Prof. Dr. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla
Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells (IES)
Helmholtz Zentrum München

Abstract
Research in our lab focuses on understanding how cells in the early embryo integrate genetic and epigenetic information to initiate and orchestrate a new developmental programme. After fertilisation of the oocyte by the sperm, the resulting zygote acquires the unique capacity to form a complete new organism. This is a universal principle across species and is fundamental for the preservation of species and for multicellularity.  At these early developmental stages, genetic, epigenetic and mechanical mechanisms are in place. Yet, how these regulatory layers are integrated at the molecular level remains still a poorly understood, yet exciting area of research. I will present our work investigating how the pervasive presence of transposable elements in mammalian genomes, chromatin function, and genome nuclear organisation are integrated with nuclear mechanics to shape and regulate early developmental programmes. I will also illustrate how we leverage these findings to restore cellular plasticity for reprogramming cell fates.

Biography
Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla studied biology at the National University of Mexico and obtained her doctorate at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, France. She performed post-doctoral research at the Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge, UK, before she moved to the Institute of Genetics and Molecular and Cellular Biology (IGMBC) in Strasbourg, France, where she established her independent group. She is the founding director of the Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells in Helmholtz Munich, where she moved in 2016. She is also the Director of the Stem Cell Center (rotating) at Helmholtz Munich, Director of Biomedicine of the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus and Professor of Stem Cell Biology at LMU Munich. Torres-Padilla is a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, the Latin American Academy of Sciences, the Academia Europea and the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). She was awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize in 2025 and received the Bavarian Maximilian Order for Science and Art also in 2025. She is actively involved in Ethics committees, including for example the Ethics Council of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and in promoting Arts and Science collaborations. 

Location
Seminar Room, 0.125, Kussmaulallee 2
Location Details