Cell Cell Symposium 2025

The inaugural Cell-Cell Symposium aims to bring together a focused and skilled group of researchers, bioinformaticians, and technology developers to explore how cells interact and communicate with one another at the single-cell level. This event provides a platform to discuss the latest technologies and approaches designed to bridge the gap between single-cell analysis, which examines isolated cells, and spatial biology, which studies cells within tissues but faces challenges in resolving specific cell-cell interactions in their native context.

Agenda At-A-Glance

Link to PDF of Full Agenda

Day 1: Symposium | April 16, 2025

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM	Check-in and Breakfast in Lobby
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM	Welcome and Opening Remarks Chairperson/Organizer: Dino Di Carlo, Heather Wright
10:15 AM – 12:15 PM	Session 1: Assay Development and Applications Session Chair: Richard James (University of Washington)
10:15 AM – 10:45 AM	Nathan Lewis (University of Georgia) Eavesdropping on intercellular communication with single cell omics: deciphering autistic neurodevelopment and vocalization
10:45 AM – 11:15 AM	Rong Lu (University of Southern California) Spatiomolecular characterization of intercellular signaling in mouse bone marrow hematopoiesis
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM	Xiaojing Gao (Stanford University) Post-transcriptional sensing and control of cell-cell communication in living cells
11:45 AM – 12:15 PM	Panel Discussion Current Challenges and Future Directions in Cell-Cell Assay Development
12:15 PM – 1:00 PM	Lunch (Provided)
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM	Poster Session
2:00 PM – 3:15 PM	Session 2: Bioinformatics and Data Analysis Challenges Session Chair: Yi Yin (University of California, Los Angeles)
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM	Jessica Li (University of California, Los Angeles) Quantifying Cell-Cell Communication via Nanovial Experiments and Correcting scRNA-seq-Based Inference Using Permutation Analysis
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM	Qing Nie (University of California, Irvine) Screening cell-cell communication and signaling flows using single-cell and spatial omics data
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM	Matt Thomson (California Institute of Technology) Design and discovery of intercellular information processing networks
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM	Panel Discussion Overcoming Data Analysis Challenges and Data Needs
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM	Evening Social Hour (Refreshments Provided)

Day 2: Hands-On Nanovial Workshop | April 17, 2025

Intro to Nanovial Technology for Cell-Cell Interaction Studies (Hands-on session, limited availability)

9:00 AM – 9:15 AM	Meet at Engineering VI Breezeway and walk to lab
9:15 AM – 12:00 PM	Nanovial Workshop (3–4 hours)
Introduction to Nanovial Technology for Cell-Cell Interaction Studies Instructors: Sevana Baghdasarian and Justin Langerman Topics covered: Experimental design for studying cell-cell interactions Protocols for using Nanovials Data collection and troubleshooting Experimental Sessions (2-3 hours): Small groups focus on specific experimental steps Loading multiple cells on Nanovials Flow cytometry, imaging cytometry, and gating of Nanovials
Note: Afternoon session may shift a bit based on how experiments run during the morning workshop.
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM	Break for Lunch
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM	Closing Workshop
*Closing Workshop Session:* Workflow questions Collaborative troubleshooting of participant-submitted challenges Brainstorming on future applications