DoM Seminar: Professor Neil Henderson

‘Using Single Cell Genomics and Spatial Profiling Approaches to Decode Human Liver Regeneration and Repair’

Professor Neil Henderson
Chair of Tissue Repair and Regeneration; Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Clinical Science; Honorary Consultant Hepatologist
University of Edinburgh

Host: Professor Rachel Chambers
Respiratory Medicine Department

Monday 16th January 2022 at 13:00 -14:00 (note different date)
This seminar will take place in 2nd Floor Seminar Room of the Rayne Buiding and will also run on Teams (link)

Research Overview

Organ fibrosis (scarring) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and as yet there are no effective anti-fibrotic treatments. My lab is interested in the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive organ fibrosis, and also the molecular pathways which are responsible for efficient wound healing and healthy tissue regeneration following injury. By understanding more about how organs scar, heal and regenerate we hope to develop new treatments for patients with organ fibrosis. 

Single-cell genomics approaches are transforming our understanding of disease pathogenesis, allowing interrogation of homeostatic and pathogenic cell populations at unprecedented resolution, and adding an illuminating dimension to transcriptomic information relative to traditional methods that profile bulk cell populations. The single cell genomics field has developed rapidly over the last few years, chiefly because these approaches allow powerful, unbiased exploration of cell states and types at single-cell resolution, resulting in unexpected novel insights into tissue biology and disease mechanisms.  

The convergence of these multi-modal single-cell technologies represent a remarkable opportunity to decode the molecular mechanisms regulating human tissue fibrosis and regeneration at single cell resolution, which we hope will inform and accelerate the development of effective new therapies for patients with fibrotic diseases.

Biographical Profile

Neil Henderson undertook medical training in Edinburgh and London before completing a Wellcome Trust funded PhD at the MRC Centre for Inflammation Research, Edinburgh. He then trained in hepatology and was awarded a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellowship, during which time he spent a 3 year post-doctoral period based in Dean Sheppard's lab at the University of California, San Francisco, USA. Neil was then awarded a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellowship in Clinical Science to investigate novel mechanisms of organ fibrosis and regeneration, using cutting-edge approaches including the rapidly evolving field of single cell genomics.

The seminars are open to UCL & UCLH staff, students and their visitors. Please contact alison.kelly@ucl.ac.uk for all enquires  
Audience members: Please ensure that your mic is muted and video turned off during the talk. There will be a 10-minute Q&A at the end of the talk. Please ensure that you use the ‘raise hand’ function if you would like to ask a question. Thank you.