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Knowledge Graphs

Bring Knowledge Graphs to Life through Real-World Scientific Applications

April 2, 2025 ALL TIMES EDT

The Knowledge Graphs symposium at the Bio-IT World Conference & Expo will explore the transformative role of knowledge graphs in life sciences. Experts will showcase real-world applications, covering technical foundations, advanced graphing capabilities, and scaling challenges. The symposium will highlight the integration of knowledge graphs with AI technologies, demonstrating their impact on data-driven decision-making, scientific accuracy, and workflow optimization in drug discovery and clinical research. Attendees will gain insights into harnessing knowledge graphs to drive innovation and accelerate discoveries in the life sciences.

Tuesday, April 1

5:00 pmRegistration Open

Wednesday, April 2

8:00 amRegistration and Morning Coffee

9:00 amOrganizer's Remarks

BUILDING AND LEVERAGING FOUNDATIONAL KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH

9:05 am

Chairperson's Remarks

Janice McCallum, Managing Director, Health Content Advisors

9:10 am

Human Reference Atlas Knowledge Graph: Construction and Applications

Katy Börner, PhD, Victor H. Yngve Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Information Science, Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University

Experts from 20 consortia are collaborating to build the Human Reference Atlas (HRA), which aims to map the 37 trillion cells in the healthy human body. The HRA Knowledge Graph contains over 6 million nodes and 57 million edges, enabling complex data queries through the HuBMAP portal, HRA Organ Gallery, and other tools. This presentation will explore how HuBMAP, SenNet, and GTEx data are integrated into the HRA to support precision health and medicine at scale. Learn more at https://humanatlas.io and https://humanatlas.io/api.

9:35 am

A Graph Database with Billions of Nodes and Edges Linking Mouse and Human Genetics

Matthew Gerring, MEng, Senior Manager, Computational Sciences, The Jackson Laboratory

Over the last three years we have been working on a vast array of data and linking it into a graph database. Using techniques including streaming, intermediate SQL databases and bulk import we have built a database which links mouse and human genes and can be used in a wide range of scientific research. This talk will detail how we did that computationally and show how to use the database.

10:00 am

Advancing Medical QA: A Knowledge Graph Agent for Complex, Multi-Strategy Reasoning

Xiaorui Su, PhD, Harvard Medical School

Biomedical knowledge is uniquely complex and structured, requiring distinct reasoning strategies compared to other scientific disciplines. This diversity calls for flexible approaches that accommodate multiple reasoning strategies while leveraging in-domain knowledge. We introduce KGARevion, a knowledge graph (KG) based agent designed to address the complexity of knowledge-intensive medical queries. Upon receiving a query, KGARevion generates relevant triplets using the LLM knowledge base. These triplets are then verified against a grounded KG to filter out erroneous information and ensure that only accurate, relevant data contribute to the final answer.

10:25 am Building Enterprise-Scale Knowledge Graphs for Biomedical Discovery: Strategies, Insights, and Impact 

Theodore Johnson, Senior Scientist, QIAGEN

Katie Roberts, Data Science Solution Architect, Neo4j

Biological systems function through intricate networks of molecular interactions that underpin health and disease. Advancing biomedical research requires precise modeling of these relationships at scale. In this presentation, we will explore strategies for constructing enterprise-wide knowledge graphs that integrate diverse biomedical data sources to support research and drug discovery. Using QIAGEN’s Biomedical Knowledge Base as a case study, we will demonstrate how curated causal relationships between molecular entities, their partners, and physiological states can enable systematic hypothesis generation, mechanistic insights, and AI-driven discovery. Our discussion will focus on best practices for designing, scaling, and implementing enterprise knowledge graphs to maximize scientific utility and translational impact.

10:55 amNetworking Coffee Break

11:15 am

SAGE: Scientific Discovery through AI-Infused Knowledge Graphs to Enrich Disease Understanding

Matt Docherty, Associate Principal, ZS Associates

SAGE is an easy-to-use platform built to facilitate knowledge generation from multiomics and clinical data. It is based on a rich dataset from which a dedicated Knowledge Graph (KG) was built. Additionally, we trained an LLM to communicate with the KG, including a chatbot functionality to enable wide access to data-generated insights, all without the risk of hallucination. Learn how this platform facilitates scientific discovery for disease understanding. 

11:40 am

Enhancing Drug Manufacturing with a Batch Genealogy Knowledge Graph

John M. Apathy, Chief Solutions Officer, Life Sciences, XponentL Data, Inc.

Batch Genealogy is a core data product at the heart of the Product Development, Manufacturing, and Supply Chain domains in any Biopharmaceutical company. Batch Xplorer is a vital resource to serve end-to-end manufacturing batch genealogy data needs such as product developability, product market compliance, and quality investigations. Leveraging AWS Neptune RDF graph database technology, the solution provides a comprehensive set of functionalities for data ingestion, profiling, transformation, navigation, retrieval, and analysis. The underlying solution architecture implemented was built integrating internal and external batch data in an RDF Graph Database (AWS Neptune) and with a user interface built in AWS Amplify.

12:05 pmTransition to Lunch

12:15 pm LUNCHEON PRESENTATION:

Harnessing AI to Identify Causal Relationships and Enhance Research and Scientific Validation in Pharma

Peter Doerr, Director, Presales, metaphacts

This talk discusses how AI methods can help find gaps between curated knowledge in knowledge graphs and unstructured knowledge in scientific texts. We provide examples of how databases like OpenTargets can be enriched by using AI to identify causal relationships in scientific documents. With Knowledge Graph technology, these relationships are used to augment existing databases, allowing users to compare, spot gaps and, crucially, find the relevant literature to ensure scientific validation.

