The antimicrobial peptide Defensin cooperates with tumour necrosis factor to drive tumour cell death in Drosophila. eLife, 8, e45061. (doi: 10.7554/eLife.45061) (PMID:31358113) (PMCID:PMC6667213)

Johansson, J. et al. (2019) RAL GTPases drive intestinal stem cell function and regeneration through internalization of WNT signalosomes. Cell Stem Cell, 24(4), 592-607.E7. (doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2019.02.002) (PMID:30853556) (PMCID:PMC6459002)

Scopelliti, A., Bauer, C. , Yu, Y., Zhang, T., Kruspig, B., Murphy, D. J. , Vidal, M., Maddocks, O. D.K. and Cordero, J. B. (2019) A neuronal relay mediates a nutrient responsive gut/fat body axis regulating energy homeostasis in adult Drosophila. Cell Metabolism, 29(2), 269-284.e10. (doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.09.021) (PMID:30344016) (PMCID:PMC6370946)

2018

Parvy, J.-P., Hodgson, J. A. and Cordero, J. B. (2018) Drosophila as a model system to study nonautonomous mechanisms affecting tumour growth and cell death. BioMed Research International, 2018, 7152962. (doi: 10.1155/2018/7152962) (PMID:29725601) (PMCID:PMC5872677)

Perochon, J. , Carroll, L. and Cordero, J. (2018) Wnt signalling in intestinal stem cells: lessons from mice and flies. Genes, 9(3), 138. (doi: 10.3390/genes9030138) (PMID:29498662) (PMCID:PMC5867859)

2017

Tian, A. et al. (2017) Intestinal stem cell overproliferation resulting from inactivation of the APC tumor suppressor requires the transcription cofactors Earthbound and Erect wing. PLoS Genetics, 13(7), e1006870. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006870) (PMID:28708826) (PMCID:PMC5510812)

2016

Scopelliti, A., Bauer, C. , Cordero, J. B. and Vidal, M. (2016) Bursicon-α subunit modulates dLGR2 activity in the adultDrosophila melanogastermidgut independently to Bursicon-β. Cell Cycle, 15(12), pp. 1538-1544. (doi: 10.1080/15384101.2015.1121334) (PMID:27191973) (PMCID:PMC4934083)

Naszai, M. and Cordero, J. (2016) Intestinal stem cells: got calcium? Current Biology, 26(3), R117-R119. (doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.012) (PMID:26859268)

Elbediwy, A. et al. (2016) Integrin signalling regulates YAP and TAZ to control skin homeostasis. Development, 143(10), pp. 1674-1687. (doi: 10.1242/dev.133728) (PMID:26989177) (PMCID:PMC4874484)

2015

Naszai, M. , Carroll, L. and Cordero, J. (2015) Intestinal stem cell proliferation and epithelial homeostasis in the adult Drosophila midgut. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 67, pp. 9-14. (doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.05.016) (PMID:26024801)

Faller, W. et al. (2015) mTORC1-mediated translational elongation limits intestinal tumour initiation and growth. Nature, 517(7535), pp. 497-500. (doi: 10.1038/nature13896) (PMID:25383520) (PMCID:PMC4304784)

2014

Scopelliti, A., Cordero, J. B., Diao, F., Strathdee, K., White, B. H., Sansom, O. J. and Vidal, M. (2014) Local control of intestinal stem cell homeostasis by enteroendocrine cells in the adult Drosophila midgut. Current Biology, 24(11), pp. 1199-1211. (doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.04.007)

Valeri, N. et al. (2014) MicroRNA-135b promotes cancer progression by acting as a downstream effector of oncogenic pathways in colon cancer. Cancer Cell, 25(4), pp. 469-483. (doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2014.03.006) (PMID:24735923) (PMCID:PMC3995091)

Lourenco, F.C. et al. (2014) Reduced LIMK2 expression in colorectal cancer reflects its role in limiting stem cell proliferation. Gut, 63(3), pp. 480-493. (doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2012-303883)

Cordero, J. B., Ridgway, R. A., Valeri, N., Nixon, C., Frame, M., Muller, W. J., Vidal, M. and Sansom, O. J. (2014) c-Src drives intestinal regeneration and transformation. EMBO Journal, 33(3), pp. 1474-1491. (doi: 10.1002/embj.201387454)

2013

Myant, K.B. et al. (2013) ROS production and NF-κB activation triggered by RAC1 facilitate WNT-driven intestinal stem cell proliferation and colorectal cancer initiation. Cell Stem Cell, 12(6), pp. 761-773. (doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2013.04.006)

