The influence of position effect and epigenetic memory on governing distinct molecular microenvironments of the HIV latent reservoir

Speaker: Dr Heng-Chang Chen, Łukasiewicz Research Network – PORT Polish Center for Technology Development

Talk: The influence of position effect and epigenetic memory on governing distinct molecular microenvironments of the HIV latent reservoir

Time: on Friday, 15 May 2026, at 9:00 a.m.

Venue: Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology, Abrahama 58, hall 042

Dr. Heng-Chang Chen is an experienced virologist and data scientist whose research endeavors to provide a more profound insight into the mechanistic nature of the latent HIV reservoir and deep latency. After completing his PhD at Humboldt University of Berlin (Berlin, Germany), he undertook postdoctoral studies at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (Barcelona, Spain) and the Institute of Human Genetics (Montpellier, France). During this period, he concentrated on examining the molecular interactions between HIV transcription and host chromatin, utilizing a tailed high-throughput omics methodology. In November 2022, he took on the role of Junior Research Group leader, establishing his own laboratory—the Quantitative Virology Research Group—affiliated with the Łukasiewicz Research Network-PORT Polish Center for Technology Development (Wrocław, Poland).

His current research focuses on single provirus sense and antisense transcriptomics and their transcript architecture, and the onset of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) deep latency, which is linked to epigenetic memory. In his laboratory, he laid the groundwork for creating tailored molecular biology methods that generate multidimensional datasets and developing deep learning approaches, enabling the quantitative study and modeling of the likelihood of distinct molecular microenvironments of the latent HIV reservoir and those harboring proviruses at a deeper level of latency.