Alexandria, VA, USA – A symposia series highlighting three evolving technologies and areas where data science has been critical to drive research forward was presented at the 104th General Session of the IADR, which was held in conjunction with the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research and the 50th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research on March 25-28, 2026 in San Diego, CA, USA.
The first symposium hosted invited speakers to discuss the latest –omics-based research, including genomics, spatial-temporal transcriptomics, and microbiomics in developmental diseases and childhood caries. By bringing together different perspectives across –omics-based research, this session aimed to inform the community of the role of data science in –omics-based research and showcased the potential of this promising field.
The second symposium highlighted three speakers who presented innovative applications for Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) research, ranging from quantification of craniosynostosis to using clinical data to reduce disparities to data standardization and predictive modeling of osteonecrosis of the jaw. By highlighting these guidelines along with presenting examples of innovative AI/ML research in the dental, oral, and craniofacial field, the session sought to educate and drive interest in responsible AI/ML research and development in the field of dental, oral, and craniofacial research.
The third symposium highlighted four speakers who have leveraged data science methods to link and analyze complex datasets. The topics ranged from improving care delivery in special populations, creating an efficient learning health system that allows for continuous improvement across the healthcare life cycle, to efforts by FDA in data standardization in the temporomandibular joint research space, and finally, health policy implications. The session explored the interplay of epidemiology, data science, and informatics to improve patient-level and population-level oral and whole person health.
All three symposia were organized by Vidhya Venkateswaran, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Bethesda, MD, USA. The first symposium, “Multi-omics Integration and Precision Medicine” took place on Wednesday, March 25 at 1:30 p.m. PDT. The second symposium, “AI/ML in Diagnostics and Treatment” took place on Thursday, March 26 at 8 a.m. PDT. The third symposium, “Patient-level and Population-level Health” took place on Friday, March 27 at 8 a.m. PDT.
About IADR/AADOCR
The International Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (IADR) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to drive dental, oral, and craniofacial research for health and well-being worldwide. IADR represents the individual scientists, clinician-scientists, dental professionals, and students based in academic, government, non-profit, and private-sector institutions who share our mission. The American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) is the largest division of IADR. Learn more at www.iadr.org.