Radulescu, S. et al. (2013) Acute WNT signalling activation perturbs differentiation within the adult stomach and rapidly leads to tumour formation. Oncogene, 32(16), pp. 2048-2057. (doi: 10.1038/onc.2012.224)

Myant, K.B., Scopelliti, A., Haque, S., Vidal, M., Sansom, O.J. and Cordero, J.B. (2013) Rac1 drives intestinal stem cell proliferation and regeneration. Cell Cycle, 12(18), pp. 2973-2977. (doi: 10.4161/cc.26031)

2012

Cordero, J. B., Stefanatos, R. K. , Myant, K., Vidal, M. and Sansom, O. J. (2012) Non-autonomous crosstalk between the Jak/Stat and EGFR pathways mediates Apc1-driven intestinal stem cell hyperplasia in the Drosophila adult midgut. Development, 139(24), pp. 4524-4535. (doi: 10.1242/dev.078261)

Cordero, J.B. and Sansom, O.J. (2012) Wnt signaling and its role in stem cell-driven intestinal regeneration and hyperplasia. Acta Physiologica, 204(1), pp. 137-143. (doi: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2011.02288.x)

Cordero, J. B., Stefanatos, R. K. , Scopelliti, A., Vidal, M. and Sansom, O. J. (2012) Inducible progenitor-derived wingless regulates adult midgut regeneration in drosophila. EMBO Journal, 31(19), pp. 3901-3917. (doi: 10.1038/emboj.2012.248)

2010

Cordero, J.B., Macagno, J.P., Stefanatos, R.K. , Strathdee, K.E., Cagan, R.L. and Vidal, M. (2010) Oncogenic Ras diverts a host TNF tumor suppressor activity into tumor promoter. Developmental Cell, 18(6), pp. 999-1011. (doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2010.05.014)

2009

Cordero, J. B., Vidal, M. and Sansom, O. J. (2009) APC as a master regulator of intestinal homeostasis and transformation: from flies to vertebrates. Cell Cycle, 8(18), pp. 2927-2931. (doi: 10.4161/cc.8.18.9472)

This list was generated on Sun May 18 16:48:48 2025 BST.
Jump to: Articles
Number of items: 30.

Articles

Chen, Z., Cordero, J. , Alqarni, A. M., Slack, C., Zeidler, M. P. and Bellantuono, I. (2022) Zoledronate extends health span and survival via the mevalonate pathway in a FOXO-dependent manner. Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 77(8), pp. 1494-1502. (doi: 10.1093/gerona/glab172) (PMID:34137822) (PMCID:PMC9373971)

Medina, A., Bellec, K. , Polcownuk, S. and Cordero, J. B. (2022) Investigating local and systemic intestinal signalling in health and disease with Drosophila. Disease Models and Mechanisms, 15(3), dmm049332. (doi: 10.1242/dmm.049332) (PMID:35344037) (PMCID:PMC8990086)

Hodgson, J. A. , Parvy, J.-P., Yu, Y., Vidal, M. and Cordero, J. B. (2021) Drosophila larval models of invasive tumorigenesis for in vivo studies on tumour/peripheral host tissue interactions during cancer cachexia. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 22(15), 8317. (doi: 10.3390/ijms22158317) (PMID:34361081) (PMCID:PMC8347517)

Nászai, M. et al. (2021) RAL GTPases mediate EGFR-driven intestinal stem cell proliferation and tumourigenesis. eLife, 10, e63807. (doi: 10.7554/eLife.63807) (PMID:34096503) (PMCID:PMC8216719)

Perochon, J. , Yu, Y., Aughey, G. N., Medina, A. B., Southall, T. D. and Cordero, J. B. (2021) Dynamic adult tracheal plasticity drives stem cell adaptation to changes in intestinal homeostasis in Drosophila. Nature Cell Biology, 23(5), pp. 485-496. (doi: 10.1038/s41556-021-00676-z) (PMID:33972729) (PMCID:PMC7610788)

Richardson, H. E., Cordero, J. B. and Grifoni, D. (2020) Basic and translational models of cooperative oncogenesis. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 21(16), 5919. (doi: 10.3390/ijms21165919) (PMID:32824656) (PMCID:PMC7460600)

Bellec, K. and Cordero, J. B. (2020) The peroxisome: a new player in intestinal epithelial repair. Developmental Cell, 53(2), pp. 131-132. (doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2020.03.023) (PMID:32315607)

Parvy, J.-P., Yu, Y., Dostalova, A., Kondo, S., Kurjan, A., Bulet, P., Lemaitre, B., Vidal, M. and Cordero, J. B. (2019) The antimicrobial peptide Defensin cooperates with tumour necrosis factor to drive tumour cell death in Drosophila. eLife, 8, e45061. (doi: 10.7554/eLife.45061) (PMID:31358113) (PMCID:PMC6667213)

