Coralie Sengenès, Institut RESTORE, Toulouse

Coralie Sengenès, PhD
DR Inserm, Responsable Equipe STROMAGICS
Institut RESTORE, Toulouse

Long viewed as a passive storage organ, adipose tissue is now recognized as a key regulator of tissue homeostasis and repair. We have identified it as a reservoir of mesenchymal stromal cells that can be mobilized in response to physiological and pathological signals. These cells migrate to target tissues to support muscle regeneration, remodel lymph node stroma during inflammation, or contribute to ectopic adipocyte formation—such as in skeletal muscle—thereby promoting metabolic dysfunctions. This functional plasticity makes adipose stromal cells powerful systemic regulators of tissue fate, with both regenerative and pathological potential.

Biography

Coralie Sengenès is a Research Director at INSERM and leads the STROMAGICS team at the RESTORE Institute in Toulouse. Trained in cellular physiology and pharmacology in Paris and Toulouse, she completed her PhD on adipose tissue biology and metabolism before moving to Germany for a postdoc on adipose stromal cells. Over the past two decades, she has become an expert in the biology and mobility of adipose stromal cells, uncovering their roles far beyond fat — in muscle regeneration, immune remodeling, and metabolic dysfunction. Her work now focuses on how these migratory cells shape tissue health during aging, with the goal of revealing new therapeutic pathways.