The Second International Conference on Single-cell and Spatial Omics (TICSSO-2) : showcasing the state-of-the-art bioscience achievements

SHENZHEN, China, April 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Second International Conference on Single-cell and Spatial Omics (TICSSO-2), was held from March 29th to April 1st, 2024, in Shenzhen, China. The TICSSO was initiated by Prof. Xinghua Pan (Southern Medical University), Prof. Fuchou Tang (Peking University) and Prof. Guoji Guo (Zhejiang University) in 2023. The Executive Chairmen of TICSSO-2 were Prof. Gang Cao and Prof. Xinghua Pan.

With the theme “Technologic Innovation, Scientific Discovery, Translational Application”, TICSSO-2 focused on the latest advances in single-cell and spatial omics. Three keynote forums and eight sub-forums were held simultaneously during March 29th to 30th, presenting the audience with talks on all aspects of single-cell and spatial omics, including genome, transcriptome, epigenome, proteome, metabolome, temporal and spatial omics, as well as how the advanced technologies are applied in biology and health science. On March 31st and April 1st were four online international forums, with one specifically for young researchers. Throughout the whole conference off and online, 97 speakers from prestigious colleges and institutes of China and abroad gave presentations. Besides the about 2500 on-site attendees, more than 1 million audience viewed the simulcast of the forums.

The conference provides a valuable platform for participants to share their research findings, exchange the latest scientific insights, and build research and translational collaborations. From experimental science to big data analysis, this event spans development, aging, reproduction, genetics, neurology, immunity, oncology, microbiology, and other research fields.

In his opening speech, Academician Li Jin, the president of Fudan University, stated that innovation is the primary driving force for development, and interdisciplinary integration is currently underway. New thoughts, theories and technologies are constantly emerging. In the field of life sciences, old paradigms are no longer sufficient to address new problems, calling for researchers to actively pursue innovation and breakthroughs in practice. As major technological breakthroughs of life sciences in recent years, single-cell and spatial omics technologies guide us to systematically analyze cells, organs, systems in a way of micro-ecosystem and eventually applied to prevent and treat diseases. This new model of research has made exciting progress.

Academician Jianping Fan, Director of the Preparatory Office of Shenzhen University of Technology and the founding President of Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, stated that bioscience is an important discipline to explore the mysteries of life, to interpret the code of life and to serve human health. In recent years, as a breakthrough in bioscience and technology, single-cell and spatial omics technologies have greatly promoted the progress in oncology, microbiology, immunology, neuroscience and other fields. They can not only improve the insight and understanding of bioscience and molecular biology, but also provide new methods and theories for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. The prospect of market development is very bright.

As a special guest speaker, Academician and Professor Qimin Zhan, former Executive Vice President of Peking University systematically presented his studies in the talk “Genomic Alterations and Molecular Features in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma”. Academician and Professor Zemin Zhang, Director of Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Centre of Peking University, shared his recent research progresses on “Application of single-cell technology in tumour microenvironment”. Professor Steven Henikoff, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of USA from Professor of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Institute, released his new progresses in his talk entitled “New CUT&Tag-based tools and applications”.

Two round table summits were held at the opening ceremony. In the first one with the theme of “The present and future of single-cell spatial omics”, several experts shared insights on topics of “Development bottlenecks and ways to break the situation of single-cell and spatial omics technology”, “Cross-integration of single-cell and spatial omics and other technologies”, and “How to realize the potential value of the latest achievements from the Human Cell Atlas project”.

The second roundtable themed “Meet the editors” invited editors from Nature Methods, Nature Cell Biology, Nature Communications, and Precision Clinical Medical to discuss topics such as “What kind of articles are preferred by high-level journals”, “The obstacles between authors and reviewers”, and “The publication volume and trend of single-cell and spatial omics in recent years”.

With the brilliant talks by outstanding speakers, the conference has received overwhelming recognition and appreciation from the audience. TICSSO-2 is hailed as the largest, most influential, and highest academic conference in the field of single-cell and spatial omics in the world. The success hosting of this conference has promoted communication and cooperation among experts in China and abroad. It has driven technological innovation, integration and transformation, as well as industrial upgrading and transformation in the most active frontier field of bioscience. Undoubtedly, it has injected new vitality into research on human health and medicine.

The organizers of this conference are Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (CSBMB) Professional Committee of Basic Medicine, Genetics Society of China (GSA) Professional Committee of Developmental Genetics, Guangdong Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Greater Bay Area Institute of Precision Medicine, Chinese Association for Science and Technology in USA, Guangzhou Medical Industry Association, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Single Cell Technology and Application, Guangzhou Biomedicine and Health Industry Association and the Singleseq.com. It is supported by Chinese Academy of Science Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Shenzhen Society for Brain Science, Science and Technology Innovation Alliance of Guangming Science Park, and Shenzhen Industry Alliance of Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Intelligence.

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