Dr John A. Tadross

Research focus

My research focuses on elucidating the human neurocircuitry regulating body weight.

Background and experience

I have combined clinical medicine with bench research throughout my professional training. This included an MB/PhD Programme at Imperial College (2003-2014), an Academic Foundation Programme in Cambridge (2014-2016), an Academic Clinical Fellowship (Cambridge 2016-2019) and an NIHR Clinical Lectureship (Cambridge, 2019-2022). I am a currently a Consultant in Histopathology and Solid Tumour Molecular Pathology at Cambridge University Hospitals (CUH) and Molecular Pathology Clinical Lead for the East Genomics Laboratory Hub. I am also an Affiliate Investigator in the Institute of Metabolic Science where my research focuses on gleaning the most data possible from precious human tissue samples.

Working at the IMS-MRL

My research focuses on elucidating the human neurocircuitry regulating body weight by applying multi-modal single-cell ‘omics’ techniques to human tissue samples, and I lead the “normal hypothalamic atlas project” in collaboration with Cambridge Brain Bank and Giles Yeo. I also collaborate with Professor M Gurnell & Dr R Casey, providing endocrine pathology input to their ongoing programs. The best thing about working at the IMS-MRL is the awesome working environment and appetite for high-risk, high-reward science.

Publications

Key publications:

Nicola PA, Lawson ARJ, Tidd A, Imbert J, Ishida Y, Wylie LA, Scott PA, Roberts K, Harvey LMR, Lensing SV, Cheng W, Abascal F, Leongamornlert D, Hooks Y, Mayho M, Müller-Sienerth N, Widaa S, Mincarelli L, Illing J, Peci F, Ng BL, Jarman GL, Russell AJC, Mahbubani KTA, Saeb-Parsy K, Paterson AL, Chatterjee K, Rahbari R, Bayraktar OA, Stratton MR, Campbell PJ, Tadross JA, Schoenmakers N, Martincorena I. Polyclonal selection of immune checkpoint mutations in thyroid autoimmunity. Nature (2026). doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10493-9

Natalie J. Wallis et al. Canine genome-wide association study identifies DENND1B as an obesity gene in dogs and humans.Science387,eads2145(2025).DOI:10.1126/science.ads2145

Tadross, J.A., Steuernagel, L., Dowsett, G.K.C. et al. A comprehensive spatio-cellular map of the human hypothalamus. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08504-8

Tadross JA, Lam BY, Yeo GSH. New molecular techniques for exploring appetite pathways. Current Opinion in Endocrine and Metabolic Research (2022) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coemr.2021.100309

Lam BY, Williamson A, Finer S, Day F, Tadross JA, Gonçalves Soares A, Wade K, Melvin A, Buller S, Rosmaninho-Salgado J, Dowsett G, Ridley K, Xu Z, Cimino I, Rimmington D, Rainbow K, Duckett K, Holmqvist S, Khan A, Genes and Health Research Team, Trembath R, Martin H, Coll AP, Rowitch D, Wareham N, van Heel D, Timpson N, Ong K, Langenberg C, Perry J, Yeo GSH, O'Rahilly S. The Melanocortin 3 Receptor links nutritional state to the timing of puberty, linear growth and body composition. Nature (2021) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04088-9

Mulderrig L, Garaycoechea J, Tuong Z, Millington C, Dingler F, Ferdinand J, Gaul L, Tadross JA, Arends M, O'Rahilly S, Crossan G, Clatworthy M, Patel K. Formaldehyde induced transcriptional stress triggers an anorexic DNA damage response. Nature (2021) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04133-7

Coll AP, Chen M, Taskar P, Rimmington D, Patel S, Tadross JA, Cimino I, Yang M, Welsh P, Virtue S, Goldspink DA, Miedzybrodzka EL, Konopka AR, Esponda RR, Huang JT, Tung YCL, Rodriguez-Cuenca S, Tomaz RA, Harding HP, Melvin A, Yeo GSH, Preiss D, Vidal-Puig A, Vallier L, Nair KS, Wareham NJ, Ron D, Gribble F, Reimann F, Sattar N, Savage DB, Allan B, O'Rahilly S. GDF15 mediates the effects of metformin on body weight and energy balance. Nature (2020) https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1911-y

Adriaenssens AE, Biggs EK, Darwish T, Tadross J, Sukthankar T, Girish M, Polex-Wolf J, Lam BY, Zvetkova I, Pan W, Chiarugi D, Yeo GSH, Blouet C, Gribble FM, Reimann F. Glucose-Dependent Insulinotropic Polypeptide Receptor-Expressing Cells in the Hypothalamus Regulate Food Intake. Cell Metabolism (2019) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2019.07.013

Assistant Research Professor, IMS-MRL

Co-Director, Histology Core

Consultant in Histopathology and Solid Tumour Molecular Pathology, CUH

Molecular Pathology Clinical Lead, East Genomics Laboratory Hub

Coll, O'Rahilly & Yeo Groups