- 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
Lecture
- Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Simona Chera (2024). The landscape of islet maturation and ageing is regulated by a signalling loop between Hnf1a and the immune system. (external link)
- Lucas Unger; Thomas Aga Legøy; Luiza Mihaela Ghila 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)
- Simona Chera (2023). The beta cell in ageing. (external link)
- Thomas Aga Legøy; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Joao Paulo et al. (2024). Impact of diabetogenic signals from endocrine disrupting chemicals on a HNF1A cell model. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2024). Supply or Instruct: A luxury problem in mammalian adult regeneration. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2022). Beta to alpha cells and back. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2022). Investigating islet cell plasticity dynamics by exploiting monogenic diabetes contexts. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2022). Regeneration, Rhythms, Regulators. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2021). Using patient-derived iPSC to demultiplex cell fate confinement. (external link)
- Thomas Aga Legøy; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Joao Paulo et al. (2024). Impact of endocrine disruptors on MODY3 iPSCs differentiation toward SC-islets – potential diabetogens. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2022). Investigating islet cell-fate dynamic during in vitro differentiation. (external link)
- Lucas Unger; Thomas Aga Legøy; Simona Chera et al. (2023). Exploring the role of transcription factors HNF1A, HNF1B, and HNF4A in human pancreatic islet cell differentiation. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2024). Regeneration: Death is Only the Beginning. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2022). Using patient-derived iPSC multi-omics to demultiplex pancreatic islet cell fate confinement. (external link)
- Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Thomas Aga Legøy; Ulrik Larsen et al. (2023). Hnf1a Is An Important Regulator in Ageing And Maturation Of Pancreatic Islets. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2022). Mammalian Regeneration Rhythms. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2022). And some that die deserve life: in vivo mechanisms regulating cell identity during beta-cell decay and regeneration. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2023). Mapping master regulators of regeneration rhythms in the pancreatic islet. (external link)
Academic article
- Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Shadab Abadpour; Thomas Aga Legøy et al. (2023). Global proteomics reveals insulin abundance as a marker of human islet homeostasis alterations. (external link)
- Laura Maria Daian; Gabriela Tanko; Andrei Mircea Vacaru et al. (2023). Modulation of Unfolded Protein Response Restores Survival and Function of β-Cells Exposed to the Endocrine Disruptor Bisphenol A. (external link)
- Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Ulrik Larsen; Natalie Aasen Kavli et al. (2024). Moderate beta-cell ablation triggers synergic compensatory mechanisms even in the absence of overt metabolic disruption. (external link)
- Yngvild Bjørlykke; Anne Mette Søviknes; Laurence Hoareau et al. (2019). Reprogrammed cells display distinct proteomic signaturesAssociated with colony morphology variability. (external link)
- Kenichiro Furuyama; Simona Chera; Leon van Gurp et al. (2019). Diabetes relief in mice by glucose-sensing insulin-secreting human α-cells. (external link)
- Flore Sinturel; Simona Chera; Marie-Claude Brulhart-Meynet et al. (2023). Circadian organization of lipid landscape is perturbed in type 2 diabetic patients. (external link)
- Magnus Berle; Luiza Ghila; Heidrun Vethe et al. (2018). Novel protein signatures suggest progression to muscular invasiveness in bladder cancer. (external link)
- Harini Chakravarthy; Xueying Gu; Martin Enge et al. (2017). Converting adult pancreatic islet α cells into β cells by targeting both Dnmt1 and Arx. (external link)
- Chencheng Wang; Shadab Abadpour; Petter Angell Olsen et al. (2024). Glucose Concentration in Regulating Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Differentiation Toward Insulin-Producing Cells. (external link)
- Luiza Ghila; Yngvild Bjørlykke; Thomas Aga Legøy et al. (2020). Bioinformatic analyses of miRNA-mRNA signature during hiPSC differentiation towards insulin-producing cells upon HNF4α mutation. (external link)
- Preksha Bhagchandani; Charles A. Chang; Weichen Zhao et al. (2022). Islet cell replacement and transplantation immunology in a mouse strain with inducible diabetes. (external link)
- Daniel Oropeza; Valentina Cigliola; Agustín Romero et al. (2021). Stage-specific transcriptomic changes in pancreatic α-cells after massive β-cell loss. (external link)