Johansson, J. et al. (2019) RAL GTPases drive intestinal stem cell function and regeneration through internalization of WNT signalosomes. Cell Stem Cell, 24(4), 592-607.E7. (doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2019.02.002) (PMID:30853556) (PMCID:PMC6459002)

Scopelliti, A., Bauer, C. , Yu, Y., Zhang, T., Kruspig, B., Murphy, D. J. , Vidal, M., Maddocks, O. D.K. and Cordero, J. B. (2019) A neuronal relay mediates a nutrient responsive gut/fat body axis regulating energy homeostasis in adult Drosophila. Cell Metabolism, 29(2), 269-284.e10. (doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2018.09.021) (PMID:30344016) (PMCID:PMC6370946)

Parvy, J.-P., Hodgson, J. A. and Cordero, J. B. (2018) Drosophila as a model system to study nonautonomous mechanisms affecting tumour growth and cell death. BioMed Research International, 2018, 7152962. (doi: 10.1155/2018/7152962) (PMID:29725601) (PMCID:PMC5872677)

Perochon, J. , Carroll, L. and Cordero, J. (2018) Wnt signalling in intestinal stem cells: lessons from mice and flies. Genes, 9(3), 138. (doi: 10.3390/genes9030138) (PMID:29498662) (PMCID:PMC5867859)

Tian, A. et al. (2017) Intestinal stem cell overproliferation resulting from inactivation of the APC tumor suppressor requires the transcription cofactors Earthbound and Erect wing. PLoS Genetics, 13(7), e1006870. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1006870) (PMID:28708826) (PMCID:PMC5510812)

Scopelliti, A., Bauer, C. , Cordero, J. B. and Vidal, M. (2016) Bursicon-α subunit modulates dLGR2 activity in the adultDrosophila melanogastermidgut independently to Bursicon-β. Cell Cycle, 15(12), pp. 1538-1544. (doi: 10.1080/15384101.2015.1121334) (PMID:27191973) (PMCID:PMC4934083)

Naszai, M. and Cordero, J. (2016) Intestinal stem cells: got calcium? Current Biology, 26(3), R117-R119. (doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.012) (PMID:26859268)

Elbediwy, A. et al. (2016) Integrin signalling regulates YAP and TAZ to control skin homeostasis. Development, 143(10), pp. 1674-1687. (doi: 10.1242/dev.133728) (PMID:26989177) (PMCID:PMC4874484)

Naszai, M. , Carroll, L. and Cordero, J. (2015) Intestinal stem cell proliferation and epithelial homeostasis in the adult Drosophila midgut. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 67, pp. 9-14. (doi: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2015.05.016) (PMID:26024801)

Faller, W. et al. (2015) mTORC1-mediated translational elongation limits intestinal tumour initiation and growth. Nature, 517(7535), pp. 497-500. (doi: 10.1038/nature13896) (PMID:25383520) (PMCID:PMC4304784)

Scopelliti, A., Cordero, J. B., Diao, F., Strathdee, K., White, B. H., Sansom, O. J. and Vidal, M. (2014) Local control of intestinal stem cell homeostasis by enteroendocrine cells in the adult Drosophila midgut. Current Biology, 24(11), pp. 1199-1211. (doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2014.04.007)

Valeri, N. et al. (2014) MicroRNA-135b promotes cancer progression by acting as a downstream effector of oncogenic pathways in colon cancer. Cancer Cell, 25(4), pp. 469-483. (doi: 10.1016/j.ccr.2014.03.006) (PMID:24735923) (PMCID:PMC3995091)

Lourenco, F.C. et al. (2014) Reduced LIMK2 expression in colorectal cancer reflects its role in limiting stem cell proliferation. Gut, 63(3), pp. 480-493. (doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2012-303883)

Cordero, J. B., Ridgway, R. A., Valeri, N., Nixon, C., Frame, M., Muller, W. J., Vidal, M. and Sansom, O. J. (2014) c-Src drives intestinal regeneration and transformation. EMBO Journal, 33(3), pp. 1474-1491. (doi: 10.1002/embj.201387454)

Myant, K.B. et al. (2013) ROS production and NF-κB activation triggered by RAC1 facilitate WNT-driven intestinal stem cell proliferation and colorectal cancer initiation. Cell Stem Cell, 12(6), pp. 761-773. (doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2013.04.006)

Radulescu, S. et al. (2013) Acute WNT signalling activation perturbs differentiation within the adult stomach and rapidly leads to tumour formation. Oncogene, 32(16), pp. 2048-2057. (doi: 10.1038/onc.2012.224)

