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Endocrine Stem Cells as Orchestrators of Organ Plasticity and Disease
The pituitary and adrenal glands are central to our ability to grow, reproduce, and respond to stress. Their activity depends on remarkable adaptability — yet the mechanisms that allow these organs to adjust hormone production across life remain poorly understood. Traditionally, stem cells in these glands were viewed as a backup reserve. Our research from the pituitary gland reveals a different story: stem cells act as active organisers, sending signals that stimulate growth, guide cell maturation, and even fine-tune hormone secretion. This principle is extended to the adrenal medulla, where we identify a population of postnatal stem cells with similar properties. Emerging findings indicate that dysregulated stem cell activity may drive tumours of the adrenal lineage. This talk will explore a new framework for endocrine plasticity, with implications for regenerative therapies and endocrine cancer.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHY
I am a Professor of Stem Cell Biology at the Centre for Craniofacial & Regenerative Biology at King’s College London (UK), as well as a Principal Investigator at the Department of Medicine III, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden (Germany), part of the KCL-TUD TransCampus initiative. My main research focus is on endocrine stem cells and their roles during development, homeostasis and disease. I am particularly interested in paracrine secretion from stem cells, how paracrine stem cell actions control behaviour in their committed descendants and how paracrine activities change with physiological feedback.
My background is in developmental biology, with specific training and expertise in the development and stem cell biology of the brain and pituitary gland. My basic and translational research combines molecular, -omic and genetic approaches. This has led to the demonstration of the existence of pituitary stem cells in vivo, identification of novel functions and mechanisms of regulation, as well demonstration of stem cell contribution to the pathogenesis of paediatric pituitary tumours. Research by my team has generated several mouse models of human pituitary disease, including of benign and aggressive pituitary tumours, Rathke’s cleft cyst and pituitary stalk anomalies. Highlights of my research include the demonstration that stem cells can drive pituitary tumour formation both cell autonomously and cell non-autonomously, and the identification that normal pituitary stem cells are necessary throughout life to promote proliferation of committed progenitors through secretion of WNT ligands. My research extends into the effects of stress and metabolic disorders on stem cells of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the study of adrenal stem cells. More recently, my team identified and characterised a population of stem cells of the postnatal adrenal medulla and are exploring their involvement in normal physiology and in the pathogenesis of the rare neuroendocrine tumours pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas.
Date:
7 November 2025, 13:00
Venue:
Sherrington Library, off Parks Road OX1 3PT
Venue Details:
Sherrington Building
Speaker:
Professor Cynthia Andoniadou (King’s College London)
Organising department:
Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics (DPAG)
Organisers:
Dr Thomas Keeley (DPAG, University of Oxford),
Dr Mootaz Salman (DPAG, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address:
events@dpag.ox.ac.uk
Host:
Associate Professor Tammie Bishop (DPAG, University of Oxford)
Part of:
DPAG Head of Department Seminar Series
Booking required?:
Not required
Audience:
Members of the University only
Editor:
Hannah Simm
