Empowering Biology and Medicine with Single-Cell and Spatial Omics

In human and other living organisms, tissue functions arise from collective actions of many different types of cells. Inside cells, thousands of genes form complex interaction networks to give rise to cellular functions. Recent technological developments have made it possible to characterize individual cells at the genome scale and in the spatial context of intact tissues. A variety of single-cell and spatial omics methods have emerged to allow the measurement of genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic properties of cells with single-cell sensitivity and/or high spatial resolution. These techniques have been broadly applied to elucidate biological or medical questions ranging from embryonic development to aging, from autoimmune disease to cancer, from cognitive science to neurological disorders, and so forth, touching upon nearly every corner of basic and clinical research. This conference seeks to bring together thought leaders in life sciences and medicine with innovators in single-cell and spatial technologies under the same roof to discuss latest technology developments in the field, the prospects of single-cell and spatial technologies to expedite biological discoveries at an unprecedented scale, and the translation of new findings to diagnostics, therapeutics, and precision medicine.