- Heidrun Vethe; Yngvild Bjørlykke; Luiza Ghila et al. (2017). Probing the missing mature β-cell proteomic landscape in differentiating patient iPSC-derived cells. (external link)
- Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Andrei Mircea Vacaru; Lucas Unger et al. (2024). Molecular profiling of NOD mouse islets reveals a novel regulator of insulitis onset. (external link)
- Chencheng Wang; Shadab Abadpour; Aleksandra Aizenshtadt et al. (2024). Cell identity dynamics and insight into insulin secretagogues when employing stem cell-derived islets for disease modeling. (external link)
- Lucas Unger; Luiza Mihaela Ghila; Simona Chera (2024). Targeted Gene Silencing by Using GapmeRs in Differentiating Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSC) Toward Pancreatic Progenitors. (external link)
- Luiza Ghila; Thomas Aga Legøy; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen et al. (2021). Chronically elevated exogenous glucose elicits antipodal effects on the proteome signature of differentiating human ipsc-derived pancreatic progenitors. (external link)
- Jakub Vasicek; Ksenia Kuznetsova; Dafni Skiadopoulou et al. (2024). ProHap enables human proteomic database generation accounting for population diversity. (external link)
- Luiza Ghila; Thomas Aga Legøy; Simona Chera (2021). A Method for Encapsulation and Transplantation into Diabetic Mice of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSC)-Derived Pancreatic Progenitors. (external link)
- Volodymyr Petrenko; Flore Sinturel; Ursula Loizides-Mangold et al. (2022). Type 2 diabetes disrupts circadian orchestration of lipid metabolism and membrane fluidity in human pancreatic islets. (external link)
- Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Thomas Aga Legøy; Ulrik Larsen et al. (2024). The age-dependent regulation of pancreatic islet landscape is fueled by a HNF1a-immune signaling loop. (external link)
- Manuel Carrasco Fernandez; Chencheng Wang; Anne Mette Søviknes et al. (2022). Spatial Environment Affects HNF4A Mutation-Specific Proteome Signatures and Cellular Morphology in hiPSC-Derived β-Like Cells. (external link)
- Heidrun Vethe; Luiza Ghila; Magnus Berle et al. (2019). The effect of WnT pathway modulators on human iPSC-derived pancreatic beta cell maturation. (external link)
- Heidrun Vethe; Thomas Aga Legøy; Shadab Abadpour et al. (2019). Encapsulation boosts islet-cell signature in differentiating human induced pluripotent stem cells via integrin signalling. (external link)
- Valentina Cigliola; Luiza Ghila; Fabrizio Thorel et al. (2018). Pancreatic islet-autonomous insulin and smoothened-mediated signalling modulate identity changes of glucagon+ α-cells. (external link)
- Shayla Sharmine; Thomas Aga Legøy; Lucas Unger et al. (2025). Caloric Restriction Substantially Improves Glucose Regulation in Mice With Hnf1a‐Deficient Beta‐Cells. (external link)
- Lucas Unger; Ulrik Larsen; Shayla Sharmine et al. (2025). Efficient cytoplasmic cell quantification using a semi-automated FIJI-based tool. (external link)
- Thomas Aga Legøy; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Zaidon Salim et al. (2020). In vivo environment swiftly restricts human pancreatic progenitors toward mono-hormonal identity via a HNF1A/HNF4A mechanism. (external link)
- Volodymyr Petrenko; Miri Stolovich-Rain; Bart Vandereycken et al. (2020). The core clock transcription factor BMAL1 drives circadian β-cell proliferation during compensatory regeneration of the endocrine pancreas. (external link)
- Thomas Aga Legøy; Luiza Ghila; Heidrun Vethe et al. (2019). In vivo hyperglycemia exposure elicits distinct period-dependent effects on human pancreatic progenitor differentiation, conveyed by oxidative stress. (external link)
- Lucas Unger; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Simona Chera et al. (2024). The GLI code controls HNF1A levels during foregut differentiation. (external link)
- Flore Sinturel; Simona Chera; Marie-Claude Brulhart-Meynet et al. (2024). Alterations of lipid homeostasis in morbid obese patients are partly reversed by bariatric surgery. (external link)
- Magnus Berle; Kjersti Elvestad Hestetun; Heidrun Vethe et al. (2022). Mapping Proteome Changes in Microsatellite Stable, Recurrent Colon Cancer Reveals a Significant Immune System Signature. (external link)
- Thomas Aga Legøy; Heidrun Vethe; Shadab Abadpour et al. (2020). Encapsulation boosts islet-cell signature in differentiating human induced pluripotent stem cells via integrin signalling. (external link)
- Flore Sinturel; Simona Chera; Marie-Claude Brulhart-Meynet et al. (2023). Circadian organization of lipid landscape is perturbed in type 2 diabetic patients. (external link)
Conference lecture
- Simona Chera (2022). Mapping Master Regulators of Regeneration Rhythms. (external link)
