Peter's research focuses on developing computational and statistical methods for single‑cell genomics to uncover cellular heterogeneity and regulatory mechanisms in development, immunity, and disease. His work spans algorithm design, integrative analysis of large‑scale single‑cell data, and translational applications in precision medicine.

He has authored numerous highly cited publications that have shaped the field of single‑cell analysis and computational genomics. Since his time in Harvard Medical School and Altos Labs, his lab continues to advance methods that enable deeper insight into complex biological systems and inform therapeutic discovery.

Peter is currently a visiting fellow at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Vienna, Austria.

Fuchou leads the Single‑Cell Biology and Genetics Lab at the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics at Peking University. A pioneer in single‑cell genomics, his work has advanced our understanding of mammalian development, stem cell biology, and reproductive biology through innovative methods including single‑cell sequencing and lineage tracing.

His research has contributed key insights into early embryonic development, gametogenesis, and cellular heterogeneity, and he has authored numerous high‑impact publications in the field. His work bridges fundamental biology and translational applications in human health.

Fuchou is currently a Professor at BIOPIC, College of Life Sciences, Peking University. He is also Associate Director of Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Genomics (ICG).

Angela is a bioengineer with interdisciplinary expertise in microfluidics, molecular biology, genomics, and bioinformatics. Her lab develops platform technologies that enable quantitative measurement and analysis of complex biological systems, spanning cancer biology, ecology and adaptation, and neuroscience. 

She was named one of MIT Technology Review Innovators under 35 Asia (2017); a World Economic Forum Young Scientist (2018); an Outstanding Young Faculty by IEEE EMBS (Micro and Nanotechnology in Medicine) (2018); and a Schmidt Polymaths (2025). She has also co-founded two biotech companies including Agenovir, sold in 2018, and Z-Omics, currently developing single-cell technology for target discovery.

Angela is currently an Associate Professor jointly appointed in the Division of Life Science and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. 

Heidie specializes in cancer biology and translational research. Her work focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying lung cancer progression and therapeutic resistance, with particular interest in drug-tolerant cancer cell states and strategies to prevent acquired resistance. She has contributed to research spanning cancer genomics, molecular biology and targeted therapeutics, and has been involved in advancing biomedical research in the Philippines through the DOST Balik Scientist Program.

Elaine specializes in cancer genomics and single-cell biology, with a focus on understanding clonal evolution and disease progression in haematological malignancies. Her work integrates single-cell multi-omics, lineage tracing and computational approaches to characterise tumour heterogeneity and identify clinically relevant cell populations. 

Her work aims to uncover early predictors of disease transformation and inform improved strategies for risk stratification and treatment.
 

Kiyofumi investigates RNA modifications and their roles in gene regulation and cellular function, with particular interest in m6A RNA methylation. He has contributed to the development of innovative methods for mapping RNA modifications at single-cell resolution, enabling deeper investigation of molecular crosstalk and cellular heterogeneity. His work combines advanced sequencing and computational approaches to uncover new dimensions of post-transcriptional regulation and disease biology.

Mai's research focuses on transplantation immunology, single-cell genomics and spatial biology. Her work seeks to understand how donor and recipient immune systems interact following organ transplantation and how these interactions influence graft survival and disease outcomes. 

Her research has generated novel insights into donor–recipient immune communication networks, advancing precision approaches to monitoring, predicting and improving long-term transplant outcomes.

George uses single-cell and spatial transcriptomics to investigate how immune and cellular programs develop across tissues and change throughout childhood. His research has contributed to understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying airway development, immune maturation and respiratory disease. In his talk, he will present a comprehensive atlas of paediatric airway tissues, highlighting how immune states and cellular interactions change from infancy through adolescence.

Ruby is Professor at the School of Medicine, National Taiwan University, and Visiting Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the National University of Singapore.

A clinician-scientist trained in obstetrics and gynaecology, her research focuses on ovarian cancer biology, cancer genomics, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Her work has helped redefine EMT as a continuous spectrum and established widely used EMT gene-expression signatures to study tumor heterogeneity and therapeutic response. Her group applies genomics and spatial profiling approaches to understand ovarian cancer subtypes and advance precision oncology.

Vaibhao is a Senior Staff Scientist at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and Conjoint Lecturer at UNSW Sydney. His research focuses on cardiac fibroblasts and stromal cells, and their roles in heart repair, regeneration and disease. Using single-cell and spatial multi-omics, mouse genetics and advanced imaging approaches, he investigates the cellular mechanisms underlying cardiac fibrosis and tissue remodelling. His work has revealed important insights into fibroblast heterogeneity, activation and function following cardiac injury, with the goal of identifying new therapeutic strategies for heart disease.

