RS Seminar: Advancing Research with Single-Cell RNA Sequencing and Spatial Transcriptomics: Insights into Single-Cell Technologies for Understanding Environmental Impacts on Neurodevelopment

Dr Leung’s research interests lie in understanding neurodevelopment and neurogenesis, and how their disruption contributes to the onset and progression of neurological diseases, including both early- and late-onset disorders. He is particularly interested in how genetic and environmental factors influence these processes. To address these research questions, he is passionate about using mechanism-based approaches, such as omics technologies, to identify and characterize key molecular targets involved in disease pathogenesis. His goal is to translate these findings into potential therapeutic strategies.   Dr Leung earned his PhD in Neuroscience from The University of Hong Kong (HKU), followed by postdoctoral training at the University of Toronto (U of T). He later joined the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) as a postdoctoral fellow, where his research examined the effects of prenatal exposure to the environmental toxicant methylmercury on early neurodevelopment and its potential link to the late onset of neurological diseases, using single-cell RNA sequencing technology (scRNA-seq).   Currently, at The Centre for Applied Genomics, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Dr. Leung is further advancing his expertise in single-cell technologies, with a particular focus on spatial transcriptomic technologies, including 10x Genomics Xenium and Visium HD platforms.