Myant, K.B., Scopelliti, A., Haque, S., Vidal, M., Sansom, O.J. and Cordero, J.B. (2013) Rac1 drives intestinal stem cell proliferation and regeneration. Cell Cycle, 12(18), pp. 2973-2977. (doi: 10.4161/cc.26031)

Cordero, J. B., Stefanatos, R. K. , Myant, K., Vidal, M. and Sansom, O. J. (2012) Non-autonomous crosstalk between the Jak/Stat and EGFR pathways mediates Apc1-driven intestinal stem cell hyperplasia in the Drosophila adult midgut. Development, 139(24), pp. 4524-4535. (doi: 10.1242/dev.078261)

Cordero, J.B. and Sansom, O.J. (2012) Wnt signaling and its role in stem cell-driven intestinal regeneration and hyperplasia. Acta Physiologica, 204(1), pp. 137-143. (doi: 10.1111/j.1748-1716.2011.02288.x)

Cordero, J. B., Stefanatos, R. K. , Scopelliti, A., Vidal, M. and Sansom, O. J. (2012) Inducible progenitor-derived wingless regulates adult midgut regeneration in drosophila. EMBO Journal, 31(19), pp. 3901-3917. (doi: 10.1038/emboj.2012.248)

Cordero, J.B., Macagno, J.P., Stefanatos, R.K. , Strathdee, K.E., Cagan, R.L. and Vidal, M. (2010) Oncogenic Ras diverts a host TNF tumor suppressor activity into tumor promoter. Developmental Cell, 18(6), pp. 999-1011. (doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2010.05.014)

Cordero, J. B., Vidal, M. and Sansom, O. J. (2009) APC as a master regulator of intestinal homeostasis and transformation: from flies to vertebrates. Cell Cycle, 8(18), pp. 2927-2931. (doi: 10.4161/cc.8.18.9472)

This list was generated on Sun May 18 16:48:48 2025 BST.

Grants

Grants and Awards listed are those received whilst working with the University of Glasgow.

  • Gut-driven control of sleep and circadian behaviours.
    The Royal Society
    2024 - 2026
     
  • Local and systemic functions of the intestine in health and disease.
    Wellcome Trust
    2022 - 2027
     
  • Drosophila as a model to study mechanisms of cancer-driven behavioural changes
    Cancer Research UK
    2019 - 2021
     
  • Regulation of stem cell function during tissue homeostasis and transformation
    Wellcome Trust
    2015 - 2021
     
  • Regulation of stem cell function during tissue homeostasis and transformation
    Wellcome Trust
    2015 - 2022
     
  • Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship
    The Royal Society
    2013 - 2018
     

Research datasets

Jump to: 2021 | 2019
Number of items: 5.

2021

Nászai, M., Bellec, K. , Yu, Y., Román-Fernández, Á., Sandilands, E., Johansson, J., Campbell, A., Norman, J. , Sansom, O. , Bryant, D. and Cordero, J. (2021) RAL GTPases mediate EGFR-driven intestinal stem cell hyperproliferation and tumourigenesis. [Data Collection]

Perochon, J. , Yu, Y., Aughey, G. N., Southall, T. D. and Cordero, J. (2021) Dynamic adult tracheal plasticity drives stem cell adaptation to changes in intestinal homeostasis. [Data Collection]

2019

Johansson, J., Naszai, M. , Hodder, M., Pickering, K. A., Miller, B. W., Ridgway, R., Yu, Y., Peschard, P., Brachmann, S., Campbell, A., Cordero, J. and Sansom, O. (2019) RAL GTPases drive intestinal stem cell function and regeneration through internalization of WNT signalosomes. [Data Collection]

Scopelliti, A., Bauer, C., Yu, Y., Zhang, T., Kruspig, B., Murphy, D. , Vidal, M., Maddocks, O. and Cordero, J. (2019) A Neuronal Relay Mediates a Nutrient Responsive Gut/Fat Body Axis Regulating Energy Homeostasis in Adult Drosophila. [Data Collection]

Parvy, J.-P., Yu, Y., Dostalova, A., Kondo, S., Kurjan, A., Bulet, P., Lemaitre, B., Vidal, M. and Cordero, J. (2019) The antimicrobial peptide Defensin cooperates with Tumour Necrosis Factor to drive tumour cell death in Drosophila. [Data Collection]

This list was generated on Sun May 18 16:48:50 2025 BST.

Additional information

Research Fellowship

  • 2013 - 2018: University of Glasgow - Leadership Fellowship
  • 2013 - 2018: Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Fellowship

Oct 2018 Profile