Spatial Biology – The New Frontier | June 16-17, 2026 | Rockville, MD
SPATIAL BIOLOGY 2026 AGENDA
Meeting Goals:
- Enable practical use of spatial maps for disease mechanism discovery, translational and clinical studies
- Lower barriers for community data integration and spatial map expansion
- Address new challenges and explore the next frontier for spatial biology
Themes:
- Practical use of spatial maps to generate and test hypotheses describe microenvironments of functional tissue units (3D)
- Is it representative?: How do you know to trust the most complex integration of spatial data?
- Making good time: Biology across the lifespan (4D)
- On the basis of sex: Discovering sex differences to understand health and disease
- New and emerging platforms for spatial analyses for preclinical and translational use
June 16 Tuesday 2026
| Time | Topic / Speaker |
|---|---|
| 8:00 – 8:15am | Welcome |
| 8:15 – 9:00am | Keynote – Dr. Xiaowei Zhuang |
| 9:00 – 9:15am | BREAK |
| 9:15 – 10:55am | Practical use of spatial maps to generate and test hypotheses describe microenvironments of functional tissue units (3D). |
| 9:15 – 9:45am | Dr. Rong Fan |
| 9:45 – 10:15am | Dr. Gloria Pryhuber |
| 10:15 – 10:35am | Dr. Shuoshuo Wang, Broad Institute |
| From Surgical Specimen to Spatial Insight: A Technical Framework for Biobanking and Mapping Functional Lymphatic Microenvironments. | |
| 10:35 – 10:55am | Dr. Geremy Clair, PNNL |
| Spatial omics technologies have revealed novel cellular and molecular changes in BPD and IPF lungs. | |
| 11:15am – 1:15pm | Lunch and Poster Session |
| 1:15 – 2:55pm | Is it representative?: How do you know to trust the most complex integration of spatial data? |
| 1:15 – 1:45pm | Dr. Katalin Susztak |
| 1:45 – 2:15pm | Dr. Sylvia K. Plevritis |
| 2:15 – 2:35pm | Eric Cramer, Oregon Health and Science University |
| Bridging Agent-Based Simulation and Clinical Spatial Profiling with a Tumor-Immune Dynamic Landscape. | |
| 2:35 – 2:55pm | Dr. Andreas Bueckle, Indiana University |
| Spatial Maps as Exploration Tools: Emerging VR Platforms for 3D Tissue Microenvironments. | |
| 3:00 – 3:15pm | BREAK |
| 3:15 – 4:55 pm | Making good time: Biology across the lifespan (4D) |
| 3:15 – 3:45pm | Dr. Sanjay Jain |
| 3:45 – 4:15pm | Dr. Rahul Satija |
| 4:15 – 4:35pm | Dr. Abdalla Ahmed, Stanford University |
| Temporal and Spatial Profiling of the Aging Human Intestine at Single Cell Resolution Reveals Epigenetic Regulators of Aging. | |
| 4:35 – 4:55pm | Yang Miao, Duke University |
| Age-related cell type abundance changes, senescence marker expression gradients, and age-related spatial pattern changes in the healthy human colon. | |
| 5:00pm | Adjourn for Day 1 |
June 17 Wednesday 2026
| Time | Topic / Speaker |
|---|---|
| 8:00 – 9:40am | On the basis of sex: Discovering sex differences to understand health and disease |
| 8:15 – 8:45am | Dr. Hongkui Zeng |
| 8:45 – 9:15am | Dr. Noël Burtt |
| 9:15 – 9:35am | Dr. Peiran Lu, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia |
| Spatially resolved, multidimensional atlas offers new insights into the molecular and spatial heterogeneity of the human heart. |
|
| 9:35 – 9:55am | Dr. Diane Saunders, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago |
| Mapping the cellular and extracellular organization of the human ovary across the lifespan by single-cell transcriptomics and multiplex antibody-based imaging. | |
| 10:00 – 10:20am | BREAK |
| 10:20am – 12:00pm | New and emerging platforms for spatial analyses, for preclinical and translational use |
| 10:20 – 10:50am | Dr. Beth McQuiston |
| 10:50 – 11:20am | Dr. Chris Larsen |
| 11:20 – 11:40am | Dr. Rosa Nguyen, University of California, Los Angeles |
| PSI-seq offers insight into regulatory mechanisms underlying tumor progression and microenvironmental remodeling. | |
| 11:40am – 12:00pm | Dr. Lieke Michielsen, Cornell University |
| View of spatial variation for individual cell types. | |
| 12:00 – 2:00pm | Lunch and Poster Session |
| 2:00 – 3:00pm | Round Table: What are the next steps? |
| 3:00 – 3:45pm | Keynote – Dr. Garry Nolan |
| 3:45pm | Final Words from Organizers and Adjourn |