Day 1: From Single-Cell Genomics to Brain Function and Disorders—Data Integration and Annotation

A vast amount of single-cell genomic profiling data has been generated to date from human and other mammalian brains by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative - Cell Census Network (BICCN) and the Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) and the broad research community to characterize brain cell types and states across lifespan and diseases. These information-rich data represent a tremendous research advancement, which engenders new and essential opportunities for data analysis, integration, and annotation.

This workshop from January 16-18, 2024, featured targeted and coordinated presentations, panel discussions, and demonstrations with the following goals:

-Foster the development of data standards for the integration and annotation of single-cell genomics data.
-Systemize and automate the process of data to information to knowledge and develop pipelines where feasible
-Shed new insights on brain cell functional studies by using cell atlasing data and cell type-specific targeting tools.
-Develop strategies with brain disease research communities to maximally leverage BICCN/BICAN data.
-Develop a community roadmap for the analysis and annotation of single-cell data.

The overarching BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlasing Program goal is to build reference brain cell atlases that will be widely used throughout the research community, providing a molecular and anatomical foundational framework for the study of brain function and disease.