GIS researcher bags prestigious L’Oréal-UNESCO Fellowship for Women in Science award

Dr Liu Jinyue, Principal Investigator of the Laboratory of Single-cell Spatial Neuromics in A*STAR Genome Institute of Singapore, was recently presented with the L’Oréal-UNESCO Fellowship for Women in Science award 2025.

The award celebrates the achievements of distinguished women scientists by awarding them its prestigious L’Oréal-UNESCO Fellowship for Women in Science (FWIS). In recognition of their groundbreaking research efforts, the For Women in Science awards outstanding women scientists with grants annually to help fund their projects. Dr Liu’s project was on “Connecting the dots: an RNA technology to map the brain wiring diagram.”

With this project, Dr Liu aims to advance her research on brain wiring by developing an RNA-based technology to map the brain’s complex neural circuits, tracing how different brain cells connect and communicate. Using molecular barcoding paired with advanced imaging genomics and AI, she seeks to decode brain connectivity and how neural circuits change in conditions such as autism, dementia and mental health challenges — driving insights that could lead to earlier diagnosis, more targeted interventions and ultimately, healthier ageing for everyone.

Dr Liu sees the programme’s support as pivotal to pushing this frontier further — giving her team the resources and multidisciplinary expertise needed to refine and validate the technology, while advancing tools that could reveal how brain wiring is altered in neurological and psychiatric conditions. She hopes her work will not only help societies like Singapore better support ageing populations, but also foster greater awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity in our community.

Congratulations, Dr Liu Jinyue, for receiving this award.