Rongxin Fang

Bio

Rongxin received his Ph.D. in Bioinformatics and Systems Biology at UC San Diego, where he was advised by Bing Ren (2015-2019). During this time, he developed high-throughput genomic technologies and computational tools to map the structure and activity of the mammalian genome at a large scale with single-cell resolution. He then applied these approaches to understand how cis-regulatory elements such as enhancers in the genome control gene expression and how this process can give rise to the distinct gene expression programs that underlie the cellular diversity in the mammalian brain. As an HHMI-Damon Runyon Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Xiaowei Zhuang at Harvard University (2019-2024), he developed and applied genome-scale and volumetric 3D transcriptome imaging methods to map the molecular and cellular architecture of the mammalian brain during evolution and aging. He also participated in the collaboration with Adam Cohen and Catherine Dulac to combine transcriptome imaging with functional neuronal recording to identify neuronal populations in the animal brain that underlie specific bran functions.

Academic Appointments

• Assistant Professor, Neurosurgery
• Assistant Professor (By courtesy), Genetics
• Member, Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute

Honors & Awards

• Damon Runyon-Dale F. Frey Award for Breakthrough Scientists, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (2024)
• Next Generation Leader, Allen Institute (2024)
• Rising Star in Health in Engineering, Johns Hopkins & Columbia University (2022)
• HHMI-Damon Runyon Postdoc Fellowship, Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (2020)

Patents

• Xiaowei Zhuang, Rongxin Fang, Aaron Halpern. "United States Patent 63506283 Three-dimensional single cell transcriptome imaging of thick tissues", Harvard University, HHMI, Jul 6, 0173
• Bing Ren, Miao Yu, Rongxin Fang. "United States Patent 16330002 Genome-wide identification of chromatin interactions.", Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Mar 7, 0172