Knowledge Graphs Header Image

 





Knowledge Graphs
Connect Fragmented Data for Unified Views and Powerful Discoveries
May 19, 2026
The Knowledge Graphs symposium highlights how AI-driven graph technologies are moving from experimental tools to production-ready infrastructure across biomedical research, pharma, and clinical translation. The 2026 program spans scalable multimodal integration pipelines, literature-derived evidence graphs, LLM-to-GraphRAG interoperability, and enterprise deployment patterns. Sessions feature validated KGML models, safety and manufacturing risk analytics, clinical and translational applications, and emerging quantum-AI graph workflows. Designed for bioinformatics, data science, computational biology, and R&D IT leaders, this symposium delivers practical strategies for building trustworthy, provenance-rich, AI-ready knowledge graph ecosystems.

Tuesday, May 19

Registration and Morning Coffee

Organizer's Welcome Remarks

TECHNICAL FOUNDATION: BUILDING, INTEGRATING & SCALING BIOMEDICAL KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS

Chairperson's Remarks

Janice McCallum, Managing Director, Health Content Advisors , Managing Director , Health Content Advisors

Scalable and Reproducible Workflows on Multimodal Biomedical Data for Populating Knowledge Graphs

Photo of Anne Deslattes Mays, PhD, Principal, Science and Technology Consulting LLC , Principal , Discovery and Innovation , Science and Technology Consulting LLC
Anne Deslattes Mays, PhD, Principal, Science and Technology Consulting LLC , Principal , Discovery and Innovation , Science and Technology Consulting LLC

We present modular, containerized workflows built with Nextflow for scalable and reproducible integration of biomedical data into a unified cellular knowledge graph. This end-to-end pipeline supports standardized data transformation, semantic linking, and provenance tracking, enabling high-trust integration. The approach supports bring-your-own-data (BYOD) contributions, allowing users to submit, transform, and load datasets through a reproducible and FAIR-aligned process.

Microbiome Network Research and Visualization Atlas (MINERVA): A Scalable Knowledge Graph for Mapping Microbiome-Disease Associations

Photo of Synho Do, MS, PhD, Director, Laboratory of Medical Imaging and Computation (LMIC), Massachusetts General Hospital; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School , Dir Lab of Medical Imaging & Computation , Radiology , Massachusetts General Hospital
Synho Do, MS, PhD, Director, Laboratory of Medical Imaging and Computation (LMIC), Massachusetts General Hospital; Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School , Dir Lab of Medical Imaging & Computation , Radiology , Massachusetts General Hospital

MINERVA distills 129,719 biomedical publications into an evidence-linked knowledge graph that enables researchers to identify connections and testable hypotheses from complex literature. An LLM-driven pipeline extracts sentence-level microbe–disease relations, harmonizes terminology, and preserves provenance. With 66,444 validated relations across 2,941 microbes and 3,299 diseases, MINERVA provides a transparent, continuously updated resource that accelerates hypothesis generation and supports reproducible, evidence-based biomedical discovery.

Hybrid RAG-to-Graph Integration: Unifying Semantic Search and Knowledge Graphs for Biomedical-Knowledge Dissemination

Photo of Chris Willis, PhD, Director, Research BI&T, Emerging Methods & Technologies, Bristol Myers Squibb Co. , Director, Research BI&T - Emerging Methods & Technologies , BMS
Chris Willis, PhD, Director, Research BI&T, Emerging Methods & Technologies, Bristol Myers Squibb Co. , Director, Research BI&T - Emerging Methods & Technologies , BMS

Traditional knowledge graph querying requires expertise in graph query languages, while pure LLM approaches lack structured provenance. This talk presents the Knowledge Dissemination Platform (KDP), an application that bridges this gap through hybrid RAG integrated with Neo4j graph infrastructure. By combining BM25 keyword search and kNN vector similarity over OpenSearch-indexed graph nodes, the platform enables natural language interrogation of complex biomedical relationships while preserving graph-based lineage and connectivity. Lessons learned from this effort supporting Precision Discovery will be presented in the context of other knowledge graph-based BMS Research organization projects.

