Cédric Blanpain

Research Statement

AI generated · 1d ago

Cédric Blanpain's research centres on the stem cell hierarchies that build and maintain epithelial tissues, and on how those hierarchies go awry in cancer. His early first-author work on self-renewal and multipotency within the hair follicle bulge established that an epithelial stem cell niche harbours two functionally distinct cell populations, while his later senior-author studies identified distinct tumour transition states occurring during EMT, a framework he and colleagues also consolidated into guidance for the field. Related work on cancer stem cell potential and its therapeutic implications extends this line of inquiry from normal tissue turnover to tumour initiation. Earlier contributions include middle-author roles in defining the epithelial stem cell niche in skin and in establishing guidelines and definitions for EMT research, alongside work on chemerin as a processed ligand recruiting antigen-presenting cells, reflecting a broader interest in chemokine signalling. These studies, together with his sustained focus on stem cell identity and tumour heterogeneity, trace a coherent trajectory from developmental biology toward the cellular mechanisms of cancer progression.

Most Cited Works

EMT Transition States during Tumor Progression and Metastasis

Ievgenia Pastushenko, Cédric Blanpain

Trends in Cell Biology2018

2,863Citations

Guidelines and definitions for research on epithelial–mesenchymal transition

Jing Yang, Parker Antin, Geert Berx, Cédric Blanpain, Thomas Brabletz, Marianne Bronner, Kyra Campbell, Amparo Cano, Jordi Casanova, Gerhard Christofori, Shoukat Dedhar, Rik Derynck, Heide L Ford, Jonas Fuxe, Antonio García de Herreros, Gregory J Goodall, Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis, Ruby Y J Huang, Chaya Kalcheim, Raghu Kalluri, Yibin Kang, Yeesim Khew-Goodall, Herbert Levine

Research Areas

Cancer Cells and MetastasisDevelopmental Biology and Gene RegulatioHair Growth and DisordersSkin and Cellular Biology ResearchChemokine receptors and signaling

Affiliations & Education

Employment

1999–2026
Université Libre de Bruxelles(BE)
Director · Laboratory of Stem Cells and Cancer

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Sources