Foad Rouhani

Group Leader, The Francis Crick Institute | MRC Clinician Scientist | King’s College London | Transplant Surgeon | King’s College Hospital

[Foad Rouhani @foad_rouhani]

Pleased to finally share our latest paper on somatic mutagenesis in human induced pluripotent stem cells. https://t.co/UDoopuCdmN

[Mo Lotfollahi @mo_lotfollahi]

Excited to co-host #AIxBio 2026 (8–11 June) at @wellcomegenome / @sangerinstitute in Cambridge, UK!

Join an amazing speaker lineup alongside co-hosts , @ferruz_noelia, Jun Cheng, Jussi Taipale @BenLehner, @deboramarks,

The conference will explore five themes:
🔬 Solving the gene regulatory code
🧪 Solving proteins — data, structure and design
💊 Solving chemistry and therapeutics
🫀 Solving cells, tissues and organs
⚙️ AI methods development

Abstract submissions are open — deadline 27 April 2026.

Selected abstracts will be featured in the main programme alongside invited talks.

Register and submit your abstract here:

https://t.co/jNn3fgODPh

#AIxBio #AI #Biology #MachineLearning #Genomics

[Alastair Lamb @LambAlastair]

Live surgery #EAU26 kicking off 1015hrs in eUro1 from @GSTTnhs @GuysUrology & St Bernard's @GibraltarGov

•All patients fully aware & excited to participate
•Visiting surgeons carefully supervised(!)
•Regular staff briefed & understand checks/balances

@ERUSrobotics Lets go!

[Vivian Li @VivianLiLab]

📢We are seeking highly talented and motivated cancer biologist to join our lab at @TheCrick to investigate cell state rewiring in colorectal cancer and the implications in drug resistance. This project is funded by @CancerGrand the REWIRE-CAN team. 👇
https://t.co/6pIvVSMBEC

[Inigo Martincorena @imartincorena]

Somatic genomics as a discovery engine for biomedicine - a Perspective in Cell
https://t.co/hcb6I1yIjb

[The Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies @Inst_of_Liver]

Applications are now open to our 0+4 PhD Studentship Pathway 👩‍🔬🧪🔬🧑‍🎓

This innovative programme is designed to cultivate your multidisciplinary skills and help you reach your full potential. Follow the link below for more information and application guidance!

https://t.co/Yg4Ts9mrjf

An exciting first year filled with training elements aims to set you on the path to success. Students apply to the programme rather than to specific Faculty members and spend the first six months of the programme undertaking two rotation projects aligned with the research themes of the Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies (RW-ILS).

This unique approach provides invaluable exposure to a variety of disciplines and allows students to gain a better overall picture of the Institute and the different opportunities that are available.

@KingsCollegeLon @kingsmedicine @phil_newsome7

[The Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies @Inst_of_Liver]

We are delighted to launch the Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies Clinical Catalyst Scheme!

Designed to provide research-qualified health professionals, not currently undertaking any substantial research activity, the opportunity to form a collaborative, high-quality research partnership with established biomedical and applied health researchers within the RW-ILS and with protected time and funding to enhance their research skills and experience.

Applicants must be employed by one of the King’s Health Partners NHS Foundation Trusts (King’s College Hospital NHS FT, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS FT, or South London and Maudsley NHS FT) as registered senior health professionals at consultant level or Band 7 equivalent or above (e.g. nurses, midwives, doctors, dentists, pharmacists, healthcare scientists, psychologists and any other registered professions allied to healthcare).

Eligible applicants cannot currently be undertaking any substantial research activity. Projects can range from basic discovery science to translational and applied health research, but must align with the RW-ILS’ research themes.

Full details & application process: https://t.co/SL9XsoUe7q

Application deadline: 5pm Monday 16th March

[Kexin Huang @KexinHuang5]

Today we’re launching Phylo, a research lab studying agentic biology, backed by a $13.5M seed round co-led by @a16z and @MenloVentures / Anthology Fund @AnthropicAI.

We’re also introducing a research preview of Biomni Lab, the first Integrated Biology Environment (IBE), where we’re imagining a new way biologists work.

Biomni Lab uses agents to orchestrate hundreds of biological databases, software tools, molecular AI models, expert workflows, and even external research services in one workspace, supporting research end-to-end from question to experiment to result.

Agents handle the mechanics, while you define the question, then review, steer, and decide. Scientists end up spending more time on science: asking questions, understanding mechanisms, and eliminating diseases.

Phylo (@phylo_bio) is a spin-out of @ProjectBiomni, where we will maintain the open-source community and push open-science research. I’m grateful to continue building with my co-founders @YuanhaoQ @jure @lecong and the dream founding team @serena2z @TianweiShe @huangzixin20151 @gm2123 @margaretwhua @malayhgandhi.

We’re also fortunate to be advised by leading scientists @zhangf, Carolyn Bertozzi, and @fabian_theis, and supported by an amazing group of investors including @JorgeCondeBio @zakdoric Matt Kraning @ZettaVentures @dreidco @conviction @saranormous @svangel @valkyrie_vc and others.

