Main expertise:
Single-cell multi-omics
Spatial multi-omics
Immuno-oncology
Neuroscience
Aging
Prof. Rong Fan is the Harold Hodgkinson Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Yale University and a Professor of Pathology at Yale School of Medicine. Prof. Fan’s research has made groundbreaking contributions to the development of micro- and nanofluidics devices for single-cell and spatial omics, particularly in cancer research, immunology, and immuno-oncology. These technologies, along with the automation systems were commercialized by IsoPlexis (now Bruker, BRKR) and are used by over 100 cancer centers and pharmaceutical companies (including all top 15 major global pharmaceutical firms) to evaluate cancer immunotherapies. In the emerging field of spatial omics, Prof. Fan reported the first spatial multi-omics and spatial epigenome sequencing technologies, commercially available through AtlasXomics. He further developed a microfluidic device-based Patho-DBiT, the first clinical pathology-compatible spatial total RNA transcriptome sequencing technology, holding immense potential to revolutionize clinical diagnostics and precision medicine.
Dr. Fan’s innovations have led to the founding of multiple biotech companies, including IsoPlexis, Singleron Biotechnologies, and AtlasXomics, where he serves as a co-founder and scientific advisor. He has also served on the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) of Bio-Techne (NASDAQ: TECH) and chaired the Advisory Board of BioPath, a program dedicated to public science advocacy, education, and biotech workforce development. His contributions to Science, Engineering, and Societal Impact have been recognized with numerous prestigious awards, including the NCI Howard Temin Career Transition Award, the NSF CAREER Award, the Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering, and the 2024 BMES CMBE Momentum Award. He has been elected to the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE), and the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).
Publications:
Spatial dynamics of brain development and neuroinflammation. Nature 2025
Spatially Exploring RNA Biology in Archival Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Tissues via Patho-DBiT. Cell 2024
Single-cell CAR T atlas reveals type-2 function in 8-year leukemia remission. Nature 2024
Spatial epigenome-transcriptome co-profiling of mammalian tissues. Nature 2023
High-plex protein and whole transcriptome co-mapping at cellular resolution with spatial CITE-seq, Nature Biotechnology 2023.
Conflict of Interest:
Prof. Fan is Co-Founder of and scientific advisor to IsoPlexis, Singleron Biotechnologies, and AtlasXomics.
Prof. Mason and his lab develops and deploys computational and experimental methodologies to identify the functional genetic elements of the human genome and metagenome. We perform research in three main areas: (1) clinical genetics, including molecular profiling of aggressive cancers, unusual diseases, and astronauts, (2) computational biology, including new biochemical and computational techniques in DNA/RNA sequencing and DNA/RNA base modifications, and (3) genome engineering for new cell, genome, and microbiome modifications. He aims to better understand the functional elements of the human genome and metagenome, to repair or re-engineer genetic networks for ameliorating disease and lay the foundation to enable long-term human survival.
Prof. Mason is the WorldQuant Professor of Genomics and Computational Biomedicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he is the Director of the Initiative for Quantitative Prediction, Founder of the Space Omics and Medical Atlas, and Director of the Aerospace Medicine Biobank. He is also co-Founder and global director at Biotia, Founder of the MetaSUB Consortium and BioAstra, and author of The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds and The Age of Prediction.
Prof. Mason has won the NIH’s Transformative R01 Award, the NASA Group Achievement Award, the International Space Station (ISS) R&D Award, the CDC Honor Award for Standardization of Clinical Testing, the Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance Young Investigator award, the Hirschl-Weill-Caulier Career Scientist Award, the Vallee Scholar Award, the WorldQuant Scholar Award, and served on the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Decadal Survey for NASA. He was named as one of the “Brilliant Ten” Scientists by Popular Science, featured as a TEDMED speaker, and called “The Genius of Genetics” by 92Y. He has published legal briefs cited by U.S. District Courts and the U.S. Supreme Court. He is an inventor on four patents and four FDA-authorized diagnostic tests, has co-founded 12 biotechnology companies, serves as an advisor to 31 others, and has also co-founded 5 non-profits.
Main expertise:
Genome engineering
Clinical genetics
Multi-omics
Microbiome
Spatial genomics
Computational Biology
Publications:
Standardized metrics for assessment and reproducibility of imaging-based spatial transcriptomics datasets. Nature Biotechnology 2025
A second space age spanning omics, platforms and medicine across orbits. Nature 2024
Molecular and physiological changes in the SpaceX Inspiration4 civilian crew. Nature 2024
The Space Omics and Medical Atlas (SOMA) and international astronaut biobank. Nature 2024
A global metagenomic map of urban microbiomes and antimicrobial resistance. Cell 2021
Conflict of Interest:
Prof. Mason is a Co-Founder of Aevum (acquired), Bivimi, Biotia, BridgeOmics (acquired), Cosmica Biosciences, Fremen Space, Genome Liberty (acquired), MedAstra, MetaSUB (501c3), Nurture Genomics, Onegevity (acquired), Testing for America (501c3), and Ursa Bio.
