Elaine Emmerson

Senior Lecturer

Biography

Background

  • 2024-date: Senior Lecturer, The Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, The University of Edinburgh
  • 2023-2024: Lecturer, The Centre for Regenerative Medicine, Institute for Regeneration and Repair, The University of Edinburgh
  • 2017-2023: Chancellor’s Fellow, The Centre for Regenerative Medicine, The University of Edinburgh
  • 2013-2016: California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Dr. Sarah Knox, Program in Craniofacial Biology, University of California San Francisco, USA
  • 2010-2012: The David Hammond Charitable Foundation Postdoctoral Research Associate with Dr. Matthew Hardman, The Healing Foundation Centre, The University of Manchester
  • 2006-2010: Ph.D. Cell Biology with Prof. Gillian Ashcroft, The University of Manchester
  • 2001-2004: B.Sc. Genetics (Hons), The University of Liverpool

Qualifications

Ph.D. Cell Biology (University of Manchester)

B.Sc. (Hons) Genetics (University of Liverpool)

Responsibilities & affiliations

Academic Lead for Public Engagement for the Institute for Regeneration and Repair

Chair of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine External Seminar Series

Undergraduate teaching

  • Undergraduate Biology of Regeneration Lecturer (2017-present)

Postgraduate teaching

  • Tissue Repair PhD Discussion Group Leader (2017-2021)
  • CRM first year PhD student Discussion Group Leader (2017-present)
  • PhD Medical Sciences & Translational Research with Integrated Engagement for Impact Lecturer (2020-2022)
  • Martin Lee PhD Exam Board Moderator (2021-present)
  • Precision Medicine PhD Programme Steering Committee (2022-present)
  • MScR Tissue Repair and Regenerative Medicine, Theme Leader and Exam Board Moderator (2019-present)
  • MSc Regenerative Medicine: Clinical and Industrial Delivery Lecturer (2017-2019, 2021)

Open to PhD supervision enquiries?

Yes

Research summary

Salivary gland development and regeneration

The salivary glands are the organs which produce saliva, and they are essential for a healthy mouth. Radiotherapy is a life-saving treatment for those with head and neck cancer; however, while it often succeeds in treating the cancer, a severe side-effect is damage to healthy tissue, including including the salivary glands. This results in a multitude of oral problems, such as difficulties in eating and speaking, all of which can adversely affect a patient’s quality of life. Existing treatments concentrate only on short-term relief of such side-effects. My group aim to develop a regenerative strategy to restore salivary function by understanding how the salivary glands are built in the first place and how they are damaged during radiotherapy.

We have previously demonstrated that nerves surround the salivary glands and interact with stem cells, unspecialised cells that can develop into mature cells following injury, to promote regeneration. Importantly, both the gland and the nerves surrounding it are damaged by radiotherapy. Furthermore, we have identified that macrophages, a type of immune cell that play a role in tissue repair and regeneration, are essential for salivary gland regeneration after radiotherapy injury, but are negatively affected by radiotherapy. My research group are working to better understand how nerves, macrophages and epithelial cells communicate to build the organ and to maintain its function, and what goes wrong following radiotherapy injury, with the ultimate aim to develop technologies to promote regeneration and greatly improve patient quality of life.

