2026 Human Cell Atlas
Event Agenda

The 2026 HCA General Meeting will be held at the Joseph B. Martin Conference Center on 16–17 June, and at the Broad Institute on 18 June.

For information on travel and directions to the meeting venues, please click here.

4:00 - 7:00 PM
Local Time (EDT)

Join Vizgen for a tour of their facility in Waltham, MA. The event will include presentations from their co-founders sharing insights into the product roadmap, followed by cocktails and appetizers.

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Local Time (EDT)
The Next Frontier—A Single Cell & Spatial Deep Dive

Discover what’s new, and what’s next, in biology research at this immersive workshop. The program pairs presentations from local researchers and 10x Genomics R&D leaders with practical insights to equip the HCA community for the next decade of discovery. Join us for a first look at the next frontier of Biology research: Atera. See for yourself how we are building a complete, end-to-end ecosystem without compromise:

  • The Spatial Future: Discover Atera, the revolutionary platform that finally eliminates the traditional choices between throughput, plex, and performance.
  • From Bench to Insight: Master the complete workflow with afternoon deep dives on optimizing sample prep for delicate tissues and designing targeted experiments with Atera Select.

Designed to be practical, collaborative, and immediately applicable to your next big breakthrough.

16 June 17 June 18 June
Day 1, 16 June
8:00AM -
9:00AM
Registration
Exhibition Area - Lobby


Coffee + light bites provided

Coffee Break
Sponsored by

Session Details
9:00AM -
9:50AM
Opening Plenary Session
Main Hall - Amphitheater


Welcome Remarks: Jose Ordovas-Montanes

Overview of meeting - Mission and goals: Alexandra-Chloe Villani

State of HCA: ​​Aviv Regev & Sarah Teichmann

 

Jose Ordovas-Montanes
Jose Ordovas-Montanes
Alexandra-Chloe Villani
Alexandra-Chloe Villani
Aviv Regev
Aviv Regev
Sarah Teichmann
Sarah Teichmann
Session Details
9:50AM -
11:15AM
Highlights from HCA 1.0
Main Hall - Amphitheater


Reproduction Bionetwork: Roser Vento Tormo
Adipose Bionetwork: Margo Emont
Musculoskeletal Bionetwork: Carla Cohen
Skin Bionetwork: Maria Kasper
Kidney Bionetwork: Matthias Kretzler

Ask Me Anything

 

Roser Vento Tormo
Roser Vento Tormo
Margo Emont
Margo Emont
Carla Cohen
Carla Cohen
Maria Kasper
Maria Kasper
Matthias Kretzler
Matthias Kretzler
Session Details
11:15AM -
11:45AM
Coffee Break with Exhibitor & Poster viewing
Exhibition Area - Lobby


Coffee + light bites provided

Meet-the-Editors

Barbara Cheifet
Editor, Nature Biotechnology
Madhura Mukhopadhyay
Senior Editor, Nature Methods
Sara Rohban
Scientific Editor, Cell Genomics (Cell Press) 
 

  Coffee Break
Sponsored by
Session Details
11:45AM -
1:00PM
HCA 1.5 - Achievements and Insights
Main Hall - Amphitheater


Immune and Genetic Diversity Bionetworks: Gary Reynolds
Gut Bionetwork: Jose Ordovas-Montanes
Heart Bionetwork: Michela Noseda
Oral & Craniofacial Bionetwork: Kevin Matthew Byrd

Ask me anything

 

Gary Reynolds
Gary Reynolds
Jose Ordovas-Montanes
Jose Ordovas-Montanes
Michela Noseda
Michela Noseda
Kevin Matthew Byrd
Kevin Matthew Byrd
Session Details
1:00PM -
2:15PM
Lunch with Exhibitor & Poster Viewing
Exhibition Area - Lobby


Lunch + coffee provided
 

  Lunch
Sponsored by
Session Details
2:15PM -
2:55PM
Keynote Address
Main Hall - Amphitheater


Keynote Address, Day I: Jure Leskovec

 

Jure Leskovec
Jure Leskovec
Session Details
2:55PM -
4:05PM
Toward HCA 2.0: Approaches to Spatial, Diversity, and Disease Integration
Main Hall - Amphitheater


Breast Bionetwork: Kai Kessenbrock
Development Bionetwork: Muzlifah Haniffa
Lung Bionetwork: Martijn Nawijn
Nervous System (Brain) Bionetwork: Trygve Bakkan

 

 

Kai Kessenbrock
Kai Kessenbrock
Muzlifah Haniffa
Muzlifah Haniffa
Martijn Nawijn
Martijn Nawijn
Trygve Bakken
Trygve Bakken
Session Details
4:05PM -
4:35PM
Coffee Break with Exhibitor & Poster viewing
Exhibition Area - Lobby


Coffee + light bites available
 

Meet-the-Editors

Barbara Cheifet
Editor, Nature Biotechnology
Madhura Mukhopadhyay
Senior Editor, Nature Methods
Sara Rohban
Scientific Editor, Cell Genomics (Cell Press) 
 

  Coffee Break 
Sponsored by
Session Details
4:35PM -
5:35PM
Technology Showcase I
Main Hall - Amphitheater


Technology Showcase I

 

Session Details
5:40PM -
6:50PM
Breakout Session 1: Cross-Tissue integration and annotation to achieve a unified reference
Main Hall - Amphitheater


Breakout Session Leaders: Kevin Matthew Byrd & Gary Reynolds

 

Kevin Matthew Byrd
Kevin Matthew Byrd
Gary Reynolds
Gary Reynolds
Session Details
Breakout Session 2: From V1 Atlases to HCA Foundation Models
Breakout Room - Bray

 

Breakout Session Leader: Malte Luecken

 

Malte Luecken
Malte Luecken
Session Details
Breakout Session 3: Building Reference Atlases across Lifespan
Breakout Room - Pechet


Breakout Session Leaders: Deanne Taylor

 

Deanne Taylor
Deanne Taylor
Session Details
Breakout Session 4: Building on and Leveraging V1 Atlases to Map Environmental Exposures
Breakout Room - 214


Breakout Session Leader: Sophia George & Yesid Cuesta Astroz
 

 

Sophia George
Sophia George
Yesid Cuesta Astroz
Yesid Cuesta Astroz
Session Details
6:50PM -
7:00PM
Closing Remarks
Exhibition Area - Lobby


 

 

John Randell
John Randell
Muzlifah Haniffa
Muzlifah Haniffa
Aviv Regev
Aviv Regev
Sarah Teichmann
Sarah Teichmann
Alexandra-Chloe Villani
Alexandra-Chloe Villani
Session Details
Reception with Exhibitor & Poster Viewing
Main Hall - Amphitheater


Light bites + drinks to be served

Session Details
Time Zone: (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada) [Change Time Zone]