The 2026 FaceBase Community Forum was held on May 4 & 5 at the USC/ISI East Office in Arlington, VA. The forum brought together researchers, clinicians, data scientists, and trainees to explore how shared, well-curated data can accelerate discovery and support whole person health across dental, oral, craniofacial, inner ear (DOC-IE), and related biomedical domains. Sessions addressed AI-ready data platforms, genomic medicine, data reuse and federation, clinical data integration, and cross-domain collaboration.
Thank you for everyone who participated at this year’s Community Forum! Here are the meeting materials that have been made available to the public:
Links to Event Materials
Explore the comprehensive materials from the Forum:
- Guide to Slides and Webcasts - FaceBase 2026 Community Forum (Public Edition)
- Bios of Speakers and Panelists
- Summary Report of the FaceBase 2025 Community Forum - coming soon
Slides and Webcasts from Presentations and Panels
| Presentation | Presenter(s) | Slides | Webcast/Video |
|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1 — Monday, May 4, 2026 | |||
| Welcome and Introduction | Yang Chai, D.D.S., Ph.D. (USC) | Slides | Webcast |
| FaceBase Community Forum Opening Remarks (NIDCR, NIDCD, ODSS) | Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, D.D.S., Ph.D. — Acting Director, NIH/NIDCR | Coming soon | Coming soon |
| FaceBase Highlights, Contributions & Future Directions | Rob Schuler, Ph.D. (USC) | Slides | Webcast |
| Implementing Multi-omic Analysis in Genomic Medicine Materials not available for distribution |
Brendan Lee, M.D., Ph.D. (Baylor College of Medicine) | — | — |
| FaceBase: An AI-Ready Platform for Biomedical Research | Rob Schuler, Ph.D. (USC) | Slides | Webcast |
| From Teleophthalmology to AI: Reusable Data Systems for Glaucoma Care | Benjamin Xu, M.D., Ph.D. (USC) | Slides | Webcast |
| Maximizing the Value of Scientific Data: A Panel Discussion | Moderator: Lu Wang, Ph.D. (NIH/NIDCR); Panelists: Michael Feolo (NIH/NIDCR), Troy Hackett (NIH/NIDCD), Carl Kesselman (USC), Anup Mahurkar (NIH/NIDCD), Vidhya Venkateswaran (NIH/NIDCR), Axel Visel (LBNL/JGI) | — | Webcast |
| A Novel Correspondence Mask to Connect & Characterize Facial and Cranial Structures, Including Soft Tissue Thickness Materials not available for distribution |
Susan Walsh, Ph.D. (Indiana University Indianapolis) | — | — |
| Regulatory Evolution of the Mammalian Midface Materials not available for distribution |
Laura E. Cook, Ph.D. (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) | — | — |
| Day 2 — Tuesday, May 5, 2026 | |||
| NIH Data Infrastructure and Repository Sustainability | Susan Gregurick, Ph.D. — Associate Director for Data Science & Director, NIH/ODSS | Slides | Webcast |
| Automated Shape-Based Phenotyping in Mus Musculus Materials not available for distribution |
Janina Kueper, M.D. (University of Pittsburgh) | — | — |
| Bone Regeneration in Rat Calvarial Defects with Tunable Mineralized Collagen Microgels | Sofia Vignolo, Ph.D. candidate (Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU)) | Slides | Webcast |
| Deciphering the Genetic Etiology of Syndromic Orofacial Clefts: Integrating Sub-Saharan African Datasets and FaceBase Resources | Lord J.J. Gowans, Ph.D. (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana)) | Slides | Webcast |
| An Introduction to EarBase: A FaceBase Consortium | Troy Hackett, Ph.D. (NIH/NIDCD) | Slides | Webcast |
| Harnessing FaceBase Spatial Transcriptomics into ClinGen Gene Curation Insights | Pedro Sanchez, M.D. (Cedars-Sinai) and Jifan Feng, Ph.D. (USC) | Slides | Webcast |
| EMR and Clinical Data and Research Integration with FaceBase | Parish P. Sedghizadeh, D.D.S., M.S. (USC) | Slides | — |
Program Description
The 2026 FaceBase Community Forum was held on May 4–5 at the USC/ISI East Office in Arlington, VA.
This year’s theme was Advancing Scientific Data Reuse, Integration, and AI-Readiness to Bolster Translational Research Across Dental, Oral, Craniofacial, Inner Ear, and Related Biomedical Domains to Enhance Overall Health.
Location & Logistics
University of Southern California / Information Sciences Institute (USC/ISI) – East Office
3811 Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA
Google Maps
The meeting will be held in person at the USC/ISI East Office in Arlington, Virginia, just outside Washington, DC.
We will also provide remote participation options.
Getting There
- Located two blocks west of the Virginia Square-GMU Orange/Silver Line Metro station.
- ~15 minutes drive from the DCA airport.
- Cab fare is approximately $25 from DCA and $60 from IAD.
Hotels
We do not have a room block, but we recommend the Hilton Arlington (~9 min walk) or the Westin Arlington (~15 min walk) as convenient options.
Hilton Arlington (~9 min walk) 950 North Stafford Street Arlington, Virginia 22203 USA
Westin Arlington (~15 min walk) 801 N Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22203