- simona.chera@uib.no
- Visitor address
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Glasblokkene Haukelandsbakken 15
5021 Bergen - Room: 6110, 6th floor
- Postal address
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P.O. Box 7804NO-5020 BergenNorway
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Research groups
Research
The common denominator of my career is cell fate and identity maintenance in the context of cell decay and regeneration.
During my PhD studies (UniGe, Switzerland) I studied the molecular mechanisms regulating cell fate during early regeneration (Chera et al., DevCell 2009). For my postdoc in Prof. Herrera laboratory (UniGe, Switzerland), I investigated the age-related cell conversion processes occurring in the post-natal mammalian pancreas, following the extreme loss of insulin expressing β-cells (Thorel et al., Nature,2010; Chera et al., Nature 2014; Furuyama et al., Nature, 2019).
Upon my arrival at UoB, I directed my independent line of research at modulating the molecular circuits involved in cell-fate decisions and their involvement in diabetes. Briefly, by coupling classical and newly generated models of cell loss with genetic cell tracing, timed conditional gene expression and various omics assays we study the dynamic molecular fingerprint of pancreatic islet cells decay and regeneration, with focus on global regulators of cell identity maintenance processes (Mathisen et al.,ActaPhysiol 2023; Mathisen et al.,CommsBiol 2024; Mathisen et al.,MAD 2024). Besides the in vivo approach, we use patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) as disease models coupled with large-scale imaging and omics for studying islet cell fate acquisition and maintenance (Legøy et al., SciReports 2020; Legøy et al., Acta Physiol, 2020; Unger et al., Int. J. Dev. Biol.2024).
Moreover, my collaborative works with Dibner’s (UniGE - Switzerland, Gen&Dev 2020; Plos Biology 2022; Cell Rep Med 2023; iScience 2024), Herrera’s (UniGe, Nat.Cell.Biol 2018), Scholz’s (UoO - Norway Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 2024, Transplant International 2024), Vacaru's (ICBPNS - Romania, Sci.Rep 2024) and Kim’s (Sandford - US, SciReports 2022) labs strongly contributed to understanding stress responses in the islet. My research on islet cell biology has been funded via NFR FRIPRO (2016-2021, 2021-2026, 2026-2030), NovoNordiskFundation (2015-2020, 2021-2026), EØS (2020-2024), Diabetes-forbundet (2021-2022), NCMM (2019-2021) and Trond Mohn Stiftelse (2022-2027).
Recently, we developed a second line of research directed at understanding cell identity changes in cancers, which is generously financed by Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Foundation (2024-2029).
Teaching
Publications
Poster
- Unger, Lucas; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Legøy, Thomas Aga et al. (2024). Deciphering the HNF1A and Hedgehog Signaling Crosstalk during Stem Cell Islet differentiation. (external link)
- Sharmine, Shayla; Ghila, Luiza Mihaela; Chera, Simona (2024). Short-term effect of Somatostatin Modulators on Glycemic Control in MODY mice. (external link)
- Unger, Lucas; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Ghila, Luiza Mihaela et al. (2024). Exploring hedgehog signaling and HNF1A Crosstalk in HNF1A-MODY stem cell islets. (external link)
- Larsen, Ulrik; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Kavli, Natalie Aasen et al. (2024). Investigating stress-induced islet cell proliferation following partial insulin-secreting β-cell ablation in mice . (external link)
- Legøy, Thomas Aga; Unger, Lucas; Paulo, Joao A. et al. (2024). Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals During Differentiation of HNF1A-MODY SC-islets has an Adverse Effect on Cell Fitness. (external link)
- Hossain, Md Kaykobad; Altankhuyag, Altanchimeg; Legøy, Thomas Aga et al. (2024). Dynamic proteome profiling detects progressive alterations induced by BBN in the mouse bladder. (external link)
- Hossain, Md Kaykobad; Altankhuyag, Altanchimeg; Legøy, Thomas Aga et al. (2024). Short-term BBN treatment alters the proteomic profile of mouse bladder. (external link)
- Legøy, Thomas Aga; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Paulo, Joao et al. (2023). Human induced pluripotent stem cells as a model for environmental impact on diabetes. (external link)
