Aptomics Leads to Multiomics: A New Frontier in Molecular Medicine

 

Aptomics Leads to Multiomics: A New Frontier in Molecular Medicine

 

Date: 12^th May, 2026 (Tuesday)

Time: 11 am - 12 pm (HKT)

 

Venue: Lecture Theatre P3, Chong Yuet Ming Physics Building

 

 

Chinese Academy of Sciences

 

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. Currently, he serves as the Inaugural Director of the Hangzhou Institute of Medicine, CAS, and the Inaugural Dean of the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Shanghai Jiaotong University. Previously, he was a Distinguished Professor at the University of Florida for 25 years. He is also Vice President of the Chinese Chemical Society.

 

Prof. Tan’s research focuses on bioanalytical chemistry, chemical biology, and molecular medicine, specializing in aptamers, DNA nanotechnology, and cancer theranostics. A highly impactful researcher, his publications exceed 117,000 citations with an h-index of 185. He has served as an associate editor for JACS, Analytical Chemistry, and CCS Chemistry. Throughout his career, Prof. Tan has led the establishment of numerous research institutes in China and received over forty prestigious honors, including the Beckman Young Investigator Award, AAAS Fellow, multiple American Chemical Society awards, and two National Natural Science Awards. He is an elected Academician of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences (2015) and the World Academy of Sciences in Developing Countries (2016).

 

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.