Asian Alliance for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine (AASCRM) Webinar Series April 2026

2026.3.24

Events

Asian Alliance for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine (AASCRM) Webinar Series April 2026

April Session

Brain Organoids in Neuroscience Research – Mechanisms and Therapeutic Strategies

Date: 21 April 2026 (Tuesday)
Time: 11:00-12:30(SGT, CST)/ 12:00-13:30 (JST, KST)/ 14:00-15:30 (AEDT)
Format: Virtual (Zoom Meeting)
Hosts: Shi Yan NG, A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore (SCSS)
Leqian YU, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CSSCR)

Speaker’s Information

Jinyue LIU

A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore

“Spatial architecture of autism pathogenesis during early development”

Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition that is clinical and etiologically diverse. How its pathophysiology emerges over development remains unclear. By combining spatial and single-cell transcriptomics of patient-derived brain organoids, we show that progenitor-neuron partitioning is disrupted and neurons are locally disorganized. Such spatially mosaic disarray persisted into maturation and implicated impaired adhesion between progenitors. Our work suggests that the spatial landscape of cellular processes leading to ASD may be heterogenous than previously thought and proposes a model in which spatially mosaic pathogenesis during early brain development contributes to the variation in clinical symptoms and brain structure among ASD individuals.

Bio
Jinyue is a neurobiologist and principal investigator of the Neuromics lab at the Genome Institute of Singapore. Her research explores the molecular logic of brain patterning, integrating classical biology with modern genomics to uncover how the human brain is organized in health and disease (Xie, Vitkauskas et al. 2026 iScience; Lin et al. accepted in principle, Nature Communications; Singhal et al. 2024 Nature Genetics). She received her Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Harvard University, where she trained under Prof. Joshua Sanes.

Yangfei XIANG

School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, China

“Human Neural Organoids: Brain and Beyond”

Abstract
Human neural organoids are three-dimensional in vitro models designed to recapitulate the structural and functional complexity of the human nervous system. Derived from pluripotent stem cells, these models are generated through either unguided or guided differentiation within 3D cultures. Despite their potential, neural organoids still face technical constraints that limit their physiological fidelity. Our research utilizes guided differentiation to construct specific human brain-region organoids with precision. By integrating multiple brain regions and distinct cell lineages, we have developed technologies that serve as platforms for investigating human-specific development, neural circuitry, disease pathophysiology, and pharmacological responses. This talk will introduce our recent progress in the engineering and application of human neural organoids, specifically focusing on brain substructures, inter-regional circuits, and the brain-body axis.

Bio
Dr. Yangfei Xiang is a Principal Investigator at the Stem Cell and Neurobiology Lab within the School of Life Science and Technology at ShanghaiTech University. He joined the university in 2020, following his research as a postdoc at the Yale School of Medicine. For the past decade, his work has focused on the development and application of human organoid technologies. Dr. Xiang developed early models of cross-brain-region neural circuits and organoid vascularization by incorporating region-specific organoids and cell-fate programming. His research has been published in journals such as Cell Stem Cell (2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, 2019, 2017), Nature Methods (2019), and Molecular Cell (2020). His work was featured in Nature Methods’ “Methods to Watch” in 2021, and he was included in the Cell Stem Cell “Voices” series for early-career researchers in 2020 and 2021.

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