- Sharmine, Shayla; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev et al. (2023). Mapping islet architecture changes upon high fat diet challenge in a HNF1A-MODY mouse model. (external link)
- Unger, Lucas; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev et al. (2023). Investigating the developmental role of HNF1A, HNF1B and HNF4A in human pancreatic islet cell differentiation. (external link)
- Hossain, Md Kaykobad; Altankhuyag, Altanchimeg; Legøy, Thomas Aga et al. (2023). Mapping predictive bladder cancer signatures in a mouse model. (external link)
- Legøy, Thomas Aga; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Scholz, Hanne et al. (2022). Molecular mechanisms affecting islet like cell fate acquisition in differentiating iPSC derived β-like cells”. (external link)
- Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Ghila, Luiza Mihaela et al. (2022). Hnf1a is a key regulator of β-cell identity and function. (external link)
- Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Ghila, Luiza Mihaela et al. (2022). Know your background, know your data. (external link)
- Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Ghila, Luiza Mihaela et al. (2022). Mind your background!. (external link)
- Unger, Lucas; Ghila, Luiza Mihaela; Chera, Simona (2022). Investigating the developmental role of HNF1A, HNF1B and HNF4A in human pancreatic islet cell differentiation. (external link)
- Unger, Lucas; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Ghila, Luiza Mihaela et al. (2022). Investigating the developmental role of HNF1A in human pancreatic islet cell differentiation. (external link)
- Wang, Chencheng; Abadpour, Shadab; Aizenshtadt, Alexandra et al. (2021). Glucose during in vitro pancreatic beta cells regeneration: friends or for?. (external link)
Lecture
- Chera, Simona (2024). Supply or Instruct: A luxury problem in mammalian adult regeneration. (external link)
- Legøy, Thomas Aga; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Paulo, Joao et al. (2024). Impact of diabetogenic signals from endocrine disrupting chemicals on a HNF1A cell model. (external link)
- Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Chera, Simona (2024). The landscape of islet maturation and ageing is regulated by a signalling loop between Hnf1a and the immune system. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2024). Regeneration: Death is Only the Beginning. (external link)
- Legøy, Thomas Aga; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Paulo, Joao et al. (2024). Impact of endocrine disruptors on MODY3 iPSCs differentiation toward SC-islets – potential diabetogens. (external link)
- Unger, Lucas; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Chera, Simona et al. (2023). Exploring the role of transcription factors HNF1A, HNF1B, and HNF4A in human pancreatic islet cell differentiation. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2023). Mapping master regulators of regeneration rhythms in the pancreatic islet. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2023). The beta cell in ageing. (external link)
- Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Larsen, Ulrik et al. (2023). Hnf1a Is An Important Regulator in Ageing And Maturation Of Pancreatic Islets. (external link)
- Unger, Lucas; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Ghila, Luiza Mihaela et al. (2023). Exploring the role of transcription factors HNF1A, HNF1B, and HNF4A in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived pancreatic islet cell differentiation. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2022). Investigating islet cell plasticity dynamics by exploiting monogenic diabetes contexts. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2022). Using patient-derived iPSC multi-omics to demultiplex pancreatic islet cell fate confinement. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2022). Investigating islet cell-fate dynamic during in vitro differentiation. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2022). And some that die deserve life: in vivo mechanisms regulating cell identity during beta-cell decay and regeneration. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2022). Regeneration, Rhythms, Regulators. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2022). Mammalian Regeneration Rhythms. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2022). Beta to alpha cells and back. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2021). Using patient-derived iPSC to demultiplex cell fate confinement. (external link)
