Breakout Sessions Leaders: Kian Hong Kock & Patricia Severino

This session will focus on strategies to broaden participation and representation across the HCA ecosystem by expanding cohort diversity, increasing access to spatial technologies, and engaging a wider community in data analysis and interpretation. Participants will discuss barriers that currently limit equitable participation in atlas generation and analysis, including disparities in infrastructure, funding, training, and access to technology across regions and institutions. The conversation will explore approaches for diversifying cohorts and datasets to ensure more globally representative atlases, while also identifying opportunities to democratize access to emerging spatial and multimodal technologies. In addition, the session will consider how to move beyond a relatively small circle of data contributors by developing more accessible analytical tools, training initiatives, collaborative frameworks, and community-driven models that enable broader participation in computational analysis and biological discovery.