iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Hosting a Mini-Organoid Symposium at #HKUMed with Gui-Wei He (SZ Bay Lab)! 🗓Sept 30, 1–4pm 📍3SR-LT2, 3 Sassoon Rd, HK Gut, brain, heart, liver & cancer organoids. Speakers: Nick Barker, Yangfei Xiang, Joe Zhang, Gui-Wei He & Rio Sugimura. All welcome! #Organoids

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 06/06/2026

Excited to visit Hannover Medical School this June, supported by the HKU Overseas Scheme. Many thanks to Nico Lachmann for hosting me. I look forward to exchanging ideas, exploring new directions, and expanding our collaboration, especially in CAR macrophage research.

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Congrats Chloe from our lab for the second prize in the HKU Grad School imaging competition. Heart-shaped brain organoids. Cannot wait to integrate with actual heart organoid

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 27/11/2025

Our Blood Engineering Lab is looking for a postdoc candidate. If you would like to join Immuno ChatGPT and AI virtual cell, DM me

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

We are thrilled to host Human Embryo Biology and Modeling symposium at @hkusbms.bsky.social . Human embryos, stem cell embryos, model organisms, single-cell atlas Nov 26, 2pm-6:30pm Guojun Sheng, @liliulab.bsky.social , Angela Wu, Rio Sugimura, Tiago Rito, Pentao Liu

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

- The first blood comes from the hypoblast that contributes to hemoglobin+ phagocyte-like cells; - CDX2 marks hypoblast blood that sustains oxygen supply in embryos before heart formation; - Erythro-core regulatory network endows erythropoiesis to human hypoblasts and phagocytes.

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Now we employ CRISPRa and are discovering a core regulatory network to endow erythropoiesis to hypoblast as well as phagocytes. 8/

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Indeed, the red cell precursor from hypoblast is mesenchymal and EMT+. What’s more, they are molecularly and functionally similar to phagocytes. What does it mean? Phagocytes are one of the oldest immune cells in evo-devo. What if hypoblast repurposed a phagocyte to give a new role? Carry oxygen? 7/

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

But the remaining question is, why do we need to make red blood cells so early? We are actually a macrophage lab, and got inspired at GRC Phagocytes this year. The heart beats 1 week after blood appears. Blood should do its job without circulation. Should the early blood be snaky and locomotive…? 6

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

We used two independent human embryo models and LARRY molecular barcoding to identify hypoblast transition to erythroblasts. CDX2 marks such a transition, and its KO led embryo model suffers hypoxia. 5/

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Hypoblast was believed to be a dead end of development, only contributing to the yolk sac structure, or AVE. But primate embryos suggest hypoblast may contribute to extraembryonic mesenchymal cells, that we saw in our human embryo models too. 4/

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

We wondered if some blood might begin before gastrulation. These are epiblast, trophoblast, and hypoblast. Epiblast undergoes gastrulation to follow the long track to make blood. Trophoblast is missing in some embryo models, but we still see such early blood. Then hypoblast…? 3/

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

We hematologists are taught that all blood starts from gastrulation. When we precisely followed these steps that mimic gastrulation, hematoendothelial mesoderm, and hematopoiesis, it took 2 weeks. But some red cell precursors appear much faster, like a few days… 2/

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

Our latest preprint. Blood originates in hypoblasts during embryonic development. As a blood generator from a petri dish, one question has always stuck in my mind for 15 years. Why does some blood come so fast from iPSC? 1/

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 03/09/2025

Huge congrats to our very first PhD student David Xiang for successful defense! Kudoso to our team, committee members, collaborators to support his work on human gastruloid and critical genes for transcriptional regulation in organogenesis

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Great catch up with Dongrui, @liliulab.bsky.social and Weike at Westlake U visit sharing human embryo model and CAR macrophage works. Thanks @hkusbms.bsky.social for organizing this opportunity!

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 21/08/2025

This covid drawing on the corner of my white board survived >3 years. Our "MD Alex" drew this then medical student, is residency now. His study www.nature.com/articles/s41...

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

Summer intern season. We are delighted to host international students from France, Germany, the USA as well as local Laidlaw Scholars.

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 19/07/2025

Congrats Alex for the Best Oral Presentation at The Singapore Cell and Gene Therapy SCGT2025. Terrific job of immune-vascular organoids @alex-siufungto.bsky.social

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Research Mixer hosted by @hkusbms.bsky.social ! Evo-devo journey of immune cells. Why and when blood becomes immune cells?

