Aptomics Lead to Multiomics: A New Frontier in Molecular Medicine
Hosted By: Prof. Duan Hong Wei
Abstract
Modern medicine has entered the molecular era, demanding a deeper understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of major diseases at the molecular level. A comprehensive analysis of functional molecules within living organisms is essential for achieving molecular disease subtyping and "face-recognition" style multi-parameter precision medicine. Despite remarkable advancements in high-throughput nucleic acid sequencing technologies, significant challenges remain in achieving high-throughput, high-precision, and quantitative profiling of functional molecules such as proteins, metabolites, and sugars at the single-cell level. Nucleic acid aptamers—functional molecules capable of specifically binding to targets—offer not only precise recognition but also enable high-throughput screening, sequencing, and synthesis. In this context, we propose the concept of "Aptomics," which leverages the unique capabilities of aptamers to transform the power of high-throughput sequencing into a systematic understanding of functional molecules that cannot be directly sequenced within living organisms. By bridging the gap between molecular recognition and large-scale data analysis, Aptomics has the potential to drive a transformative shift in multi-omics approaches, revolutionizing molecular diagnostics and therapeutics, and catalyzing groundbreaking advancements in molecular medicine.
Biography
Dr. Weihong Tan is a Professor of Chemistry and Molecular Medicine at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry at the University of Michigan. He is currently the Inaugural Director of the Hangzhou Institute of Medicine, CAS. He is also the Dean of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Shanghai Jiaotong University, Renji Hospital. He was recognized as a Distinguished Professor and a V.T. and Louis Jackson Professor in the Department of Chemistry and School of Medicine at the University of Florida for about 25 years. He serves as Vice President of the Chinese Chemical Society and the Founding Director of the Division of Molecular Medicine.
Professor Weihong Tan’s general research focus is in the fields of bioanalytical chemistry, chemical biology and molecular medicine. He specializes in molecular elucidation of diseases, aptamer research, DNA nanotechnology, and cancer theranostics. The total citations of his publications exceed 108,000, equating to an h-index of 175. He served as an associate editor for the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) and Analytical Chemistry, and is currently an associate editor for CCS Chemistry.