School of Biomedical Sciences cordially invites you to join the following seminar:

Speaker: Dr. Peng Tan, Research Scientist, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard
Talk Title: Cross-scale regulatory mechanisms in inflammatory disease progression

Date: 13 May 2025 (Tuesday)
Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Venue: Seminar Room 2, G/F, Laboratory Block, 21 Sassoon Road
Host: Professor Michael Hӓusser

Biography

Dr. Peng Tan is a research scientist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. He earned his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University in 2018, followed by postdoctoral training at the Broad Institute under the mentorship of Professors Aviv Regev and Ramnik Xavier. As an immuno-oncologist and neuroscientist, Dr. Tan’s research centers on elucidating the mechanisms that drive the progression of inflammatory diseases. His approach involves perturbation-based reconstruction of regulatory networks, with a particular focus on the tumor microenvironment and the neuro-immune interface. By integrating multi-omic technologies and innovative molecular perturbations, his work aims to reveal how inflammation influences disease dynamics across spatial and temporal scales.

Abstract

Inflammatory diseases contribute significantly to the global burden of illness and healthcare costs. My research aims to unravel the mechanisms and regulatory networks underlying these diseases across multiple biological scales—from localized immune defenses to systemic effects observed in viral infections, allergic reactions, and cancer progression. At the molecular level, I focus on membrane-bound organelles as critical platforms for transducing pattern recognition receptor signals during the early stages of the innate immune response. At the cellular level, I investigate the dynamic interactions between neutrophils and B cells that drive inflammation-associated cancer development and immune evasion, having identified Beclin1 as a neutrophil-specific immune checkpoint. At the organ level, I have constructed a comprehensive gut and brain cell atlas, integrating single-cell and spatial resolution data across inflammatory conditions. This multi-omic framework facilitates the development of mechanism-based therapies for inflammatory diseases.

ALL ARE WELCOME.