Natini is a clinician-scientist  focusing on molecular genetics, cancer genetics and molecular pathology, with expertise in genomics, next-generation sequencing and biomarker discovery. Her work applies integrated genomic approaches to understand disease mechanisms and advance precision medicine and molecular diagnostics. 

She has published extensively in cancer and human genetics and previously served as Director of the Program in Translational Medicine. She was also recognised among Mahidol University’s Top 100 Researchers for 2026.

Hideya is Director of the Center for Genome and Medical Sciences at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science and a researcher at RIKEN.

His research focuses on systems genomics, transcriptional regulation and the functional interpretation of non-coding regions of the genome. He has made significant contributions to large-scale transcriptome and CAGE analyses, genome annotation, and the study of cis-regulatory elements and enhancers. 

Kamran integrates spatial omics, single-cell biology and large-scale clinical datasets to investigate tumour heterogeneity, cellular interactions and the spatial organisation of the tumour microenvironment.

His work develops computational approaches to identify tumour-intrinsic programmes and immune–stromal interactions associated with disease progression and patient outcomes.

Arutha leades the Clinical-oMx Lab at the Frazer Institute, University of Queensland and is the Founding Scientific Director of the Queensland Spatial Biology Centre (QSBC) at the Wesley Research Institute.

He has contributed to world-first studies in lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and tissue atlasing studies of infectious diseases across pandemics. His work integrates multi-omics approaches to uncover disease mechanisms and advance precision oncology. 

He is the recipient of the Cure Cancer "Researcher of the Year" 2023 and named in the "Top Innovators Award" by the Australian for 2024.

Hae‑Ock is a cancer researcher and immunologist with extensive experience in single‑cell transcriptomics and translational oncology.

She received her PhD in Immunology from Northwestern University in the USA and, in 2013, joined the Samsung Genome Institute where she applied single‑cell technologies to study diverse cancer types. In 2020, she moved to the Catholic University of Korea, where her research focuses on lung cancer, aiming to identify predictive biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets to improve precision oncology.

Dr. Yuejiao Li is currently an Associate Researcher in Biotechnology at the BGI Research, Shenzhen.

Her research focuses on using multi-omics approaches, including single-cell and spatial omics technologies, to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying human embryonic development and birth defects. She has published multiple research articles in Nature, Clinical and Translational Medicine, Journal of Genetics and Genomics, and Stem Cell Research & Therapy. 

Ryan leads a research group investigating the epigenome and cell identity, at the University of Western Australia and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research.

He undertook postdoctoral studies at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he developed and applied new techniques to map the epigenome and transcriptome. His lab is focused on understanding the role of the epigenome in regulation of cell identity, and developing molecular tools to precisely edit the epigenome and transcriptional activity to control cell state and functions.

Partha is a National Science Chair of the Government of India, Distinguished Professor at the John C. Martin Centre for Liver Research & Innovations, and Emeritus Professor at the Indian Statistical Institute. He is also the founder of the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics in India.

He has developed novel statistical methodologies for mapping human disease genes, identified genomic factors underlying many diseases notably oral cancer, and has contributed  immensely to capacity-building in human and statistical genetics in India.

Stefano is a computational biologist specialising in bioinformatics, AI, single-cell genomics, and cancer immunology.

He completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne and WEHI in 2019. In 2024, he established his research group at SAiGENCI, where he develops computational and AI approaches to study the immune system and therapy resistance in cancer.

Davis is Head of the Bioinformatics & Cellular Genomics Lab at St Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research (SVI), where he develops statistical and machine-learning methods for analysing large-scale biological data.

His research focuses on single-cell genomics, genetic variation and gene regulation, with applications across cancer and complex diseases. He has contributed to widely used computational methods and open-source software for single-cell analysis. 

Bryony is Director of Research in Audiology at the University of Melbourne, specialising in auditory neuroscience, inner ear biology and regeneration.

Her research focuses on stem cell-based approaches to restoring function in the damaged inner ear, with applications in hearing loss and cochlear therapies. She also leads a global consortium developing the world’s first comprehensive inner ear atlas and works closely with industry and clinical partners to advance regenerative therapies toward human clinical trials.

Drew is an NHMRC Early Leadership Fellow and Group Leader of the Context-dependent Genetics Lab at the University of Queensland’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience.

Her research integrates statistical genetics, stem cell platforms and single-cell technologies to investigate how genetic variation influences cellular function across different biological contexts. She uses public data to understand inter-individual variation and stem cell 'village' platforms where stem cells from different donors are co-cultured to enhance scale for genetic interrogations in stem cell systems.

