Partners will use unprecedented data scale to advance more precise medicines to approval
On July 16, 2026, Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN) announced that the Billion Cell Atlas alliance has added three new member companies, including AI-native drug developer Formation Bio. As leaders in AI-driven drug discovery, design, and development, alliance members will use the unprecedented scale of Illumina’s genome-wide perturbation data as infrastructure for the next generation of therapeutics. “We are building the cell atlas to address key bottlenecks across the drug discovery and development continuum,” said Rami Mehio, senior vice president and general manager of BioInsight at Illumina. “We are creating the foundational framework to train virtual cell models and solve some of the most fundamental challenges in biology. Together, partners using this unique dataset can have a significant impact in de-risking and accelerating the journey from biological insights to approved drugs.”
Historic pic from ASHG meeting in 2000 when Craig Venter, Francis Collins, and Eric Lander were presented joint award for their work on the human genome. (L-R: Craig Venter, Francis Collins, Victor McKusick, Eric Lander, and photoshopped image of BioQuick Editor Mike O’Neill who took the pic of these four giants. McKusick is included because he is widely recognized as the “father of medical genetics” and it was on McKusick’s strong shoulders that these three modern-day heroes stood. Click on title to see larger picture.
Scientists have combined artificial intelligence (AI), genetics, and gut microbiome analysis to shed new light on one of the most serious complications of Crohn’s disease: intestinal fibrosis, the irreversible scarring of the bowel that often leads to surgery. Publishing their findings August 3, 2026 in Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, the research team led by experts from the University of Birmingham Dubai reveals that bowel fibrosis is not a separate disease stage. Instead, it appears to be a related inflammatory condition driven by ongoing immune activation, damage to the intestinal lining, and changes in gut bacteria. The open-access article is titled “Generative AI-Augmented Transcriptomic and Microbiome Analysis Across Inflammatory and Fibrotic Disease States in Crohn’s Disease.”
Africa holds the greatest genetic diversity of any continent, and less than 3% of the world’s genomic data. For drug developers, that gap is not abstract. The pharmacogenomic panels, HLA references, and risk models that guide prescribing and trial design were built on non-African genomes. Applied to African patients, they miss the variation that determines who responds, who doesn’t, and who is at risk.
At #ISMB2026in Washington, DC, we (the Centre for Molecular Biosciences & Genomics) presented the first pilot of the Kenya Reference Genome Initiative (KRGI): 19 deeply phenotyped Kenyan genomes at high coverage, spanning communities across the Bantu, Nilotic, and Cushitic language families. The data was generated with in-kind support from Ultima Genomics platform using Solaris 2.0 chemistry, whose coverage depth and base-level accuracy gave us the required resolution for these analyses in collaboration with Ultima’s Francisco M. De La Vega, D.Sc.
The American Association of Extracellular Vesicles (AAEV) will hold its 2026 annual meeting November 12-15 at the Westin Jersey City Newport in Jersey City, New Jersey, just across the Hudson River from New York City. The meeting will feature numerous cutting-edge presentations by leading EV researchers from around the globe. You may register for this conference here.
The opening plenary lecture will be delivered by David Lyden, MD, PhD, Weill Cornell Medical College. Lyden defined the concept of the “pre-metastatic niche” (PMN), where tumor-secreted factors recruit bone marrow-derived progenitor cells to distant organ sites to provide a platform for metastasis. Lyden’s work underscores the systemic nature of cancer. As such, Lyden demonstrated that tumor-derived extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated crosstalk initiates the PMN and coordinates metastatic progression. He identified key proteins and nucleic acids, specifically double-stranded DNA, in EVs and demonstrated their systemic role in thrombosis, fatty liver metabolic dysfunction, and immune dysregulation. He has defined tumor EV integrins in organotropic metastasis, answering in part Stephen Paget’s “seed and soil” hypothesis on organ-specific metastasis. Moreover, he identified a new particle named “exomere,” which packages distinct proteins, including metabolic enzymes, lipids, and glycans. He has identified novel EV biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis in patients with cancer.
Two keynote speakers will be Hailing Jin, PhD, University of California, Riverside, and Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD, Columbia University.
Jin’s research focuses on the roles of RNAs, epigenetic regulation, and antimicrobial peptides in plant–microbe interactions, with the goal of developing innovative and environmentally sustainable strategies for crop protection against fungal and bacterial pathogens. Her laboratory discovered that RNAs, including small RNAs, mRNAs, and long non-coding RNAs, can traffic bidirectionally between plants and their pathogens to regulate gene expression or cellular processes across organismal boundaries. Subsequent work revealed that EVs are key vehicles mediating this cross-kingdom RNA communication.
More recently, her group discovered EV-mediated RNA trafficking between bacteria and fungi, further expanding this biological paradigm. Cross-kingdom/cross-species RNA communication has since been observed across all kingdoms of life, fundamentally changing our understanding of inter-species or inter-organismal communication. Jin’s laboratory also demonstrated that many fungal pathogens can efficiently take up environmental RNAs and vesicles, providing the mechanistic foundation for the development of spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS) technologies for sustainable crop disease control. In addition, her group has identified several novel classes of plant-derived antimicrobial peptides with broad-spectrum activities that can be harnessed as environmentally friendly biocontrol agents. Jin is a Distinguished Professor and the Cy Mouradick Endowed Chair in the Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology at the University of California, Riverside.
