News & Events
New videos that provide an introduction to FaceBase and how to contribute (19 May 2021)
The FaceBase Hub has recently published two new professionally-produced videos to help people new to FaceBase to learn more about the consortium and the process of submitting data for addition to the repository:
What is FaceBase? - An introduction to FaceBase, this video describes the mission of the Consortium and the resources it provides to the craniofacial reserach community.
Submitting your data to FaceBase - Do you have data that would be of interest to craniofacial researchers worldwide? This video is a high-level overview of how you can submit information about your data to FaceBase.
And don’t forget to register for the first annual FaceBase Community Forum - being held Tuesday June 15th on Zoom. You can learn more about the event and register here:
Click here for the event page and registration form!
Register for the FaceBase 2021 Community Forum! (29 April 2021)
We are excited to announce the first annual FaceBase Community Forum on Tuesday, June 15th via Zoom! This event will be an opportunity for the craniofacial research community to share their discoveries and help us find ways to work together to build a stronger community that will promote more scientific discoveries.
There will be invited talks, a forum panel, poster session from the community and more!
You can find the agenda here, but in general you can expect the following:
Tuesday, June 15th 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm Eastern
- Updates on new and upcoming FaceBase capabilities
- Presentations by FaceBase users
- Panel discussion on “How can we build community around FaceBase data?”
- E-poster session
Click here for the event page and registration form!
We’re very much looking forward to seeing you in June!
Yang Chai to give talk at Data Sharing and Reuse Seminar on April 9th (25 March 2021)
Dr. Yang Chai is the invited speaker for the April Data Sharing and Reuse Seminar for the NIH Office of Data Science Strategy and will be talking about FaceBase–A Data Sharing Resource to Support Dental and Craniofacial Research.
Registration is now open!
Data and time: April 9 at 12:00 pm EDT
Learn more and register: https://datascience.nih.gov/news/april-data-sharing-and-reuse-seminar-yang-chai
This seminar series is open to the public.
Chai lab help develop stem cell treatment approach for craniosynostosis (12 January 2021)
The Chai laboratory of the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology, USC - who have been part of FaceBase from the very beginning - headed a study published in Cell that describes a stem cell-mediated suture regeneration approach that could pave the way to improved treatments for craniosynostosis.
From USC News:
Using stem cells to regenerate parts of the skull, USC scientists partially corrected a skull deformity and reversed learning and memory deficits in young mice with craniosynostosis, a condition estimated to affect 1 in every 2,500 infants born in the United States.
“I started my career as a clinician treating kids with congenital defects, and we always wanted to do something better for these patients,” said study leader Yang Chai, a University Professor and director of the Center for Craniofacial Molecular Biology at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC.
“This stem cell-mediated suture regeneration approach truly gives us the hope that one day we can apply this as a biological solution for this biological problem.”
You can read the full article here.
FaceBase research featured in facial genetics publication on Nature Genetics (09 December 2020)
Various FaceBase researchers have published a new paper on Nature Genetics titled “Insights into the genetic architecture of the human face”:
Abstract: The human face is complex and multipartite, and characterization of its genetic architecture remains challenging. Using a multivariate genome-wide association study meta-analysis of 8,246 European individuals, we identified 203 genome-wide-significant signals (120 also study-wide significant) associated with normal-range facial variation. Follow-up analyses indicate that the regions surrounding these signals are enriched for enhancer activity in cranial neural crest cells and craniofacial tissues, several regions harbor multiple signals with associations to different facial phenotypes, and there is evidence for potential coordinated actions of variants. In summary, our analyses provide insights into the understanding of how complex morphological traits are shaped by both individual and coordinated genetic actions.
Also see an accompanying piece that John Shaffer and Seth Weinberg, (Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics, University of Pittsburgh), wrote for The Conversation:
This study was funded by the NIDCR. The raw source data for the phenotypes — the 3D facial surface models in .obj format — are available through the 3D Facial Norms database at the FaceBase Consortium: https://www.facebase.org/id/VWP.
Access to these 3D facial surface models requires proper institutional ethics approval and approval from the FaceBase Data Access Committee (DAC). To gain access to this data, you must first go through the process outlined here .