Dr. William Hsiao
Research Overview
Dr. William Hsiao’s research applies data science and knowledge engineering to support data sharing, integration, and harmonization across public health, animal health, and food systems through a One Health lens. His team develops FoodOn.org, a widely adopted open ontology that standardizes food and agricultural terminology to strengthen traceability and interoperability across the agri-food sector, alongside GenEpiO.org, a companion ontology supporting infectious disease and public health genomics.
Research Keywords
One Health | Agri-food Data Interoperability | Food Ontologies | Semantic Interoperability | Data Integration & Harmonization | Knowledge Engineering | Food Traceability | Food Safety Data | Agricultural Data Standards | Knowledge Graphs | Public Health Informatics | Animal Health Data
Dr. Hsiao's Projects
FoodOn
FoodOn is an open, consortium-driven ontology that gives the agri-food sector a shared, machine-readable vocabulary for food and agricultural products, ingredients, and processes. Developed through the Joint Food Ontology Workgroup, with leadership from Simon Fraser University’s CIDGOH, it helps organizations trace food from farm to table, connect disparate datasets, and improve food safety and quality reporting. By standardizing how food is described, FoodOn makes it easier for industry, regulators, and researchers to share and reuse agri-food data, supporting more transparent and resilient food systems.
GenEpiO
GenEpiO is an open ontology developed by CIDGOH researchers to standardize the terminology used in genomic epidemiology and public health surveillance. It enables consistent, machine-readable descriptions of pathogens, outbreaks, and laboratory data, making it easier for public health agencies and researchers to share and integrate surveillance information. By improving how health data is structured and connected, GenEpiO supports faster, more coordinated responses to infectious disease threats and strengthens links between food safety, animal health, and human health under a One Health approach.
DataHarmonizer
DataHarmonizer is a free, open-source, browser-based spreadsheet editor developed by CIDGOH at Simon Fraser University to make omics data easier to collect, validate, and share. It provides built-in templates — including for SARS-CoV-2, mpox, avian influenza, and antimicrobial resistance surveillance — that guide users toward standardized, ontology-based terminology while flagging errors in real time, all without requiring an internet connection. Originally created to support PHA4GE’s contextual data specifications, DataHarmonizer has grown into a broader open-source collaboration with contributors including the National Microbiome Data Collaborative and the LinkML development team. By streamlining data harmonization at the point of entry, it helps laboratories and public health agencies produce cleaner, more interoperable data for faster outbreak detection and response.