Sadelain is the founding director of the Columbia Institute for Cell Engineering and Therapy at Columbia University, where he is Herbert and Florence Irving Professor of Medicine. He previously founded and directed the Center for Cell Engineering at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he held the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Chair. He received his MD from the University of Paris, his PhD from the University of Alberta, and trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the Whitehead Institute at MIT.
Sadelain has made numerous key contributions to the emergence and success of CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) therapy. His research contributed to all its facets from concept to implementation, including T cell engineering technologies, the design of CARs, the identification of CD19 as an effective CAR target, T cell manufacturing processes, and the clinical translation of CD19 CAR therapy for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Among the other (20+) confirmed speakers are Andrew Hill, Victoria University; Alissa Weaver, Vanderbilt University; Maureen Barr, Rutgers University; Saumya Das, Harvard University; Quanyin Hu, UW-Madison; Sathish Ramakrishnan, Yale University; Kenneth Dawson, University College Dublin; and Louise Laurent, UC-San Diego.
The co-chairs of the AAEV 2026 annual meeting are Ke Cheng, PhD, and Susmita Sahoo, PhD.
First oral PCSK9 inhibitor provides an additional treatment option for adults with hypercholesterolemia
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Lipfendra (enlicitide), the first oral inhibitor of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), as an adjunct to diet and exercise to reduce low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), or “bad” cholesterol, in adults with hypercholesterolemia, including those with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH). PCSK9 inhibitors have previously been available only as injectable therapies. Lipfendra is administered as a once-daily oral tablet and provides an additional treatment option for adults who require further LDL-C reduction despite existing therapies. The approval also reflects continued advances in the development of therapies for chronic cardiovascular disease management.
A new study by MIT researchers shows that inhibiting caspase-1 can reduce the risk of tumor growth
Senior author MIT’s Sangeeta Bhatia, MD, PhD
Every year, lung cancer kills more than 100,000 people in the United States. Smoking is the leading risk factor for lung cancer, but other environmental exposures can also contribute to the disease. In an advance that could help prevent some of those lung cancer deaths, MIT researchers have shown that blocking an enzyme involved in lung inflammation appears to reduce the risk of developing tumors. The researchers found that this enzyme, caspase-1, is active in developing tumors in mice. When they treated the mice with a small-molecule drug that inhibits caspase-1, the mice were much less likely to develop lung tumors. That drug has already gone into clinical trials for other diseases, and the researchers now hope to test it as a preventative drug in people with elevated risk for lung cancer.
Research shows belzutifan may extend disease-free survival for earlier stages of some kidney cancers when combined with immunotherapy drug
Belzutifan, a first-in-class drug that arose from scientific discoveries at UT Southwestern Medical Center, has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat some patients with earlier-stage kidney cancers in combination with an immunotherapy drug. This move marks the latest expansion of belzutifan’s indications after it was originally approved in 2021. The latest FDA approval was based on results from LITESPARK-022, a phase three clinical trial that took place at 285 sites around the world, including UT Southwestern. The results, presented at the 2026 ASCO Genitourinary Cancer Symposium, evaluated belzutifan combined with pembrolizumab – a type of immunotherapy drug known as a checkpoint inhibitor – in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma after surgery to remove diseased kidneys. At a median follow-up of 28.4 months, results showed that this combination reduced the risk of disease recurrence by 28% compared with pembrolizumab with a placebo.
UCSF Health’s Adam Blaisdell, MD, PhD, has been selected as an IGNITE fellow by the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), a New York-based nonprofit that funds and promotes cancer immunotherapy research. The IGNITE Award — Inspiring Growth and Nurturing Independence Through Excellence — is a new initiative that provides funding for early-career scientists whose research focuses on cancer immunology and immunotherapy. Blaisdell is one of nine IGNITE fellows selected for this inaugural award. Blaisdell’s research “Enhancing Perforin-Dependent Anti-Tumor Immunity by Exhausted CD8 T Cells” focuses on developing strategies to preserve and restore the tumor-killing capacity of exhausted CD8+ T cells, a type of white blood cell that is critical to helping the immune system kill cancerous cells. Because CD8+ T cell exhaustion is a major barrier to successful cancer immunotherapy, his research seeks to identify novel regulatory pathways in these tumor‑infiltrating cells and exploit them to unleash the full potential of the perforin — a protein that immune cells use to trigger their destruction of cancer cells. By leveraging these discoveries, Blaisdell plans to advance the design of adoptive cellular therapies (including CAR‑T cells) to equip them with greater potency, broader tumor coverage, and improved tolerability.
New proton therapy facility is ready for patients.
Tricia and Stephen De La Torre try out the new proton therapy chair at the Stanford Medicine Cancer Center in Palo Alto. (Credit: Kurt Hickman)
On June 4, a 7-year-old boy who had a rare, malignant brain tumor removed became the first person treated at Stanford Medicine’s new, ultracompact proton therapy facility. The milestone arrived near the end of patient Stephen De La Torre’s planned radiotherapy treatments; his doctors expect to send him home in the next week to resume life as a normal, active kid. But Stephen’s treatment is just the start of making a highly effective cancer therapy much more accessible to patients in Northern California and, eventually, around the world. “Our new ability to offer protons is really exciting, especially for pediatric patients, because in many cases it lowers their risk of long-term treatment side effects,” said Susan Hiniker, MD, Stephen’s pediatric radiation oncologist at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health. The Sridhar B. Seshadri Proton Therapy Suite, the first of its kind in the world, is unique because its small, less costly equipment fits in a compact space.