- Ulrik Larsen; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Natalie Aasen Kavli et al. (2024). Partial insulin-producing β-cell ablation induces compensatory proliferation in mouse pancreatic islets. (external link)
- Thomas Aga Legøy; Lucas Unger; Joao A. Paulo et al. (2024). Environmental neglect: endocrine disruptors as underappreciated but important diabetogens in HNF1A-MODY cell model. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2021). Islet cell identity and diabetes development. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2021). Mapping cell identity shifts in the adult pancreatic islet. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2024). How to harness human induced pluripotent stem cells for beta cell generation. (external link)
- Simona Chera (2023). Regeneration Strategies in Mammals. (external link)
- Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Thomas Aga Legøy; Ulrik Larsen et al. (2023). Islet maturation and ageing is governed by the Hnf1a transcription factor. (external link)
Conference poster
- Shayla Sharmine; Thomas Aga Legøy; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen et al. (2023). Mapping islet architecture changes upon high fat diet challenge in a HNF1A-MODY mouse model. (external link)
- Lucas Unger; Luiza Mihaela Ghila; Simona Chera (2022). Investigating the developmental role of HNF1A, HNF1B and HNF4A in human pancreatic islet cell differentiation. (external link)
- Md Kaykobad Hossain; Altanchimeg Altankhuyag; Thomas Aga Legøy et al. (2024). Short-term BBN treatment alters the proteomic profile of mouse bladder. (external link)
- Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Thomas Aga Legøy; Luiza Mihaela Ghila et al. (2022). Know your background, know your data. (external link)
- Lucas Unger; Thomas Aga Legøy; Luiza Mihaela Ghila et al. (2022). Investigating the developmental role of HNF1A in human pancreatic islet cell differentiation. (external link)
- Chencheng Wang; Shadab Abadpour; Alexandra Aizenshtadt et al. (2021). Glucose during in vitro pancreatic beta cells regeneration: friends or for?. (external link)
- Lucas Unger; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Thomas Aga Legøy et al. (2024). Deciphering the HNF1A and Hedgehog Signaling Crosstalk during Stem Cell Islet differentiation. (external link)
- Md Kaykobad Hossain; Altanchimeg Altankhuyag; Thomas Aga Legøy et al. (2023). Mapping predictive bladder cancer signatures in a mouse model. (external link)
- Thomas Aga Legøy; Lucas Unger; Joao A. Paulo et al. (2024). Exposure to Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals During Differentiation of HNF1A-MODY SC-islets has an Adverse Effect on Cell Fitness. (external link)
- Thomas Aga Legøy; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Hanne Scholz et al. (2022). Molecular mechanisms affecting islet like cell fate acquisition in differentiating iPSC derived β-like cells”. (external link)
- Lucas Unger; Thomas Aga Legøy; Luiza Mihaela Ghila et al. (2024). Exploring hedgehog signaling and HNF1A Crosstalk in HNF1A-MODY stem cell islets. (external link)
- Shayla Sharmine; Luiza Mihaela Ghila; Simona Chera (2024). Short-term effect of Somatostatin Modulators on Glycemic Control in MODY mice. (external link)
- Md Kaykobad Hossain; Altanchimeg Altankhuyag; Thomas Aga Legøy et al. (2024). Dynamic proteome profiling detects progressive alterations induced by BBN in the mouse bladder. (external link)
- Lucas Unger; Thomas Aga Legøy; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen et al. (2023). Investigating the developmental role of HNF1A, HNF1B and HNF4A in human pancreatic islet cell differentiation. (external link)
- Ulrik Larsen; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Natalie Aasen Kavli et al. (2024). Investigating stress-induced islet cell proliferation following partial insulin-secreting β-cell ablation in mice. (external link)
- Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Thomas Aga Legøy; Luiza Mihaela Ghila et al. (2022). Hnf1a is a key regulator of β-cell identity and function. (external link)
- Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Thomas Aga Legøy; Luiza Mihaela Ghila et al. (2022). Mind your background!. (external link)
- Thomas Aga Legøy; Andreas Frøslev Mathisen; Joao Paulo et al. (2023). Human induced pluripotent stem cells as a model for environmental impact on diabetes. (external link)
Academic literature review
- Valentina Cigliola; Fabrizio Thorel; Simona Chera et al. (2016). Stress-induced adaptive islet cell identity changes. (external link)
- Simona Chera; Pedro L. Herrera (2016). Regeneration of pancreatic insulin-producing cells by in situ adaptive cell conversion. (external link)
- Valentina Cigliola; Luiza Ghila; Simona Chera et al. (2019). Tissue repair brakes: A common paradigm in the biology of regeneration: Concise review. (external link)