Kesselman. FaceBase 3 Coordinating Center

The major goal of the FaceBase Consortium is to advance research by creating comprehensive datasets of craniofacial development and dysmorphologies, and to disseminate these datasets to the wider craniofacial research community. The FaceBase 3 Data Management and Integration Hub builds on the existing and successful scientific and technical team that has lead the development, deployment, operation and community engagement of the FaceBase 2 data hub. Looking forward to the future impact of the FaceBase Consortium, we face major challenges that include: (1) how to annotate large datasets to empower the biomedical research community; (2) how to improve data integration and facilitate data search and retrieval from the hub; (3) how to use the data from FaceBase to design studies and otherwise inform our future research; and (4) how to translate our knowledge from animal model studies to improve human craniofacial health. Importantly, the projects we propose here are designed to address these issues as we develop anatomy-based comprehensive data search and display, incorporate additional datasets from the community, and promote the usage of FaceBase data. In pursuit of these goals, we propose the following three Specific Aims: **Specific Aim 1:** Create a FAIR data repository and resource hub for the craniofacial research community. **Specific Aim 2:** Promote and enable data contributions to FaceBase by NIDCR-supported researchers. **Specific Aim 3:** Foster a community of active FaceBase users through outreach activities and dissemination of new features and available datasets. We will create educational materials and provide training opportunities for the next generation of craniofacial researchers. Ultimately, our proposed projects will not only contribute to our comprehensive understanding of the molecular regulatory mechanisms of craniofacial development but will also demonstrate how others can use the datasets from the FaceBase Hub to develop innovative approaches to improve human health.