玉美人传媒

Pedro Herrera obtained a Master's degree in Biology from the Complutense 玉美人传媒 of Madrid in 1985. He completed his Doctorate in Science at the 玉美人传媒 in 1994, where he later became an independent researcher in the Department of Morphology at the Faculty of Medicine, supported by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and subsequently the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF). He was appointed Lecturer and Researcher in 2000, Associate Professor in the Department of Genetic Medicine and Development in 2009, and Full Professor in December 2013.

Throughout his career, Prof. Herrera has made significant contributions to the field of developmental and regenerative biology. Early in his research, he conducted pioneering in vivo studies on the selective ablation of pancreatic cells, providing fundamental insights into the formation of endocrine cell types during embryonic development. He also introduced the use of the Cre/loxP genetic system for irreversible cell lineage tracing in mammals, now a standard technique in developmental biology.

His work revealed the common origins of pancreatic endocrine cells and demonstrated the multipotency of endocrine precursors at the population level, while establishing that individual precursor cells are typically unipotent. His group has also contributed to understanding age-related changes in the pancreas, including the conversion of acinar cells into adipocytes.

More recently, Prof. Herrera’s laboratory has led ground-breaking research into adult cell plasticity, particularly the spontaneous reprogramming of mature pancreatic cells into insulin-producing cells. These discoveries have opened up new avenues for the development of cell replacement therapies for diabetes.

RESEARCH AIMS

Regeneration of insulin-producing cells

The Herrera laboratory investigates the genetic regulation of pancreas development and, more extensively, the regeneration of insulin-producing cells following injury or disease. The group aims to understand how pancreatic beta-cells, essential for insulin production, can be replenished after their loss, a hallmark of diabetes.

To address these questions, the lab combines human pancreatic islets from deceased donors with advanced mouse models. These transgenic mice are genetically engineered to allow for the selective ablation or tagging of specific cell types, enabling precise analysis of cellular regeneration and plasticity across different ages and conditions.

A key focus is to uncover how adult endocrine cells within the pancreas, particularly alpha, delta, and gamma cells, can naturally convert into insulin-producing cells when beta cells are destroyed. This phenomenon of functional interconversion, first described by Prof. Herrera’s team in mammals, suggests a remarkable regenerative potential in adult tissues that was previously unrecognised.

These findings not only challenge the long-standing belief that differentiated cells are irreversibly fixed in identity but also offer a promising basis for developing innovative therapies for diabetes and other degenerative diseases. The lab continues to explore the molecular mechanisms and local signalling environments that govern this cellular plasticity, with the long-term goal of harnessing it for therapeutic benefit in humans.