Prof. Mason is also a current advisor, shareholder, SAB member, or compensated speaker for: Acuamark Diagnostics, Allen and Company, BaseCamp Research, Bumrungrad International Hospital, Cellanome, Color Genomics, Colossal Biosciences and Technologies, Continuum VC, Deep Space Biology, Element Biosciences, Form Bio, Illumina, Inso Biosciences, Mirimus, New England Biolabs, NVIDIA, Otsuka Pharmaceutical (study funding), Pendulum Health (Whole Biome), Quantum Si, Radence, Romix Biosciences, Seed Health, Seer, TempusAI, Thermo Fisher, United States Innovation Technologies (USIT), and WorldQuant. WorldQuant funds research in the laboratory, provides equity for WorldQuant companies, and also Dr. Mason advises the WorldQuant Foundry.
Main expertise:
Functional genomics
CRISPR screens
Population genetics
Multi-omics
Computational biology
Prof. Lappalainen is a leader in human functional genomics with a background in systems genetics and the integration of large-scale human population data with CRISPR-based experimental perturbations. Her research focuses on developing advanced computational methods to map genetic effects on molecular traits, and extract insights from multi-omic data both from human populations and from single-cell data. The ultimate goal of her research is to uncover functional genetic architecture of human disease and translate these findings into understanding of molecular processes underlying disease risk.
As Director of SciLifeLab's National Genomics Infrastructure (NGI) in Sweden, she is a key driver of the national genomics technology and applications strategy, overseeing a major genomics infrastructure with many partners nationally and internationally. Her research group is based both in KTH Royal Institute of Technology and SciLifeLab in Stockholm, Sweden and at the New York Genome Center.
Prof. Lappalainen has held leadership and key contributing roles in major research consortia, such as the GTEx and GEUVADIS Consortia, championing the creation of essential, shared, open-access data resources for the scientific community. Via her roles in national and international research community initatives, she has been part of shaping the vision for human genetics and genomics. Prof. Lappalainen serves as an advisor to multiple institutes, programs and companies in the fields of genomics and biotechnology.
Publications:
Multiset correlation and factor analysis enables exploration of multi-omic data. Cell Genomics 2023
Discovery of target genes and pathways of blood trait loci using pooled CRISPR screens and single cell RNA sequencing. Science 2023
Transcriptome variation in human tissues revealed by long-read sequencing. Nature 2022
The GTEx Consortium atlas of genetic regulatory effects across human tissues. Science 2021
Cell type specific genetic regulation of gene expression across human tissues. Science 2021
Conflict of Interest:
Tuuli Lappalainen is a scientific advisor and has equity in Variant Bio and has received speaker honoraria from Abbvie and Merck.
Prof. Holger Heyn (PhD)
Prof. Heyn is an expert in Genomics with a background in single-cell and spatial sequencing technologies as well as genome-wide genomics profiling approaches. His research activities focus on translational and clinical science with a strong focus on immune-based diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
Prof. Heyn is Group Leader of the Single Cell Genomics group at the Spanish National Center for Genomic Analysis (CNAG) joins biotechnology with computational biology to establish best practices in single-cell and spatial research. The group combines translational research and Research & Development activities with a focus on immuno-oncology and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Prof. Heyn is a member of the Human Cell Atlas (HCA) project, with projects to generate atlases of human immune cells, the kidney and the pancreas. He is co-chairing the Spatial Taskforce, the Industry Partnership Program (IPP) and the Standards and Technology working group (STWG) to scout, benchmark and scale emerging technologies for the HCA and Genomics community.
As co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Omniscope, he brings high-resolution profiling technologies to clinical application, developing advanced diagnostics and therapeutics tools. Omniscope is a Systems Immunology company providing solutions to detect diseases for interceptive medicine and to develop next-generation cell therapies. Reading the immune system as a universal sensor of diseases, Omniscope’s technologies will enable modern medicine and disrupt current practices in health care.
Main expertise:
Sequencing technology
Single-cell genomics
Spatial genomics
Clinical research
Immunology
Publications:
STAMP: Single-cell transcriptomics analysis and multimodal profiling through imaging. Cell 2025
Spatiotemporal T-cell tracking for personalized T-cell receptor T-cell therapy designs in childhood cancer. Annals of Oncology 2025
An atlas of cells in the human tonsil. Immunity 2024
Systematic benchmarking of single-cell ATAC-sequencing protocols. Nature Biotechnology 2023
Benchmarking Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Protocols for Cell Atlas Projects. Nature Biotechnology 2020
Conflict of Interest:
Prof. Heyn is founder of Codex Insights, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Omniscope, a Scientific Advisory Board member at Bruker/Nanostring and Mirxes, a consultant for Moderna and Singularity, and has received honoraria from Genentech.