12:45 pmLuncheon Presentation (Sponsorship Opportunity Available) or Enjoy Lunch on Your Own

1:15 pmSession Break

ADVANCING BIOMEDICAL INSIGHTS: KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS, AI/ML, AND GENERATIVE FRAMEWORKS IN RESEARCH AND DRUG DISCOVERY

1:30 pm

Chairperson's Remarks

Janice McCallum, Managing Director, Health Content Advisors

1:35 pmPresentation to be Announced

2:00 pm

Integrating AI/ML Solutions with Cutting-Edge Biology to Identify New Condensate Targets and Revolutionary Medicine

Avinash Patel, PhD, Senior Director, Head Exploratory Sciences, Dewpoint Therapeutics GmbH

Biomolecular condensates regulate key biological processes, and their dysfunction, or condensatopathies, drives disease. These are novel therapeutic targets for drug discovery. Dewpoint’s AI-powered platform uses graph-based target identification, multi-omics data, and deep learning models to optimize condensate-modifying drugs (c-mods). This approach prioritizes c-mods for diseases like colorectal cancer, addressing key dysfunctions. Dewpoint’s platform supports oncology and neurodegeneration programs, developing innovative small-molecule therapies for high unmet needs.

2:25 pm

Integrating LLMs, Ontologies, and Graph Structures: A Unified Framework for Advanced Data Insights

Ray Lukas, Principal Emerging Technologies Engineer, The MITRE Corporation, MITRE Labs

This talk introduces a cutting-edge framework that integrates large language models (LLMs), ontologies, and graph structures to unify disparate datasets for biomedical research. This unified platform enhances the ability to derive advanced insights through natural language queries, removing the need for expertise in native query languages. Positioned as a bridge between foundational graph technologies and generative AI, this framework offers transformative potential for life sciences applications, accelerating discovery and innovation.

2:50 pmNetworking Refreshment Break

3:10 pm

Harnessing the Unified Biomedical Knowledge Graph (UBKG) for Large-Scale Data Integration and Discovery

Jonathan C. Silverstein, Chief Research Informatics Officer & Professor, Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh

The Unified Biomedical Knowledge Graph (UBKG), funded by multiple NIH awards, is transforming biomedical research by integrating vast datasets for advanced analytics and discovery. This talk explores UBKG’s capabilities, including the Petagraph, a large-scale integration framework published in Nature Scientific Data. Attendees will gain insights into UBKG’s applications, API functionalities, and how it supports precision medicine, AI-driven research, and translational informatics.

3:40 pm

Pre-Introducing Knowledge Graphs and Large Language Models: Dangerous Predictions about the Next Token

Ben Busby, PhD, Senior Alliances Manager, Genomics, NVIDIA

Helena Deus, PhD, Lead for Semantic Data Products, Bristol Myers Squibb Co.

Brian Martin, Chief AI Product Owner, BTS; Head of AI, R&D Information Research; Senior Research Fellow, AbbVie, Inc.

Tom Plasterer, PhD, Managing Director, Life Sciences Innovation, XponentL Data

Explore the dynamic intersection of knowledge graphs and large language models in this forward-looking session. This talk delves into the emerging possibilities and risks as semantic data integrates with generative AI, offering ‘dangerous predictions’ about the next token. Join us to examine how these technologies could reshape scientific discovery, data interpretation, and innovation across life sciences and beyond.

4:30 pmRefreshment Break & Transition to Plenary Keynote

4:40 pm

Organizer's Remarks

Cindy Crowninshield, Executive Event Director, Cambridge Healthtech Institute

4:45 pm PLENARY KEYNOTE INTRODUCTION:Explainable AI in Drug Discovery

Kshitij Kumar, CEO & Founder, CLOVERTEX

4:55 pm PLENARY KEYNOTE PANEL DISCUSSION:

From Bytes to Breakthroughs: Next-Generation AI Driving the Future of Life Sciences and Healthcare

PANEL MODERATOR:

Abbie Celniker, PhD, Partner, Third Rock Ventures LLC

Next-Generation AI has the potential to revolutionize life sciences by delivering unprecedented insights, automation, and efficiency. But what will those industry transformations look like? This keynote panel convenes leaders from biopharma, healthcare, and emerging tech who are applying AI—generative models and beyond—to accelerate drug discovery, diagnostics, and patient care. Panelists will share real-world case studies, discuss overcoming both technical and organizational challenges, and explore how AI is evolving from predictive tools to autonomous, decision-making systems. Look beyond the hype to uncover where AI is making a tangible impact today and where the next frontiers of innovation lie.

PANELISTS:

Tala Fakhouri, PhD, MPH, Associate Director for Data Science and AI Policy, FDA (participating virtually)

Per Greisen, PhD, President, BioMap

Sofia Guerra, Vice President, Bessemer Venture Partners

Subha Madhavan, PhD, Vice President and Head, AI/ML, Quantitative and Digital Sciences, Pfizer Inc.

Sonya Makhni, MD, Medical Director, Mayo Clinic Platform

6:10 pmWelcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing (Sponsorship Opportunity Available)

The Bio-IT Kickoff Reception is a reunion—reconnect with friends, explore cutting-edge research, and celebrate innovation! Enjoy poster presentations, networking, and vote for the Best of Show and Poster awards.

7:25 pmClose of Day







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