Bioinformatics/data science Core (BDSC)

The Bioinformatics and Data Science Core (BDSC) aims to advance the study of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) through a modern data-driven framework that combines traditional statistical models with artificial intelligence (AI) methods and an ontology-based approach to ensure data interoperability across multi-site studies. Ontology, in this context, refers to a formally structured system that defines key terms and relationships within a specific domain, enabling consistent tagging and integration of data from diverse sources. By addressing the challenges of inconsistent diagnostic and treatment models within the dental field, the BDSC seeks to provide a unified structure for understanding TMDs and develop analytic pipelines for deep phenotyping, enabling reliable identification of TMD subtypes. Leveraging findings from the OPPERA study, the Core will explore existing TMD datasets and integrate neuroinformatics to examine multimodal brain imaging alongside clinical data, uncovering neurobiological mechanisms underlying these conditions. Ontologies will play a central role in promoting semantic interoperability, improving the use of common data elements, complementing statistical analyses, and facilitating the integration of data across the Collaborative. The BDSC will support the CREATE Center and the TMD IMPACT Collaborative by offering data analysis resources, applying ontologies to complex datasets, and providing consultation services to investigators and trainees. This initiative, aligned with the NIH directive to reevaluate TMDs beyond traditional assumptions, seeks to uncover new insights into the etiology, mechanisms, and treatment of TMDs while addressing their broader context within chronic overlapping pain conditions (COPCs).