During a practical session at Cicica-UCR, professionals from different countries in the region were trained in a technique that revolutionizes the way we understand cancer: cell-by-cell analysis. This cutting-edge tool opens up new possibilities for anticipating tumor behavior and designing more tailored treatments for each patient.
Since 2021, the Center for Research in Surgery and Cancer (Cicica) at the University of Costa Rica (UCR) has been implementing one of the world’s most advanced technologies that allows for the individual study of each cancer cell.
Its objective? Very clear: to establish new scientific discoveries that will significantly improve the possibilities of earlier diagnosis and provide personalized cancer treatments.
This is single-cell transcriptomics technology, better known as single-cell RNA-seq, a tool that allows the study of different cell populations within a cancer, in order to understand their individual behavior and the specific characteristics of each cell that could be promoting tumor progression.
The advancement of this knowledge implemented by Cicica for the past three years, combined with the prestige of the University of Costa Rica, did not go unnoticed, and in 2025 it captured international attention, especially from the United Nations (UN).
Thanks to the leadership of Dr. Ricardo Chinchilla Monge, a researcher at this Center, and through UNU-Biolac, in collaboration with professors from the University of Chile and the Metropolitan Technological University of Chile, the UN selected Cicica-UCR—from among many centers worldwide—to lead one of the most prestigious global teaching processes in the region, aimed at all of Central America, the Caribbean, and South America. The impact? Highly significant.
The designation of the UCR not only highlights Costa Rica’s leadership as a regional pioneer in advanced training in technology applied to research, but also consolidates its leading role as an entity capable of spearheading scientific solutions with a global impact.
“In a region like Central America, where late diagnoses and unequal access to cancer treatments are persistent challenges, teaching this technology can be a turning point,” said Dr. Ana Cristina Castro Castro, a researcher at Cicica-UCR and one of the course instructors.
“In the long term, research conducted with this type of technology could allow for the development of more specific biomarkers, personalized therapies, and more effective monitoring strategies, all tailored to the genetic and molecular profile of our populations,” added Dr. Castro. Indeed.
Single-cell technology will allow future research to translate the knowledge generated into a better prognosis for people with this disease by studying the heterogeneity of cancer cells within a tumor, something that traditional analyses do not provide.
Currently, traditional methods study a mixture of all the cancer cells present in a tumor. It’s essentially like analyzing a concert in which an entire orchestra plays simultaneously, and it’s impossible to distinguish which instrument plays which part.
This limitation means that important details, such as the presence of specific mutations or the profile of resistance to treatments, are missed, ultimately hindering accurate medical decision-making. Today, with single-cell technology, the story is different.
Single-cell transcriptomics makes it possible to isolate each cancer cell in order to understand its specific role in that cancerous melody and detect when one of them is out of tune (a malignant cell), even before the entire orchestra plays out of tune (the disease develops).
“In this case, it is the first time that Cicica has conducted and coordinated a course on single-cell technology with an emphasis on scientists from Central and South America, supported by UNU-BIOLAC,
“This event is of great importance to our center and the UCR. The idea is for it to be the beginning of a series of courses being offered to achieve ongoing training throughout Latin America, and especially Central America, where Cicica-UCR can position itself as a benchmark in single-cell RNA-seq technology,” said Dr. Chinchilla.
“Cancer is a highly heterogeneous disease. Single-cell transcriptomics analysis allows us to unravel this complexity with unprecedented resolution. This technique helps identify cell subpopulations responsible for progression, treatment resistance, or relapse.” This information is simply not accessible with traditional tissue analysis methods.”
A Hope
Twenty students from Central America, the Caribbean, and South America participated in the single-cell program. The process was led by six highly trained instructors from Costa Rica and Chile, using an intensive methodology over five days in person at the Cicica-UCR laboratories.
The course focused on fostering regional scientific capacities to approach cancer from a more personalized perspective, using cutting-edge technologies.
According to Dr. Castro, this scientific approach is vital given the lagging capabilities in Central America. For example, today, the UCR is one of the few countries in the region that possesses Rhapsody, one of the most innovative technologies for single-cell DNA sequencing in the world.
Therefore, this course led by Cicica-UCR is fundamental to unraveling the biological complexity of cancer and developing solutions tailored to the profile of local populations.
“I have been quite impressed.” with the organization. In Panama, we don’t have single-cell technology, and I believe the course itself covered everything needed for training in the technology, from the wet lab to bioinformatics and other technologies. “It was very comprehensive, and I would love to come again,” emphasized Ana Cristina Ortega Batista, from the Panama Institute of High Technology.
Methodology
The training integrated theory, laboratory practices (wet lab), and computational analysis (dry lab), combining cell isolation, messenger RNA capture, and complementary DNA synthesis.
It also addressed bioinformatics analysis, from data quality control to analyses such as clustering—which groups cells that behave similarly—cell trajectories, and the search for differential biomarkers. This integration represents a significant advantage over other more segmented bioinformatics and oncology programs.
In all of this, the UCR was a key player, providing its infrastructure, specialized personnel, and institutional support. Likewise, the initiative included the participation of international experts in immunology, bioinformatics, and single-cell technologies.
“The country and the University of Costa Rica have greatly surprised me.” The University of Costa Rica is highly ranked, and I think it’s justified because it has a very high-level infrastructure. Imagine getting down to the cell and being able to characterize each one in a tissue context. “This is quite rigorous, important, and necessary,” said Richard Ponce Cusi of the National University of Moquegua, Peru.
In favor of life
One of the course’s greatest contributions is its democratizing nature of scientific knowledge, by offering access to technologies without financial means being a barrier.
This type of training can have concrete impacts on each participant’s research environment by bringing the skills taught in the course to their respective universities and research centers.
This promotes cancer research in Central American contexts. Currently, such research is scarce and hinders the development of solutions tailored to the region’s realities.
“This course can facilitate the identification of new regional biomarkers and promote more effective therapies, in addition to fostering scientific collaboration between neighboring countries,” added Dr. Castro.
“For the Cicica at the UCR, as well as for the team that is part of the Specialized Diagnostic Laboratory, and on a personal level, it is very gratifying to have the opportunity to be supported by the UNU-BIOLAC to host this type of international event. This allows us to disseminate top-level scientific knowledge, establish scientific relationships with other research centers in both Central and South America, and foster the transfer of knowledge to other researchers regarding single-cell technology,” said Dr. Chinchilla.
In the long term, the expectation is to contribute to the development of personalized medicine and evidence-based health policies with research that addresses the reality of our Latin American populations, which are underrepresented in international databases and in research on single-cell biology.
So far, three analyses with basic science research results have been conducted in Costa Rica—thanks to Cicica-UCR. This is the first edition of the course, which has been hailed as a milestone in the region. For Vinicius Maracaja Coutinho, of the University of Chile, this area has changed the way we understand cell function and, consequently, how we diagnose and treat diseases.
“I see this as a spectacular event, especially as it provides this training to various researchers from different centers throughout the continent who are typically underrepresented,” Maracaja explained.
Although the intention of other Central American institutions to replicate it has not yet been confirmed, the UCR hopes for future editions that include more spaces, international partnerships, and cutting-edge technologies such as flow cytometry and sorting.
The idea is to make Costa Rica a permanent regional hub for scientific training in individual cancer cell analysis and research at the highest level. “If we train our own experts, we reduce our dependence on imported knowledge and open the door to regional, more equitable, and sustainable solutions,” concluded Dr. Castro.