Recommended Pre-Conference Workshops and Symposia*

On Tuesday, May 19, 2026, Cambridge Healthtech Institute is pleased to offer six pre-conference Workshops scheduled across two time slots (9:00 am–12:00 pm and 1:15–4:15 pm) and three Symposia from 8:30 am–3:45 pm. All are designed to be instructional, interactive, and provide in-depth information on a specific topic. They allow for one-on-one interaction and provide a great way to explain more technical aspects that would otherwise not be covered during the main conference tracks that take place Wednesday–Thursday.

*Separate registration required. Additional details:

Networking Coffee Break

Uncovering Hidden Safety Risks: Using Knowledge Graphs to Surface Chemicals of Concern in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Photo of Kim Adler, Technical Product Owner, Pfizer Inc. , Technical Product Owner , Pfizer Inc
Kim Adler, Technical Product Owner, Pfizer Inc. , Technical Product Owner , Pfizer Inc

This talk will delve into how knowledge graphs enable efficient and robust identification of chemicals of concern within manufactured pharmaceutical products. The first part explains how manufacturing data stored in relational databases can be transformed into a knowledge graph containing material-level genealogy for any given product. The second part details how to optimize GenAI by using Graph Retrieval Augmented Generation (GraphRAG) to uncover chemicals of concern in these genealogies.

Learning from Machine Learning: Validating KGML Models and Finding Pitfalls in Early Drug Discovery

Photo of Tudor Oprea, MD, PhD, CEO, Expert Systems, Inc. , CEO , Expert Systems Inc
Tudor Oprea, MD, PhD, CEO, Expert Systems, Inc. , CEO , Expert Systems Inc

Validating KGML models exposes both the power and the limits of graph-based AI for drug discovery. This talk summarizes our experience in validating KGML models for Alzheimer’s disease, autophagy, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and target druggability predictions. This talk will dissect failure modes often ignored in the field, such as data leakage, bottom-ranked predictions, and interpretation artifacts, while emphasizing the need for rigorous temporal validation. From phenotypes to target prioritization, KGML outputs can provide valuable decision support and deliver reproducible scientific value.

Pharma General Ontology (PGO): Building a Semantic Backbone for FAIR and AI-Ready Knowledge Graphs

Photo of Giovanni Nisato, PhD, Consultant, Project Manager FAIR implementation, Pistoia Alliance , Consultant - Project Manager FAIR implementation , Pistoia Alliance
Giovanni Nisato, PhD, Consultant, Project Manager FAIR implementation, Pistoia Alliance , Consultant - Project Manager FAIR implementation , Pistoia Alliance

As lifescience innovation becomes increasingly data-driven, semantic interoperability is essential for scaling FAIR data and trustworthy AI. A shared semantic backbone would enable interoperable knowledge graphs, cross-domain data integration, and AI-ready foundations across the pharma ecosystem. This presentation introduces the Pharma General Ontology (PGO), a Pistoia Alliance–led, industry-governed project designed to harmonize core concepts across the pharmaceutical ecosystem, currently focused on core terminology. We introduce PGO’s scope, design principles, current stage, and long-term vision.

Transition to Lunch

Session Break

FROM RESEARCH TO REAL-WORLD IMPACT: TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF KNOWLEDGE GRAPHS

Chairperson's Remarks

Janice McCallum, Managing Director, Health Content Advisors , Managing Director , Health Content Advisors

Federated or Centralized: Building a Unified and Sustainable Biomedical Knowledge Graph Ecosystem

Photo of Chunlei Wu, PhD, Professor, Department of Integrative Structural & Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute , Prof , Department of Integrative Structural & Computational Biology , The Scripps Research Institute
Chunlei Wu, PhD, Professor, Department of Integrative Structural & Computational Biology, The Scripps Research Institute , Prof , Department of Integrative Structural & Computational Biology , The Scripps Research Institute

The integration of Large Language Models with Knowledge Graphs (KGs) offers transformative potential but demands robust infrastructure for scalability and sustainability. This presentation explores a hybrid KG development ecosystem that leverages both federated and centralized approaches, informed by our work in the NIH Biomedical Data Translator program and community consensus from the recent NIH Knowledge Networks meeting. We demonstrate how this combined strategy addresses key challenges in building unified, sustainable biomedical knowledge infrastructures.