Main expertise:
Single-cell genomics
Spatial genomics
Human genomics
Genomics platforms
Lung diseases
Prof. Nick Banovich leads transformative research on how genetic and molecular variation contributes to human disease. By leveraging advanced genomic technologies, including single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics, his team maps genetic and molecular changes at single-cell resolution, providing critical insights into disease initiation and progression. This work aims to identify novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets to improve patient outcomes, with a strong focus on chronic lung diseases alongside expertise across multiple disease areas.
At the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), Prof. Banovich serves as Vice President of Scientific Development and Director of the Bioinnovation and Genome Sciences Division. His laboratory employs multiomics approaches to understand how human genetic variation shapes complex disease onset, progression, and treatment response. In addition to applying cutting-edge genomic technologies, the lab develops innovative experimental and computational methods to expand the capabilities of single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, including pioneering tissue-processing workflows.
As the founding Director of TGen’s Center for Spatial Multiomics (COSMO), Prof. Banovich oversees the strategic direction and management of TGen’s spatial omics infrastructure. In this role, he has led the onboarding of multiple spatial platforms, often among the first in the United States—and globally—to access these emerging technologies. Prof. Banovich is also an active member of several major consortia, including the Human Cell Atlas Lung Biological Network and the NHLBI LungMap Consortium.
Publications:
Spatial transcriptomics identifies molecular niche dysregulation associated with distal lung remodeling in pulmonary fibrosis.Nature Genetics 2025
A spatial transcriptomic atlas of acute neonatal lung injury across development and disease severity. AJP Lung 2025
Cell-type-specific and disease-associated expression quantitative trait loci in the human lung. Nature Genetics 2024
A prognostic molecular signature of hepatic steatosis is spatially heterogeneous and dynamic in human liver. Cell Reports Medicine 2024
Locoregional delivery of IL-13Rα2-targeting CAR-T cells in recurrent high-grade glioma: a phase 1 trial. Nature Medicine 2024
Conflict of Interest:
None.
Main expertise:
Spatial genomics
Liquid biopsy
Immuno-oncology
Clinical research
Spatial platforms
Prof. Kulasinghe (PhD) has pioneered spatial transcriptomics, proteomics, and interactomics in the Asia-Pacific region, contributing to world-first studies in lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and tissue atlasing studies of infectious diseases across pandemics. His research aims to understand the underlying pathobiology by using integrative multi-omics approaches.
He is the Founding Scientific Director of the Queensland Spatial Biology Centre (QSBC) at the Wesley Research Institute and leads the Clinical-oMx Lab at the Frazer Institute, University of Queensland.
Prof. Kulasinghe is supported by the MRFF, NHMRC, US DoD, Cancer Australia, Cure Cancer and numerous hospital and philanthropic organisations.
Publications:
Spatial Multi-Omics Models for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. Nature Genetics 2025
Response-Adapted Surgical and Radiotherapy DeEscalation in Resectable Cutaneous Squamous Cell Cancer Using Pembrolizumab: The De-Squamate Study. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2025
Spatial insights into immunotherapy response in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) by multiplexed tissue imaging. Journal of Translational Medicine 2024
Mapping the spatial proteome of head and neck tumors: key immune mediators and metabolic determinants in the tumor microenvironment. GEN Biotechnology 2023
Profiling of lung SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus infection dissects virus-specific host responses and gene signatures. European Respiratory Journal 2022
Conflict of Interest:
Arutha Kulasinghe is on the Scientific Advisory Board for Omapix Solutions, Predxbio, Molecular Instruments and Visiopharm.
Main expertise:
Machine learning and AI
Single-cell genomics
Population genetics
Drug discovery
Genomics platforms
Prof. Joseph Powell is an internationally recognised leader in human genomics, with pioneering contributions to population-scale genetics, single-cell and multi-omic sequencing, and AI-enabled functional biology. His research focuses on understanding causal disease mechanisms and accelerating therapeutic discovery through scalable, next-generation genomic platform systems.
At the Garvan Institute of Medical Research and UNSW, Prof. Powell directs programs that integrate large human cohorts, advanced cellular models and machine learning to map regulatory mechanisms across complex diseases. His teams unite biotechnology, computational biology and stem-cell engineering to deliver discovery pipelines that support translational and clinical innovation. He is a leading contributor to major international initiatives, including the Human Cell Atlas Diversity project, large-scale regulatory mapping efforts, and multiple global consortia shaping the future of precision genomics. His work frequently intersects with industry, in genomics technologies, AI-driven drug discovery and genome annotation. In addition, he provides strategic insight to biotech and VC partners working to translate genomic intelligence into next-generation therapies.
