Simón Méndez-Ferrer

University of Cambridge, UK

My multidisciplinary training in neuroscience, physiology and stem cells has allowed me to develop a unique research field. I gained my PhD in 2004 from The Department of Medical Physiology at the University of Seville in Spain. My Thesis characterised properties of the carotid body of potential interest for neuroregenerative strategies, which were translated into clinical studies in Parkinson’s disease. From 2004-9, I worked as a post-doc at New York Medical College and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where I trained in stem cells in the cardiovascular and haematopoietic systems and discovered a connection between the bone marrow, the brain and other systemic signals, which regulate the behaviour of blood stem cells and immune cells. I found that the sympathetic nervous system regulates daily oscillations in stem cells, with could impact the yields available for regenerative medicine. These findings served as stepping stones for the emerging fields of neuroimmunology and inter-organ communication. My subsequent work identified self-renewing mesenchymal stem cells that relay signals from the nervous system and have a crucial role in the haematopoietic stem cell niche. I moved to Cambridge in 2015 as Reader at the Department of Hematology (University of Cambridge), Group Leader at the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and PI at NHS Blood and Transplant. Blood stem cells reside in specialised niches, which allows them to self-renew, proliferate, differentiate and migrate according to the organism's requirements. My research has revealed multisystem regulatory mechanisms by which the haematopoietic stem cell niche fulfils these complex functions and how the deregulation of these mechanisms contributes to haematological disorders. My work has been recognised with 16 Plenary presentations, >160 invited taks, international awards (ASH Scholar Award, Joanne Levy Memorial Award, HHMI International Early Career Scientist, CRUK Programme Foundation Award), publications in top journals and 3 patent applications. My translational research led to two Phase-II multicenter clinical studies testing the redeployment of drugs to modulate the bone marrow stem-cell niche in myeloproliferative neoplasms. Ongoing efforts in my lab are targeting the microenvironment to improve bone marrow transplantation procedures and as a complementary therapeutic target for the treatment of myeloid malignancies.