As the number of single-cell datasets continues to grow rapidly, workflows that map new data to well-curated reference atlases offer enormous promise for the biological community. In this perspective, we discuss key computational challenges and opportunities for single-cell reference-mapping algorithms. We discuss how mapping algorithms will enable the integration of diverse datasets across disease states, molecular modalities, genetic perturbations, and diverse species and will eventually replace manual and laborious unsupervised clustering pipelines.
GrantsNational Institutes of Health BMBF European Union Helmholtz Association's Initiative and Networking Fund through Helmholtz AI Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Joachim Herz Stiftung via Addon Fellowships for Interdisciplinary Life Science