A new role for Dr Holger Heyn, Single Cell Genomics Group Leader at CNAG and ICREA Research Professor, strengthens CNAG’s contribution to the Human Cell Atlas (HCA), an international initiative seeking to build a comprehensive picture of the cells that make up the human body and how they function in health and disease.

 

October 14, 2026. The HCA brings together researchers worldwide to create detailed cellular references for human organs and tissues, providing new insights into human biology and the cellular changes associated with disease. Its long-term goal is to integrate these efforts into a comprehensive, three-dimensional representation of the human body.
 
CNAG has contributed to this effort through several cell atlas projects. In the human tonsil, researchers generated a cellular atlas covering more than 556,000 cells and 121 cell types, and subsequently extended this work with a spatial transcriptomics map, providing information on how different cell populations are organised within the tissue. CNAG is also contributing to the HCA Pancreas Initiative through ESPACE, an international effort combining single-cell, spatial and other molecular approaches to characterise the pancreas.
 
Dr Heyn has been involved in the HCA for almost a decade. He has previously co-chaired the HCA Technology Working Group and Industry Partnership Program, and served on the HCA 2.0 Task Force. In his new role as Vice Co-Chair, he will contribute particularly to the HCA technology roadmap, helping to guide the development and integration of technologies for the next stages of the initiative.
 
“I am honoured to step into this new role as Vice Co-Chair of the Human Cell Atlas. Working alongside our new Co-Chairs, Chloé Villani and Muzz Haniffa, and my fellow Vice Co-Chair, Shyam Prabhakar, I can’t imagine a better leadership team for the Human Cell Atlas. This new stage is a particularly meaningful moment for me, having been part of the HCA journey for almost a decade,” says Dr Holger Heyn.
 
His appointment highlights CNAG’s longterm investment expertise in single-cell and spatial genomics and its contribution to international efforts to understand human biology at cellular resolution.