Quan is Head of the Genomics and Machine Learning Laboratory, Scientific Director of the QIMRB National Centre for Spatial Tissue and AI Research (NCSTAR), and founder of an emerging QIMRB spin-out company (STARCO).

His team develops and applies machine learning approaches to analyse single-cell and spatial multiomics data from patient samples and preclinical models.

Thuong currently leads the TB group at OUCRU to improve TB diagnosis and treatment by carrying out clinical trials of new diagnostic tests and therapeutic approaches.

She currently holds a Wellcome International Intermediate Fellowship focused on linking human genotype and immunological phenotype to better understand TB pathogenesis using transcriptomics. 

Her group also seeks to understand more about how genetic variations in both host and pathogen influence disease presentations, treatment response and outcomes.

Anunya is a systems immunologist who combines bioinformatics and genomics to understand why infections and vaccines affect each person differently. As Principal Investigator at Mahidol University's Faculty of Dentistry, she uses single-cell transcriptomics and immunogenomics to decode the regulatory mechanisms underlying individual immune responses. Her work focuses on post-viral immune dysregulation, vaccinology and cross-compartment immunity.

Anjaney is a research scientist at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in India. His work focuses on understanding tumour heterogeneity and phenotypic plasticity using computational modelling, transcriptomic and single-cell data. 

He integrates network modelling with multi-omic and clinical datasets to uncover coordinated mechanisms underlying breast cancer tumour states and identifying potential therapeutic vulnerabilities.

Jong-Eun is an Associate Professor at KAIST’s Graduate School of Medical Science and Engineering and Chief Investigator at the Korea Virus Research Institute, IBS. 

His research integrates RNA biology, single-cell and spatial genomics, and computational approaches to understand human immune systems and tissue microenvironments. His research now focuses on modelling cell states, cellular interactions and tissue organisation across infection, ageing, cancer and inflammatory diseases, using large-scale single-cell and spatial omics.

Woong-Yang is Professor of Molecular Cell Biology at Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine and Director of the Samsung Genome Institute at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul, South Korea. He is also the CEO of Geninus, where he leads the company’s vision to develop global AI-driven solutions for genome-based drug discovery and precision medicine. Widely recognized for his work in genome mapping and cancer genomics, his research focuses on single-cell technologies and translating genomic insights into improved diagnostics and therapies.

Ellis is an Associate Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at The University of Sydney, a Faculty member at The Westmead Institute for Medical Research and the Cluster Lead of Bioinformatics in the Sydney Precision Data Science Centre.

His research interests lie at the interface of statistics and biomedical data science where he specialise in developing and implementing innovative bioinformatics tools to enhance our understanding and treatment of human diseases.

Guangdun is a Principal Investigator and Group Leader at the Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he leads the Spatial Lineage Technology Research Group.

His research focuses on stem cell lineage specification, developmental biology and regenerative medicine, combining single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics and lineage-tracing technologies to decode cell fate in time and space. His work aims to advance lineage-based understanding of development and inform future regenerative therapies

Waradon is a Lecturer in the Department of Microbiology at Mahidol University, with expertise spanning bioinformatics and immunology.

His research focuses on single-cell and multi-omics approaches to understand immune responses in health and disease, particularly during viral infections. He investigates T- and B-cell immunity and the development of single-cell approaches for studying infectious diseases. His work on dengue and SARS-CoV-2 has revealed cellular and molecular signatures associated with immune responses and disease outcomes, supporting improved understanding of host–pathogen interactions and potential therapeutic strategies

Yutaka is a Professor at the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, where he leads the Laboratory of Systems Genomics.

His research focuses on genome and transcriptome analysis, transcriptional regulation, and the development of innovative methods for transcriptome profiling. He has made major contributions to understanding transcriptional start sites, promoter evolution and full-length transcript structures. His research also applies advanced sequencing technologies, including long-read nanopore sequencing, to investigate cancer genomes and structural variation.

Sarah is co-founder and co-chair of HCA. She is currently Chair in Stem Cell Medicine at the University of Cambridge’s Stem Cell Institute and Department of Medicine.

A computational biologist and genomics pioneer, her research develops and applies single-cell and spatial genomics to understand human tissue organization, immune cell diversity, and disease.

Sarah is an EMBO member and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Royal Society, as well as a Fellow of the International Society of Computational Biology. Her work has been recognized by a number of prizes, including the Lister Prize, Biochemical Society Colworth Medal, Royal Society Crick Lecture and EMBO Gold Medal.

James is a PI in Translational Bioinformatics at the William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London.

