Breakout Session Leaders: Kevin Matthew Byrd & Gary Reynolds

This session will explore the importance of cross-tissue integration and annotation in advancing our understanding of how cell states and identities vary across tissues, developmental stages, and disease contexts. Participants will discuss landmark examples that have successfully established integrative frameworks for the field, similar to the role HCA Lung v1 played in shaping early atlas efforts, and consider how these models can inform future atlas-building initiatives. The discussion will also examine the major technical, computational, and social barriers that currently limit cross-tissue integration, including challenges related to data harmonization, annotation standards, collaboration, and infrastructure. Through this conversation, the session aims to identify the resources, community practices, and collaborative strategies needed to overcome these obstacles and enable more unified, scalable, and impactful atlas efforts across the HCA community.