Rate My Professor Julia Cordero

Julia Cordero’s research examines local and systemic functions of the adult intestine in health and disease, focusing on how intestinal stem cells adapt proliferation and differentiation to microenvironmental and organismal signals to maintain epithelial integrity, and how disruptions contribute to regeneration failure or tumorigenesis. Her laboratory employs Drosophila melanogaster as the primary model for its genetic tractability and multi-organ capabilities, supplemented by mouse studies, to uncover tissue-intrinsic mechanisms of stem cell regulation, systemic controls on proliferation, and intestine-wide effects like gut-brain axis alterations. Notable publications include “RAL GTPases drive intestinal stem cell function and regeneration through internalization of WNT signalosomes” (Cell Stem Cell, 2019), “Dynamic adult tracheal plasticity drives stem cell adaptation to changes in intestinal homeostasis in Drosophila” (Nature Cell Biology, 2021), “Neuroendocrine control of intestinal regeneration through the vascular niche in Drosophila” (Developmental Cell, 2025), and “The antimicrobial peptide Defensin cooperates with tumour necrosis factor to drive tumour cell death in Drosophila” (eLife, 2019). With over 3,600 citations on Google Scholar, her contributions advance understanding of intestinal homeostasis, cancer initiation, and organismal responses to gut dysfunction. Current grants fund projects on gut-driven sleep control and Drosophila models of cancer behaviors.