As Co-founder of Celltellus Labs, Prof. Powell advances stem-cell and multi-omic platforms for precision drug discovery. The company integrates large-scale functional genomics with cutting-edge machine learning to uncover actionable targets, validate mechanisms and generate high-confidence translational evidence. Celltellus collaborates with pharmaceutical and AI-driven biotechnology companies to deliver scalable, platform-based solutions for modern therapeutic development.
Publications:
Single-cell eQTL mapping identifies cell type–specific genetic control of autoimmune disease. Science 2022
A village in a dish model system for population-scale hiPSC studies. Nature Communications 2024
Transitioning single-cell genomics into the clinic. Nature Reviews Genetics 2023
Retinal ganglion cell-specific genetic regulation in primary open-angle glaucoma. Cell Genomics 2022
scPred: accurate supervised method for cell-type classification from single-cell RNA-seq data. Genome Biology 2019
Conflict of Interest:
Prof. Powell is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Celltellus Labs, a consultant for Relation Therapeutics, and has received honoraria from Boehringer Ingelheim and Pfizer.
Prof. Ziegenhain is biotechnologist focusing on emerging single-cell sequencing technologies. He has developed several single-cell methods (e.g. Smart-seq3) and related computational tools to study transcriptional processes in human cells at population scale.
He is a Group leader at the Karolinska Institutet (KI) with research topics ranging from technology development in both experimental multi-omic assays and computational/statistical frameworks to biomedical questions. His team is investigating transcriptional responses and alternative splicing patterns in cancers and interacting immune cells.
Christoph is also co-founder and CEO of Xpress Genomics; a sequencing technology company committed to providing highest quality single-cell RNA sequencing tools built upon discoveries made in collaboration with Prof. Sandberg (KI). Xpress Genomics is a disruptive company in the NGS service provider space, delivering cutting-edge technologies to researchers at high scale.
Main expertise:
Sequencing technology
Single-cell genomics
Automation
Computational Biology
Bioinformatics
Publications:
Scalable single-cell RNA sequencing from full transcripts with Smart-seq3xpress. Nature Biotechnology 2022.
BAMboozle removes genetic variation from human sequence data for open data sharing. Nature Communications 2021
Single-cell RNA counting at allele and isoform resolution using Smart-seq3. Nature Biotechnology 2020.
Comparative analysis of single-cell RNA sequencing methods. Molecular Cell 2017
Characterization of rare, dormant, and therapy-resistant cells in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Cancer Cell 2016
Conflict of Interest:
Christoph Ziegenhain is co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Xpress Genomics AB.
Main expertise:
Computational biology
Machine learning
Single-cell genomics
Spatial genomics
Human diversity
Prof. Prabhakar is Associate Director of Spatial and Single Cell Systems and Senior Group Leader of Systems Biology and Data Analytics at the A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS). His research group uses cutting-edge spatial and single-cell technologies to generate massive omics datasets from clinical samples, and develops novel algorithms to identify actionable biomarkers and disease mechanisms.
He leads the 5-nation effort to build the first multi-national single cell atlas of human immune diversity, which revealed unexpectedly large differences between ethnicities. He has led two translationally focused spatial omics consortia, including TISHUMAP, which uses multimodal AI to combine subcellular-resolution spatial RNA profiling with tissue imaging and matched clinical metadata to identify new diagnostic and targetable biomarkers for multiple cancers and fibroinflammatory conditions.
He serves on the international Human Cell Atlas (HCA) consortium’s Organizing and Executive Committees, as well as the HCA-Asia Steering Committee. He founded the Singapore Single Cell Network and co-leads the HCA’s Genetic Diversity Network and Data Ecosystem Oversight group. He has led multiple research collaborations with Biotech and Pharma industry partners.
Publications:
Asian diversity in human immune cells. Cell 2025
BANKSY unifies cell typing and tissue domain segmentation for scalable spatial omics data analysis. Nature Genetics 2024
Single-cell and bulk transcriptome sequencing identifies two epithelial tumor cell states and refines the consensus molecular classification of colorectal cancer. Nature Genetics 2022
Reference component analysis of single-cell transcriptomes elucidates cellular heterogeneity in human colorectal tumors. Nature Genetics 2017
Histone Acetylome-wide Association Study of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cell 2016
Conflict of Interest:
Prof. Prabhakar has received research support from Illumina, MSD, 10x Genomics, AWS, Applied Materials and P&G, as well as a consulting fee from MSD.