POSTECH Achieves First-Ever Ribosomal Synthesis of Cyclic Peptides : Opening New Avenues for Next-Generation Drug Design

Dr. Michael C. Oldham's innovative gene coexpression analysis methods have transformed our understanding of brain cell diversity. His work spans from mapping cellular signatures in healthy brains to identifying therapeutic targets in gliomas, while addressing critical challenges in research reproducibility.

Dr. Xuyu Qian, newly appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, has published groundbreaking research in Nature (2025) mapping human brain development at unprecedented single-cell resolution. His innovative use of spatial transcriptomics to analyze over 18 million cells reveals how the human cerebral cortex forms during fetal development. Combined with his widely-adopted brain organoid protocols (cited over 2,000 times), which helped establish the link between Zika virus and brain malformations, Dr. Qian's human-centric approach promises new therapeutic strategies for neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder and malformations of cortical development.