Dr Ao (Chris) Chen is a pioneering scientist and technology leader in next-generation sequencing and spatial omics. As a principal architect of DNBSEQ and an inventor and co-developer of Stereo-seq, he has played a defining role in advancing spatial transcriptomics from an emerging research approach into a powerful platform for large-scale biological discovery. Stereo-seq combines nanoscale spatial resolution with an exceptionally large field of view, enabling researchers to investigate molecular organisation across cells, tissues and whole biological systems.

Dr Chen’s work has produced landmark spatial atlases spanning embryonic development, brain architecture and tumour microenvironments. He was first author of influential Cell studies mapping mouse organogenesis and cell-type organisation in the macaque cortex, and corresponding author of a Cell Research study revealing an invasive zone within the human liver cancer microenvironment. Collectively, these studies demonstrate how spatial omics can uncover biological relationships that are difficult to resolve using conventional sequencing or imaging approaches alone.

Dr Chen received his PhD in Biology from the University of Copenhagen. He currently serves as Chief Scientist of STOmics and leads major research and technology-development programs at the frontier of sequencing and spatial multi-omics. With more than 100 invention patents, his contributions continue to shape new capabilities across precision medicine, developmental biology, neuroscience and agricultural research.

At Multi-Omics 2026, Dr Chen will present a strategic perspective on the evolution of spatial omics and its next technological frontier. Drawing on his experience developing the foundational technologies behind the field, he will share the latest advances in Stereo-seq and explore how emerging spatial multi-omics capabilities could transform the study of complex biology and disease.