This study shows DEC1 regulates β cell maturation and circadian rhythm in stem cell-derived islets, improving their functional maturity and glucose responsiveness.

Cell Reports · Dec 1, 2025Peer-reviewedDevelopmental Biology

Agentic Lab: An Agentic-physical AI system for cell and organoid experimentation and manufacturing

Wenbo Wang, Simran Swain, Jaeyong Lee, Zuwan Lin, Bradley Canales, Almir Aljović, Yaxuan Liu, Qiang Li, Arnau Marin‐Llobet, Mai Liu, Zihan Gao, Ren Liu, Juan R. Alvarez‐Dominguez, Jia Liu B

Agentic Lab integrates AI agents with physical lab operations to improve reproducibility in cell and organoid research by autonomously generating protocols and analyzing experimental data.

bioRxiv · Nov 11, 2025 · PreprintBioengineering

Spatial transcriptomics AI agent charts hPSC-pancreas maturation in vivo

Zuwan Lin, Wenbo Wang, Arnau Marin‐Llobet, Qifu Li, Samuel D. Pollock, Xin Sui, Almir Aljović, Jaeyong Lee, Jongmin Baek, Ningyue Liang, Xinhe Zhang, Connie Kangni Wang, Jiahao Huang, Mai Liu, Zihan Gao, , Jia Liu B

The paper introduces STAgent, an AI tool that automates spatial transcriptomics analysis, revealing in vivo maturation of human stem cell-derived pancreatic cells.

bioRxiv · Apr 1, 2025 · PreprintGenomics

Cyborg islets: implanted flexible electronics reveal principles of human islet electrical maturation

Qiang Li, Ren Liu, Zuwan Lin, Xinhe Zhang, Israeli M. Galicia-Silva, Samuel D. Pollock, Juan R. Alvarez‐Dominguez, Jia Liu B

The paper uses flexible electronics to study electrical maturation of human pancreatic islets over time, identifying key electrical states and their role in hormone secretion.

bioRxiv · Mar 18, 2024 · PreprintBioengineering

Dissecting mechanisms of human islet differentiation and maturation through epigenome profiling

Juan R. Alvarez‐Dominguez, Julie Donaghey, Niloofar Rasouli, Jennifer Hyoje-Ryu Kenty, Aharon Helman, Jocelyn Charlton, Juerg Straubhaar, Alexander Meissner, Douglas A. Melton

This study profiles the epigenome during human islet differentiation, revealing epigenetic priming of lineage-defining loci and the role of LMX1B in endocrine progenitor regulation.

Cell stem cell · Dec 12, 2019Peer-reviewedGenomics