Academic lecture
- Chera, Simona (2024). How to harness human induced pluripotent stem cells for beta cell generation. (external link)
- Larsen, Ulrik; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Kavli, Natalie Aasen et al. (2024). Partial insulin-producing β-cell ablation induces compensatory proliferation in mouse pancreatic islets. (external link)
- Legøy, Thomas Aga; Unger, Lucas; Paulo, Joao A. et al. (2024). Environmental neglect: endocrine disruptors as underappreciated but important diabetogens in HNF1A-MODY cell model. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2023). Regeneration Strategies in Mammals . (external link)
- Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Larsen, Ulrik et al. (2023). Islet maturation and ageing is governed by the Hnf1a transcription factor. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2022). Mapping Master Regulators of Regeneration Rhythms. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2021). Islet cell identity and diabetes development. (external link)
- Chera, Simona (2021). Mapping cell identity shifts in the adult pancreatic islet . (external link)
Academic article
- Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Larsen, Ulrik; Kavli, Natalie Aasen et al. (2024). Moderate beta-cell ablation triggers synergic compensatory mechanisms even in the absence of overt metabolic disruption. (external link)
- Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Vacaru, Andrei Mircea; Unger, Lucas et al. (2024). Molecular profiling of NOD mouse islets reveals a novel regulator of insulitis onset. (external link)
- Unger, Lucas; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Chera, Simona et al. (2024). The GLI code controls HNF1A levels during foregut differentiation. (external link)
- Sinturel, Flore; Chera, Simona; Brulhart-Meynet, Marie-Claude et al. (2024). Alterations of lipid homeostasis in morbid obese patients are partly reversed by bariatric surgery. (external link)
- Vasicek, Jakub; Kuznetsova, Ksenia; Skiadopoulou, Dafni et al. (2024). ProHap enables human proteomic database generation accounting for population diversity. (external link)
- Unger, Lucas; Ghila, Luiza Mihaela; Chera, Simona (2024). Targeted Gene Silencing by Using GapmeRs in Differentiating Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSC) Toward Pancreatic Progenitors. (external link)
- Wang, Chencheng; Abadpour, Shadab; Aizenshtadt, Aleksandra et al. (2024). Cell identity dynamics and insight into insulin secretagogues when employing stem cell-derived islets for disease modeling. (external link)
- Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Larsen, Ulrik et al. (2024). The age-dependent regulation of pancreatic islet landscape is fueled by a HNF1a-immune signaling loop. (external link)
- Wang, Chencheng; Abadpour, Shadab; Olsen, Petter Angell et al. (2024). Glucose Concentration in Regulating Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Differentiation Toward Insulin-Producing Cells. (external link)
- Sinturel, Flore; Chera, Simona; Brulhart-Meynet, Marie-Claude et al. (2023). Circadian organization of lipid landscape is perturbed in type 2 diabetic patients. (external link)
- Sinturel, Flore; Chera, Simona; Brulhart-Meynet, Marie-Claude et al. (2023). Circadian organization of lipid landscape is perturbed in type 2 diabetic patients. (external link)
- Daian, Laura Maria; Tanko, Gabriela; Vacaru, Andrei Mircea et al. (2023). Modulation of Unfolded Protein Response Restores Survival and Function of β-Cells Exposed to the Endocrine Disruptor Bisphenol A. (external link)
- Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Abadpour, Shadab; Legøy, Thomas Aga et al. (2023). Global proteomics reveals insulin abundance as a marker of human islet homeostasis alterations. (external link)
- Petrenko, Volodymyr; Sinturel, Flore; Loizides-Mangold, Ursula et al. (2022). Type 2 diabetes disrupts circadian orchestration of lipid metabolism and membrane fluidity in human pancreatic islets. (external link)
