Bio
Originally from Wuhan, China, Tan received his S.B. in Physics (minor: Biology) from MIT in 2012, studying microbial and human evolution with Jeff Gore and Pardis Sabeti. He earned his Ph.D. in Systems Biology from Harvard in 2018, developing high-precision methods for single-cell genomics with Sunney Xie. He uncovered the 3D structure of the human genome in a single cell, revealed unique chromosome organization in the mouse eye and nose, and measured the true mutation spectrum of single neurons in the normal human brain. Tan also attended the Neurobiology course at MBL in 2014 and worked with Ibrahim Cisse at MIT in 2019. As a postdoc in Karl Deisseroth’s lab at Stanford Bioengineering (co-mentor: Howard Chang), Tan discovered major 3D genome transformation in the mouse brain after birth.
Tan started his own lab at Stanford Neurobiology in Dec 2022, and discovered evolutionarily conserved 3D genome restructuring over the life spans of both humans and mice. Tan’s awards include PSF MIND (2024), Sanofi iAward (2024), HHMI FHS Finalist (2023), Baxter (2023), BWF CASI (2021), ISFS (2021), Berry (2020), Science & SciLifeLab Grand Prize (2019), HHMI ISRF (2015), and IPhO Gold Medal (2008). Outside the lab, he enjoys designing holiday cards, t-shirts, and music videos, and is a scientific illustrator.