Current research interests

The correct growth, morphogenesis and patterning of an organ or tissue during development is essential for its function in adulthood. The majority of organs (such as heart, lungs, intestine), develop during the embryonic period in order to be functional by birth, while others (e.g. lymphoid structures and the salivary glands) continue to mature into the neonatal period or into puberty (such as the mammary glands). The salivary glands develop through a process known as branching morphogenesis, where the glandular epithelium undergoes rounds of branching and clefting, to create a branched organ which is capable, by the time of weaning, of saliva production. A number of precisely timed signalling events are necessary for this correct growth and patterning, and the phenomenon involves multiple cells working together. Recent studies have implicated macrophages as having a pivotal role in organ development, in addition to their classical phagocytic roles. Mouse mammary gland macrophages are recruited to the epithelium and provide vital cues for branching morphogenesis during embryogenesis. Furthermore, macrophage-deficient mice experience altered mammary gland branching and elongation during puberty and pregnancy, resulting in a lactational defect. Similarly, macrophages are recruited to the developing pancreas and kidney, and their absence results in abnormal development. In collaboration with Dr Rebecca Gentek and Dr Calum Bain, we are exploring whether macrophages play a key role in salivary gland development. Macrophages are attractive therapeutic targets due to their unrivalled capacity to drive tissue repair and regeneration. We have used a suite of complementary approaches to map the heterogeneity of the salivary gland macrophage compartment throughout development and following radiotherapy injury. Furthermore, we have demonstrated an essential role for macrophages in the clearance of cells with DNA damage, as well as effective tissue repair following injury, absence of which leads to salivary gland dysfunction. Taken together, our data place macrophages at the heart of effective tissue repair following radiation-induced injury in the salivary gland and provide strong rationale for exploring the therapeutic potential of manipulating these cells to promote tissue repair. Using genetic lineage tracing we find that radiation injury alters SG macrophage replenishment kinetics, a phenomenon that parallels degeneration in SG architecture and function, which is suggestive of a failure of the supportive niche over time. Given that macrophages are considered to be in constant crosstalk with their structural neighbours, these data suggest that the effects of radiation may alter the SG niche so that it cannot support macrophage longevity/function; and conversely, that macrophages cannot support the SG niche. In collaboration with Dr. Calum Bain, we are exploring the niche-derived factors that control SG macrophage maintenance and function, how these change in the context of SG injury, regeneration and degeneration and whether exogenous supplement can rescue this effect, and could ultimately provide new therapeutic avenues to target macrophages to promote tissue regeneration. In the field of regenerative medicine, significant progress has been made in cell-based therapies, while the manipulation of the stem cell niche to promote tissue regeneration has received less attention. A major component of the niche is peripheral nerves, which also provide a range of essential signals to the organs of the body, controlling functions such as heart rate and digestion. There is evidence that peripheral nerves are essential for the development, function and replacement of cells in numerous tissues and furthermore that neuronal signals are themselves vital within all three of these areas. We have previously shown that cholinergic muscarinic signalling maintains SOX2+ progenitor cells in the SG. However, use of cholinergic drugs is limited by their serious side-effects when delivered systemically. In collaboration with Prof. Asier Unciti-Broceta, we are testing the use of a novel technology to safely and locally deliver a cholinergic drug to radiation-injured SG. This project aims to develop a completely new way of delivering a pharmacological therapy (based on neuronal signalling) to radiotherapy-injured SG without the typical systemic side-effects associated with cholinergic drugs.

Knowledge exchange

Direct Contribution

  • Media Engagement: featured on STV News at 6, the Edinburgh Evening News, the Fife Courier and the UoE EDIT magazine (2019)
  • Co-production for impact: Co-producer of patient and public workshops patient partners and local organisations (2022-2023)
  • Awarded an MRC Engagement in Science Activities seed Fund (2020)
  • Awarded a British Society for Immunology (BSI) Communicating & Engagement Grant (2025)
  • KE policy contribution: Represented the Oral Health Foundation at Mouth Cancer Action Month launch at Westminster (2019)

Leadership

  • Academic Lead for Public Engagement for the Institute for Regeneration and Repair (2020-present)
  • Lead on ‘G-Lands: an out of body experience’ art-science public engagement project and exhibition (2019-2023)

Dissemination of Good Practice

  • Panel member for Edinburgh Science Festival, Animals in Scientific Research ‘The use of animals in scientific research’ discussion, which led to winning the Understanding Animal Research (UAR) Openness Award (2019)
  • Presented as part of Research Insights, The University of Edinburgh’s public lecture series (2021)