His research combines transcriptomics, RNA biology and machine learning to investigate human ageing, metabolic and cardiovascular disease, dementia, and responses to exercise. With a background spanning pharmaceutical research, molecular physiology and bioinformatics, he has pioneered molecular approaches to understanding variability in treatment response and developed transcriptomic models for biomarker discovery, disease prediction and drug repurposing.

Casimiro is an expert in the Division of Science Policy and Capacity-Building at UNESCO, where he works at the intersection of science policy, international cooperation, and open science. Trained as a medical doctor at the University of Palermo, he later specialized in international cooperation at IRIS in Paris.

At UNESCO, he leads and contributes to global initiatives that strengthen scientific collaboration and capacity building, including projects such as PERFORM and partnerships supporting equitable access to genomics and open science, including collaboration with the Human Cell Atlas to promote inclusive and ethical global research.

Jingjing is a Professor at the Liangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University, whose work focuses on single-cell omics, computational genomics and complex disease biology.

Her research integrates large-scale single-cell datasets with computational approaches to investigate cellular heterogeneity, cell-type evolution and disease-associated regulatory programs. She has contributed to cross-species cell atlases and studies of developmental and tumour biology, including applications of single-cell multi-omics and spatial transcriptomics. 

Emily leads the Regulatory Systems Laboratory at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and is an Associate Professor at UNSW Sydney.

Her research focuses on decoding the non-coding human genome to understand gene regulation in development, aging, and disease. Combining computational genomics with experimental biology, her team investigates regulatory elements that control cell identity and contribute to human disease.

She is also a recipient of the Fenner Medal from the Australian Academy of Science.

Ying is a Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide and a Breakthrough T1D International Postdoctoral Fellow.

Her research focuses on the immunogenomics of type 1 diabetes, integrating single-cell and bulk transcriptomics, epigenomics, 3D genomics and computational bioinformatics to investigate disease-driving genes and regulatory networks. Working with longitudinal samples from children at risk of T1D, she aims to identify molecular changes that precede disease onset and uncover potential therapeutic targets. Her work combines genomic discovery with functional validation to advance strategies for T1D prevention and treatment

Yun Xia is a Nanyang Assistant Professor and Provost’s Chair in Stem Cell Biology at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

Her research focuses on developing human stem cell-based models to study kidney development and disease. Her laboratory uses direct differentiation and multicellular self-organization to generate kidney organoids that recapitulate the structure and function of the native organ, enabling disease modelling and drug discovery.

She received the Stem Cell Society Singapore Dr. Susan Lim Young Investigator Award in 2020 and joined the EMBO Global Investigator Network in 2021. Since 2022, she has served as an Associate Editor for Kidney International.

Angli is a Postdoc Scientist and NHMRC Investigator Fellow (EL1) in Powell Lab at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research.

His research focuses on genetic regulation at single-cell resolution, integrating statistical genetics, single-cell multi-omics and whole-genome sequencing to understand disease-associated regulatory mechanisms. He leads the TenK10K multiome project, a large-scale initiative profiling immune cells from thousands of individuals to map genetic effects on chromatin accessibility. His work bridges population genetics and cellular genomics to uncover mechanisms underlying complex diseases, including autoimmune disorders.

Jian Yang is a New Cornerstone Investigator and Zhen-Xing Endowed Professor of Statistical Genetics at the School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, China.

His research focuses on genomic variation and its links to complex traits. He was the 2012 recipient of the Centenary Institute Lawrence Creative Prize, in recognition of his contribution to solving the ‘missing heritability’ paradox. He was awarded the Australian Academy of Science Ruth Stephens Gani Medal for distinguished research in human genetics (2015), and the Prime Minister’s Prize for Sciences - Frank Fenner Prize for Life Scientist of the Year (2017).

Seyhan is a Group Leader at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, where she leads the Precision Immunology Program.

Her research focuses on developing precision biomarkers to aid clinical decision-making. Seyhan's expertise spans biostatistics, genetics, epidemiology, and bioinformatics, and she has been recognized for her significant contributions to the fields of population genetics, single-cell genomics, computational biology, autoimmune diseases, and eye health.

Sifan is a PhD student specialising in immunology and translational biomedical research. Her work investigates immune responses in infectious disease and cancer, with a focus on T-cell biology, vaccine responses and the tumour microenvironment. She has contributed to studies using human tissue models and advanced immunological approaches to understand immune activation and disease progression. Her recent research examines cellular immune responses in severe pneumonia and non-small cell lung cancer, with the broader aim of informing improved vaccines, immunotherapies and personalised approaches to disease management.