From Cellular Morphology to Biological Knowledge: Scaling Image-Based Profiling for Drug Discovery

Photo of Shantanu Singh, PhD, Senior Group Leader, Machine Learning, Imaging Platform, Broad Institute , Sr Grp Leader , Imaging Platform , Broad Institute
Shantanu Singh, PhD, Senior Group Leader, Machine Learning, Imaging Platform, Broad Institute , Sr Grp Leader , Imaging Platform , Broad Institute

Image-based profiling captures subtle morphological changes in cells exposed to diseases, treatments, or genetic alterations, enabling large-scale screening of cellular responses. This talk explores challenges in making these high-dimensional datasets interoperable with structured biomedical knowledge—connecting morphological signatures to genes, pathways, and mechanisms requires careful integration across data modalities. Our recent work with MOTIVE demonstrates one approach, linking image-based phenotypes with biological ontologies to improve mechanism-of-action prediction.

Using AI to Explore and Traverse Knowledge Graphs

Photo of Martin Leach, PhD, MBA, Chief Data Officer, Black Canyon Consulting LLC , Chief Data Officer , Black Canyon Consulting LLC
Martin Leach, PhD, MBA, Chief Data Officer, Black Canyon Consulting LLC , Chief Data Officer , Black Canyon Consulting LLC

Knowledge graphs are powerful, however, the ability to traverse them is hindered by current user interfaces that focus on filtering datasets, selecting nodes or edges, and expanding them to understand connectivity. We will present an approach where we have trained an AI application to understand a graph schema, allowing users to 'ask questions' on a knowledge graph without needing to understand and construct complex graph queries. Examples will be shown where we have applied this to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Cell Knowledge Network.

Networking Refreshment Break

Progressing from KG to Clinic: The Personalization of Hypertension for Diagnosis and Treatment in Preeclampsia

Photo of Michael Liebman, PhD, Managing Director, IPQ Analytics, LLC , Managing Dir & Co Founder , IPQ Analytics LLC
Michael Liebman, PhD, Managing Director, IPQ Analytics, LLC , Managing Dir & Co Founder , IPQ Analytics LLC

Knowledge Graphs have proven to be a powerful framework for integrating and enabling agent-based analysis across disparate datasets and databases. We have extended this approach beyond representing “known unknowns” to uncover previously hidden “unknown unknowns,” including temporal concepts and relationships essential for advancing knowledge graphs toward clinical application. This methodology has been applied to overcome current limitations in diagnosing and treating hypertension, supporting a more personalized, mechanism-based model through the development of digital twins. Our initial implementation focuses on predicting risk and enabling early management and mitigation of preeclampsia.

From Biomarkers to Bloch Spheres: Quantum-AI Graphs for Precision-Oncology Workflows

Photo of Christopher Lundy, Senior Principal Enterprise Architect & Chief Quantum AI Officer, FindInfinite Labs , Chief Quantum AI Officer , FindInfinite Labs
Christopher Lundy, Senior Principal Enterprise Architect & Chief Quantum AI Officer, FindInfinite Labs , Chief Quantum AI Officer , FindInfinite Labs

Precision-oncology workflows struggle with biomarker-drug integration. Due to the high complexity of relationships, I've developed a hybrid quantum-AI framework and methodology that streamlines this process. It queries hundreds of oncology targets in seconds via multi-source caching, predicts EGFR-targeted bindings with 0.92 accuracy (using variational quantum methods), and constructs knowledge graphs for trial design. Join me for a review of the code and approach to democratizing AI-based, quantum computing.

Close of Symposium

Refreshment & Networking Break—Transition to Plenary Keynote

PLENARY KEYNOTE PROGRAM

Organizer's Remarks

Cindy Crowninshield, Executive Event Director, Cambridge Healthtech Institute , Executive Event Director , Cambridge Healthtech Institute

Presentation to be Announced

Welcome Reception in the Exhibit Hall with Poster Viewing

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.

Close of Day


Register Now Image