Current project grants

MRC Project Grant (2023-2026)
British Society for Immunology Communicating Grant (2025-2026)
BBSRC Project Grant (2026-2029)
EASTBIO PhD Studentship (Erin Watson) (2022-2026)
Precision Medicine PhD Studentship (Natalie Rudolfova) (2025-2029)

Past project grants

University of Edinburgh Chancellor's Fellowship (2017-2023)
RCUK/UKRI Innovation Fund Fellowship, UK Regenerative Medicine Platform (UKRMP) (2018-2022)
Tenovus Scotland, Pilot Grant (2018-2020)
Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Funds (2017)
The Royal Society, Research Grant (2018)
MRC Engagement in Science Activities seed Fund (2020)
Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Funds (2020)
The Royal Society, Research Grant (2021)
MRC Neuroimmunology Data Generation Award (2021-2024)

Invited speaker

June 2025 Keynote Presentation, Salivary Research Group, IADR/PER General Session, Spain

May 2025 British Society of Blood & Marrow Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Scientific Day, UK

January 2025 Gordon Research Conference for Salivary Glands & Exocrine Biology, CA, USA

November 2024 European Macrophage & Dendritic Cell Society (EMDS) Annual Meeting, Vienna, Austria

April 2024 British Society for Immunology Neuroimmunology Group meeting, Manchester, UK

December 2023 British Society for Immunology Annual Congress, Belfast, UK

November 2023 UKRMP Showcase, Edinburgh, UK

October 2023 Janus Seminar Series, Berlin, Germany

June 2023 A Cell for All Seasons: Macrophages in Health and Disease annual meeting, Edinburgh, UK

November 2022 Stem Cells UK 2021 meeting

May 2022 The Manchester Immunology Group external seminar series

January 2021 Research Insights public lecture, The University of Edinburgh, College of Medicine & Veterinary Medicine

June 2019 Gordon Research Conference for Tissue Repair and Regeneration, New London, NH, USA

May 2019 The Manchester Regenerative Medicine Network external seminar series, University of Manchester, UK

April 2019 BSDB/BSCB Joint Spring meeting, Warwick, UK

November 2018 The Head and Neck Clinical Excellence Network Annual Meeting, Glasgow, UK

September 2017 NHS Lothian Head and Neck Cancer Research Group, St. John’s Hospital, Livingston, UK

Organiser

  • Co-chair of the 2017 Salivary Glands & Exocrine Biology Gordon Research Seminar (TX, USA)
  • Co-organiser of the 2021 Tissue and Cell Engineering Society conference (Edinburgh)
  • Co-organiser of the 2022 Emerging Themes in Cell and Developmental Biology meeting (Denmark)
  • Co-Vice Chair of the 2027 Salivary Glands & Exocrine Biology Gordon Research Seminar (CA, USA)
  • Co-Chair of the 2029 Salivary Glands & Exocrine Biology Gordon Research Seminar (CA, USA)

BBRSC Project Grant  (2026-2029)

UKRI/MRC Molecular and Cellular Medicine Board (MCMB) (2023-2026)

UKRI/MRC Neuroimmunology Data Generation Award (2021-2023)

The University of Edinburgh/Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Funds (2020-2023)

Royal Society Research Grant (2019-2020)

Tenovus Scotland, Pilot Grant (2019-2020)

RCUK/UKRI Innovation Fund Fellowship, UK Regenerative Medicine Platform (2018-2021)

The University of Edinburgh/Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Funds (2017-2019)

The University of Edinburgh Chancellor’s Fellowship (2017-2023)

Dr Calum Bain, Centre for Inflammation Research

Dr Rebecca Gentek, Centre for Reproductive Health

Dr Anthony Callanan, School of Engineering, The University of Edinburgh

Prof. Asier Unciti-Broceta, Institute of Genetics and Molecule Medicine, The University of Edinburgh

Prof. Clare Bennett, University College London

Prof. Marc Bajenoff, Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy

Prof. Burkhard Becher, Institute of Experimental Immunology, UZH

Mr Iain Nixon, Head and Neck Surgeon, NHS Lothian

UKRMP2 Engineered Cell Environment Hub 

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