MoGen researchers from the Dick Lab builds single-cell map to advance blood cancer research

Researchers at the Dick Lab at MoGen have created a detailed single-cell transcriptional atlas of human blood formation, providing a powerful new resource for studying how blood cancers arise. The work, led by PhD student Andy Zeng, uncovers the genetic and developmental pathways that distinguish acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells from their healthy counterparts.

Blood development is normally organized through a hierarchy of stem and progenitor cells that give rise to different blood cell types. By applying single-cell sequencing and computational analysis, researchers mapped this hierarchy with unprecedented resolution.

The atlas revealed key transcriptional programs and regulatory determinants that guide normal development — and showed how AML cells diverge from these paths. These insights highlight both the genetic changes and the disrupted hierarchy that drive cancer progression.

The findings offer a roadmap for identifying new therapeutic targets in AML and provide a framework for understanding other blood-related disorders at the single-cell level.