360° collaborative hub for AI in TMD research (360° chat-TMD) - 360° chat TMD abstract the proposed 360° collaborative hub for AI in TMD research (360° chat-TMD) center will establish a national,…

The National Institutes of Health Office of the Director awarded the Regents of the University of Michigan $4.735 million under a Cooperative Agreement (U54DE035412) on September 22, 2025, under the Oral Diseases and Disorders Research program (CFDA 93.121) to establish the 360 Collaborative Hub for AI in TMD Research (360 CHAT-TMD), a national interdisciplinary initiative advancing temporomandibular disorder research and clinical care through September 30, 2031. Work is performed in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The initiative unites experts from the University of Michigan, Harvard University, and Mass General Brigham alongside patient communities to bridge knowledge gaps in temporomandibular disorders and chronic overlapping pain conditions. The program establishes four core deliverables: a Bioinformatics and Data Science Core building AI/ML infrastructure for disease phenotyping, harmonized data integration, and treatment outcome analysis; an Outreach and Training Core delivering evidence-based curricula and career development programs targeting clinicians in training, early-stage investigators, and medically underserved populations; Research Project 1 employing animal models to study TMD structural changes, pain, and dysfunction with focus on therapeutic pathways including Hedgehog signaling and inflammation; and Research Project 2 integrating AI/ML technologies for whole-person and whole-healthcare analysis of TMD.

Sub-recipients deliver specialized components. Massachusetts General Hospital's Administrative Core coordinates project activities, communication, data sharing, and integration of research into clinical practice. Brigham and Women's Hospital's Bioinformatics and Data Science Core harmonizes multimodal datasets, standardizes ontologies and Common Data Elements, and develops AI/ML methodologies for phenotyping and predictive modeling in collaboration with University of Michigan investigators. Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital collaborate on the Outreach and Training Core, developing curricula and educational resources for various learner stages with emphasis on patient-centered insights and medically underserved populations, launching a Clinical Research Pain Career Development Program, and implementing dissemination strategies for educational content and research findings.

360° collaborative hub for AI in TMD research (360° chat-TMD) - 360° chat TMD abstract the proposed 360° collaborative hub for AI in TMD research (360° chat-TMD) center will establish a national, interdisciplinary, patient-centered initiative aimed at advancing temporomandibular disorder (TMD) research and improving clinical care. By uniting experts from the university of michigan, harvard university, and mass general brigham, alongside patient communities, the project seeks to bridge critical knowledge gaps in TMD and chronic overlapping pain conditions (copcs). The collaborative focuses on four key objectives: creating an integrated computational and data science infrastructure, implementing standardized training programs, conducting interdisciplinary research to uncover TMD mechanisms, and enhancing collaboration through innovative technologies. The project is structured around two cores and two research projects. The bioinformatics and data science core (bdsc) serves as the computational and analytical hub, establishing TMD-specific common data elements (cdes) and harmonized data integration pipelines. IT leverages advanced AI/ML techniques for multi-modal disease phenotyping, fosters collaboration through secure, privacy-preserving data-sharing ecosystems, and provides biostatistical and data science expertise to study TMD subtypes, progression, and treatment outcomes. The outreach and training core (otec) focuses on education and training, enhancing accessibility to TMD/copcs resources for medically underserved populations and developing career development programs to mentor the next generation of clinician-scientists. Research project 1 employs a multi-level approach to understand TMD mechanisms, using animal models to study structural changes, pain, and dysfunction, while exploring therapeutic strategies targeting pathways like hedgehog signaling and inflammation. Research project 2 integrates AI/ML technologies for whole-person, whole-healthcare, and whole-community research. IT aims to classify TMD subtypes, predict progression, and implement mobile clinical chatbots for remote outreach and patient classification. Together, these efforts align with nidcr's impact mission and aim to transform TMD research, improve clinical care, and ultimately enhance the quality of life for patients suffering from TMD and related chronic pain conditions.