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 17/06/2025

HKU School of Biomedical Engineering hosts Jun Hong Choi from MSKCC. Synthetic circuits for recording cell histories. June 26, 9pm NY time June 27, 9am Singapore time Zoom via the QR code All are welcome

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 15/06/2025

Wild week. Every day organizing a symposium, conference session, invited seminars. Thanks Kathy Lui, Chloe Kan and all speakers and visitors. Lots of new meet and reunion of my last two decades

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

We CTSCB_HK are elated to host Mingxia Gu from UCLA to our invited seminar series on stem cells Vascularized organoids Exciting start of the ISSCR week at HK

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 09/06/2025

One day ahead of our Hematology & Immunology Symposium at CUHKMedicine Kathy Lui and I host impressive speaker lineups Filipe Pereira, Mingxia Gu, Lizhong Li, @liliyanglab.bsky.social Giulia Adriani, Bin Zhou, Jun Shen, Li Qian, Andras Nagy, Lika Drakhlis, Albert Cheung

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Good jobs by Chloe, @alex-siufungto.bsky.social and Tay from our lab at graduate students idea pitch session @hkusbms.bsky.social

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Long haul ✈️ reading. Immunoengineering

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 25/05/2025

Honored to present our latest work on next-generation CAR-macrophages at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. Looking forward to discussions

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 23/05/2025

Hematology & Immunology Symposium at HK, June 10 held @CUHKMedicine Kathy Lui, Lili Yang, Filipe Pereira, Mingxia Gu, Lizhong Li discuss blood origin, human embryo model, CAR-NKT, reprogramming immunotherapy, vascular organoid. Free register from QR

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 14/05/2025

kathyLui & I host exciting talks of Blood origin In vivo lineage tracing Human embryoid Vascular organoid Cardiac organoid Cardiac Regeneration Next-gen CAR Immuno engineering Immuno reprogramming

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Special thanks to the opening remark by Shuibing Chen, Weil Cornel Medicine and ISSCR Board of Director

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Lizhong Liu, Westlake University is a rising-star. His human peri-gastruloid deciphers the origin of blood Understanding the Initial Wave of Blood Production in Humans

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Lika Drakhlis, Hannover Medical School is a rising-star. She pioneers blood-generating heart organoids Advanced heart-forming organoids for modeling human multi-organ development

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Andras Nagy, University of Toronto immunoengineers pluripotent stem cells. Big step to off-the-shelf cell therapy Developing a Safe and Immune-Evasive Stem Cell Source for Off-the-Shelf Therapeutic Products

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Albert Cheung, CUHK tells us how helicases regulate stem cell aging Dual role of DDX21 in safeguarding hematopoiesis by ribosome biogenesis and epigenetic modulation

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Li Qian, UNC flexes the muscle of reprogramming. Direct conversion of fibroblasts into heart Reprogramming Approaches for Heart Regeneration

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Filipe Pereira, Lund University reprograms foe into friends. Innovative cancer immunotherapy In Vivo Dendritic Cell Reprogramming for Cancer Immunotherapy

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Lili Yang, UCLA leverages the power of hematopoietic stem cells to generate CAR-NKT for immunotherapy Harnessing Stem Cells for Off-The-Shelf CAR-NKT Cell Therapy

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Kathy Lui, CUHK tells us how blood vessel generates hematopoietic stem cells Epigenetic regulation of the endothelial-to-hematopoietic stem cell emergence

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Jun Shen, CAMS gears us up to next-gen CAR immunotherapy Harnessing Hematopoietic Regeneration for Innovative Immunotherapies

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Rio Sugimura, HKU tells how his vascular organoid research led to human gastruloid and blood development journey Tracing the First Blood in Human Embryos

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Mingxia Gu, UCLA will introduce us how vascular organoids can transform both human development and disease research Engineering Vascularized Organoids: Decoding Human Development and Disease in a Dish

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Giulia Adriani, A*STAR will refresh us cutting-edge microfluidics technology Designing vascularized microphysiological models to advance immunoengineering strategies to reprogram PDAC’s TME Giulia pioneers modeling PDAC microenvironment with microfluidics to advance immunotherapy

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

kick start by Bin Zhou, CAS Genetic tracing for deciphering stem cell fate plasticity Bin is a leader of in vivo lineage tracing and Cre/Dre system

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Blood origin, In vivo lineage tracing, Next-gen CAR, Immunotherapy, Immune lab-on-chips, Cardiac organoid, Vascular organoid... Kathy Lui and I are hosting leading scientists 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇩🇪🇸🇬🇸🇪🇨🇳 to Hong Kong 🧵speaker spotlight/

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 28/04/2025

Kathy Lui and I organize Hematology & Immunology symposium at CUHK. June 10. International and outstanding speakers cover blood origin, cardiac organoid, vascular organoid, next-gen CAR, immunotherapy, immune labOnChip, lineage tracing embryos. Free registration from the qr code

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 10/04/2025

PI at a conference, while lab is sampling whole-genome CRISPRa in vivo screening

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 26/03/2025

We are organizing a Symposium at Hong Kong Regenerative Hematology & Immunology June 10, 2025, CUHK Campus Thanks for speakers all over the world More detail will come

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 16/03/2025

Long haul ✈️ with something I am recently most up to. Endothelial diversity and immunity

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 04/03/2025

We are thrilled to host Dr. Anna Obenauf to HKU BME seminar series Unlocking immunity: Decoding and reprogramming the immune-evasive tumor microenvironment March 25, 4pm Singapore time March 25, 9am, Vienna time Zoom 7970766995

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Rio Sugimura @riosugimura.bsky.social · 28/02/2025

My Europe talk tour Munich: immunoengineering Hannover: origin of blood Frankfurt: biophysics of T-cell Pavia: why don't you do it in a trilogy🤣

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