- Bhagchandani, Preksha; Chang, Charles A.; Zhao, Weichen et al. (2022). Islet cell replacement and transplantation immunology in a mouse strain with inducible diabetes. (external link)
- Berle, Magnus; Hestetun, Kjersti Elvestad; Vethe, Heidrun et al. (2022). Mapping Proteome Changes in Microsatellite Stable, Recurrent Colon Cancer Reveals a Significant Immune System Signature. (external link)
- Fernandez, Manuel Carrasco; Wang, Chencheng; Søviknes, Anne Mette et al. (2022). Spatial Environment Affects HNF4A Mutation-Specific Proteome Signatures and Cellular Morphology in hiPSC-Derived β-Like Cells. (external link)
- Ghila, Luiza; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Chera, Simona (2021). A Method for Encapsulation and Transplantation into Diabetic Mice of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSC)-Derived Pancreatic Progenitors. (external link)
- Oropeza, Daniel; Cigliola, Valentina; Romero, Agustín et al. (2021). Stage-specific transcriptomic changes in pancreatic α-cells after massive β-cell loss. (external link)
- Ghila, Luiza; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev et al. (2021). Chronically elevated exogenous glucose elicits antipodal effects on the proteome signature of differentiating human ipsc-derived pancreatic progenitors. (external link)
- Petrenko, Volodymyr; Stolovich-Rain, Miri; Vandereycken, Bart et al. (2020). The core clock transcription factor BMAL1 drives circadian β-cell proliferation during compensatory regeneration of the endocrine pancreas. (external link)
- Legøy, Thomas Aga; Vethe, Heidrun; Abadpour, Shadab et al. (2020). Encapsulation boosts islet-cell signature in differentiating human induced pluripotent stem cells via integrin signalling . (external link)
- Ghila, Luiza; Bjørlykke, Yngvild; Legøy, Thomas Aga et al. (2020). Bioinformatic analyses of miRNA-mRNA signature during hiPSC differentiation towards insulin-producing cells upon HNF4α mutation. (external link)
- Legøy, Thomas Aga; Mathisen, Andreas Frøslev; Salim, Zaidon et al. (2020). In vivo environment swiftly restricts human pancreatic progenitors toward mono-hormonal identity via a HNF1A/HNF4A mechanism. (external link)
- Bjørlykke, Yngvild; Søviknes, Anne Mette; Hoareau, Laurence et al. (2019). Reprogrammed cells display distinct proteomic signaturesAssociated with colony morphology variability. (external link)
- Legøy, Thomas Aga; Ghila, Luiza; Vethe, Heidrun et al. (2019). In vivo hyperglycemia exposure elicits distinct period-dependent effects on human pancreatic progenitor differentiation, conveyed by oxidative stress. (external link)
- Furuyama, Kenichiro; Chera, Simona; van Gurp, Leon et al. (2019). Diabetes relief in mice by glucose-sensing insulin-secreting human α-cells. (external link)
- Vethe, Heidrun; Ghila, Luiza; Berle, Magnus et al. (2019). The effect of WnT pathway modulators on human iPSC-derived pancreatic beta cell maturation. (external link)
- Vethe, Heidrun; Legøy, Thomas Aga; Abadpour, Shadab et al. (2019). Encapsulation boosts islet-cell signature in differentiating human induced pluripotent stem cells via integrin signalling. (external link)
- Berle, Magnus; Ghila, Luiza; Vethe, Heidrun et al. (2018). Novel protein signatures suggest progression to muscular invasiveness in bladder cancer. (external link)
- Cigliola, Valentina; Ghila, Luiza; Thorel, Fabrizio et al. (2018). Pancreatic islet-autonomous insulin and smoothened-mediated signalling modulate identity changes of glucagon+ α-cells. (external link)
- Vethe, Heidrun; Bjørlykke, Yngvild; Ghila, Luiza et al. (2017). Probing the missing mature β-cell proteomic landscape in differentiating patient iPSC-derived cells. (external link)
- Chakravarthy, Harini; Gu, Xueying; Enge, Martin et al. (2017). Converting adult pancreatic islet α cells into β cells by targeting both Dnmt1 and Arx. (external link)
Editorial
Popular scientific article
Academic literature review
- Cigliola, Valentina; Ghila, Luiza; Chera, Simona et al. (2019). Tissue repair brakes: A common paradigm in the biology of regeneration: Concise review. (external link)
- Cigliola, Valentina; Thorel, Fabrizio; Chera, Simona et al. (2016). Stress-induced adaptive islet cell identity changes. (external link)
- Chera, Simona; Herrera, Pedro L. (2016). Regeneration of pancreatic insulin-producing cells by in situ adaptive cell conversion. (external link)