Biomni Lab is available for free today: https://t.co/zYcXEjvIbb
Learn more in our launch post: https://t.co/O09cnwYeNg

We are also hosting launch events - join us at
South San Francisco: https://t.co/4Xm9DFf4cY
Virtual: https://t.co/Wf7ksnWkRy

We’re also hiring! https://t.co/PABaLLwmRx

[Dan Landau @landau_lab]

This project feels extra special; the team, the science, the impact. Let's gooooo!

[American Journal of Transplantation @amjtransplant]

Please join us in welcoming our new Associate Editor, Vasilis Kosmoliaptsis

[Pushmeet Kohli @pushmeet]

@Nature's @ewencallaway writes about how hackathons using AlphaGenome are solving rare disease mysteries.

"The event helped diagnose someone with a rare condition called Rothmund–Thomson syndrome... [which] affects eyes, skin and other organ systems."

Discoveries like this are why we @GoogleDeepMind believe advancing science is one of the most meaningful motivations for developing AI.

Read more: https://t.co/xmEYWmiEmI

[Žiga Avsec @Avsecz]

AlphaGenome is out in @nature today along with model weights! 🧬

📄 Paper: https://t.co/1fHzSPiY1x
💻 Weights: https://t.co/z6JWLT4Mpv

Getting here wasn’t a straight path. We sat down @googledeepmind to discuss the story behind the model, paper & API: https://t.co/cT8CiXfnxQ

[Dan Landau @landau_lab]

Happy new year/paper!
🎇
A new tech (scG2P) maps genotype (DNA) to phenotype (RNA) in single cells, bringing together the worldviews of genetic & transcriptional heterogeneity. With scG2P we define how mosaicism drivers increase clonal fitness in the aging esophagus.
link 👇

[Hao Zhu Lab @Zhu_Lab]

Where do cancers start? In the liver, not all cells are the same. The liver is divided into 3 “zones,” and each specializes in different metabolic tasks. We show in @Science that where a mutation occurs in a liver lobule can determine a cell’s fate. https://t.co/3YTc77gZcd (1/9)

[Hao Zhu Lab @Zhu_Lab]

Future PI's: Please apply to join the Children's Research Institute--we are hiring new faculty this year! It is an amazing environment that is fun, energetic, and collaborative!

[Patrick Hsu @pdhsu]

Today in @ScienceMagazine, we report a new DNA editing technology to seamlessly write massive changes into the right place in the human genome.

The reason gene editing hasn't transformed human health is that current gene editing technologies like CRISPR are very limited.

The problem with CRISPR is that it cuts up your DNA, and then hopes that unreliable cellular DNA repair will make the wanted edit. @geochurch famously called it genome vandalism. More precise versions of CRISPR only edit less than 100 bases - often only a single base. Therefore, it's not suited to make large changes safely.

However, most diseases are not the result of mutations in one location. Instead, their causes are spread all across the 3 billion base pairs in the genome.

We found bridge RNAs in bacterial “jumping genes” that allow us to make safe and arbitrary changes (insert, cut out, or flip) to every nucleotide within (up to) a 1 million bp sequence in your DNA.

In the paper, we show that we can correct the disease-causing DNA repeats that cause Friedreich's ataxia (which is a rare neurological disease). The same approach could be applied to Huntington’s and other repeat expansion disorders.
At @arcinstitute, we're working towards a full Turing machine for biology. Evo, our DNA foundation model, helps us design the optimal healthy DNA sequences. And Bridge recombination gives us the ability to seamlessly write these changes into the right place in the genome.
This work was a wonderful collaboration with my @arcinstitute cofounder @SKonermann and led by the indefatigable @ntperry13, alongside our amazing bridge editing team: @BartieLiam @dhruvakatrekar @Gabogonzalez515 @mgdurrant @james_jw_pai @AlisonFanton Juliana Martins Masa Hiraizumi @chiaroscurale @hnisimasu

[Florian T. Merkle PhD, Bluesky: @florianmerkle @FlorianMerkle]

We're seeking a motivated postdoc to help us and NovoNordisk generate cutting-edge human cellular models of metabolic disease. For details & to apply (by 6th Oct), see: https://t.co/YyKAJuMTgD. If you think someone in your network might be interested, please share. Thank you!

[ludovic vallier @VallierLab]

Looking forward to present the work of the lab at the lac leman regenerative medicine symposium: https://t.co/CyvxenDw8I

Title of my talk: "CELL-BASED THERAPY AGAINST LIVER DISEASES AND BEYOND".

I hope that the beyond got your intrigued, me too.

[Nicholas McGranahan @NickyMcGranahan]

Excited to share our new paper in @Nature, led by @PiotrekPaw_ @KristianaGrigo4 ! 🧬 We developed a new method, ALPACA, to untangle the co-evolution of single nucleotide variants and copy number changes in tumours.
Check it out: https://t.co/Aee2xcJKrI

[ludovic vallier @VallierLab]

So, we (Dylan Liabeuf and Anastasiia Maksiuk) are organising the first Berlin symposium on organoids. The objective is to bring together the Berlin organoid community and to develop further interactions.

Info:
https://t.co/HdXz2uH7Kk
Free registration:
https://t.co/df5w4Qd8Gq

[Hani Goodarzi @genophoria]

Great to read this piece from Forbes! @nalidoust @iamjohnnyyu @kevansf, time for a new group photo? When we first started talking about this 4 years ago, never would've thought virtual cells would emerge as such an important problem!