2026 HCA Middle East Symposium and Workshop

The 2026 Human Cell Atlas (HCA) Middle East Symposium, hosted by Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), will bring together leading researchers in single-cell and spatial biology from the Middle East and around the world to advance the Human Cell Atlas and strengthen regional collaboration.

As the inaugural in-person HCA Middle East Regional Event, the symposium will showcase the region’s growing role as a hub for genomics, computational biology, and artificial intelligence, while fostering new scientific partnerships across the region and beyond. The Symposium will take place on 9-10 November with a Pre-Symposium Workshop held on 8 November.

• 8 November The Pre-Symposium Workshop is designed to build local capacity and equip early-career computational biologists, bioinformaticians, and data scientists with practical skills. This workshop is in-person only.
• 9-10 November The main Symposium features 20 invited speakers from across the globe and the Middle East. The program will include keynote presentations, scientific talks, a poster session, and ample opportunities to build new collaborations across genomics, computational biology, and artificial intelligence. This will be held in a hybrid format, welcoming both in-person and virtual participants.