diff --git a/.github/workflows/sync_mendeley_bib.yml b/.github/workflows/sync_mendeley_bib.yml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..bfc008d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/sync_mendeley_bib.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+name: Sync Mendeley Bib (Manual Only)
+
+on:
+  workflow_dispatch:
+
+jobs:
+  sync-bib:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+
+      # TODO: replace this with your real mechanism for updating the bib file.
+      # For now this action is just a placeholder that can be expanded later.
+      - name: Show current bib
+        run: |
+          echo "Current BibTeX file contents:"
+          cat literature/mendeley-library.bib || echo "No bib file yet."
+
+      - name: No-op
+        run: echo "Update the bib file locally from Mendeley, then commit and push."
diff --git a/literature/literature-map.md b/literature/literature-map.md
index cd174bd..05512a5 100644
--- a/literature/literature-map.md
+++ b/literature/literature-map.md
@@ -1,3 +1,86 @@
-# Literature Map
+# Literature Map for CT Phenotyping PhD
 
-(Full detailed map from previous message inserted here.)
+This document is a living overview of the field. Update it weekly.
+
+## 1. COPD Clinical Background
+
+- Key papers:
+  - [Hogg 2004] – small airway obstruction.
+  - [GOLD report] – definitions and staging.
+- Main ideas:
+- Open questions:
+
+## 2. CT-Derived Imaging Biomarkers (Kirby Cluster)
+
+- Key papers:
+  - [Kirby 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, ...]
+- Biomarkers:
+  - PRM
+  - Airway wall thickness
+  - Emphysema burden
+  - Small airway disease metrics
+- How these are computed:
+- Clinical relevance:
+- Gaps / limitations:
+
+## 3. Radiomics and Shape/Texture (Ward Cluster)
+
+- Key papers:
+  - [Ward 2015, 2017, Paris/Ward 2020, Goddard/Ward 2021, Sorensen/Ward 2019]
+- Feature families (texture, shape, intensity distributions):
+- Reproducibility lessons:
+- How they compare with deep features:
+
+## 4. Phenotyping and Clustering
+
+- COPD subtypes (Castaldi, Estepar, Kirby, Ward, others):
+- Cluster definitions and what they represent biologically:
+- Methods used (k-means, mixture models, hierarchical, etc.):
+- How your project could extend or refine this work:
+
+## 5. CT Preprocessing, Segmentation, and Harmonization
+
+- What steps your pipeline performs (link to code in `src/preprocess/`):
+- Mapping papers to steps:
+  - Segmentation:
+  - HU normalization:
+  - Resampling and voxel spacing:
+  - Scanner harmonization:
+- Risks and common failure modes:
+
+## 6. Deep Learning for 3D CT and COPD
+
+- 3D CNN architectures:
+- Self-supervised and contrastive learning approaches:
+- COPD-specific deep learning studies:
+- How these can plug into your distributed preprocessing pipeline:
+
+## 7. Distributed Computing and Large-Scale Pipelines
+
+- How Dask/Spark/Monai/others handle large CT datasets:
+- What your project currently does:
+- What would be needed to scale to:
+  - multi-site cohorts,
+  - cloud environments,
+  - mixed datasets (COPDGene, NLST, LIDC-IDRI).
+
+## 8. Reproducibility, Bias, and Evaluation
+
+- Sources of non-reproducibility in imaging studies:
+- Dataset bias and cohort differences:
+- Evaluation metrics and uncertainty:
+- How you will design experiments to be reproducible.
+
+## 9. Research Gaps and Potential Dissertation Aims
+
+Update this section every 1–3 months.
+
+- Gap 1:
+- Gap 2:
+- Gap 3:
+
+Possible aims:
+
+1. Aim 1:
+2. Aim 2:
+3. Aim 3:
diff --git a/literature/mendeley-library.bib b/literature/mendeley-library.bib
index 3d0e5d6..050fd27 100644
--- a/literature/mendeley-library.bib
+++ b/literature/mendeley-library.bib
@@ -1 +1,12 @@
-% Last-Exported: 2025-11-27
+% This file is managed by Mendeley.
+% Export from Mendeley as BibTeX and overwrite this file regularly.
+% File → Export → BibTeX (.bib)
+
+% Example entry to test wiring; replace by exporting from Mendeley:
+
+@article{example2025test,
+  title   = {Example Paper for Testing},
+  author  = {Doe, Jane},
+  journal = {Test Journal},
+  year    = {2025}
+}
diff --git a/literature/reading-plan/12_month_reading_plan.md b/literature/reading-plan/12_month_reading_plan.md
index e555e5c..42720d3 100644
--- a/literature/reading-plan/12_month_reading_plan.md
+++ b/literature/reading-plan/12_month_reading_plan.md
@@ -1,3 +1,209 @@
-# 12-Month Reading Plan
+# 12-Month Reading Plan for CT Phenotyping PhD Preparation
 
-(Full detailed plan from previous message inserted here.)
+This plan is organized so that understanding compounds:
+clinical foundations → CT physics → airway/parenchymal biomarkers →
+deep learning → harmonization → high-scale ML → dissertation prep.
+
+## Month 1 — Clinical Foundations of COPD & CT Imaging
+
+Goal: understand the disease you are phenotyping.
+
+**Weeks 1–2: COPD Pathophysiology**
+
+- Hogg et al., 2004 — small airway obstruction in COPD.
+- GOLD executive summary (latest version).
+- Precision medicine approaches to COPD (review).
+
+**Weeks 3–4: CT as a clinical measurement tool**
+
+- Kirby et al., 2016 — CT-derived imaging biomarkers for COPD.
+- CT densitometry overview papers.
+- Galbán et al., 2012 — Parametric Response Mapping (PRM).
+
+---
+
+## Month 2 — Quantitative CT Biomarkers (Kirby Core Papers)
+
+Goal: master functional small airway disease imaging and parenchymal phenotyping.
+
+**Weeks 5–6**
+
+- Kirby et al., 2015 — quantitative CT of airway disease.
+- Kirby et al., 2017 — calibration / harmonization for phenotyping.
+- Kirby et al., 2020 — PRM diagnostic performance in COPD.
+
+**Weeks 7–8**
+
+- Labaki et al., 2018 — PRM for emphysema vs air trapping.
+- San José Estépar et al., 2015 — airway geometric phenotypes.
+- Kirby harmonization papers (2018–2022).
+
+---
+
+## Month 3 — Airway & Parenchymal Morphology (Ward Cluster)
+
+Goal: understand shape, texture, and radiomic bases of COPD quantification.
+
+**Weeks 9–10**
+
+- Ward et al., 2015 — texture-based lung phenotyping.
+- Ward et al., 2017 — quantitative imaging biomarkers for COPD.
+- Sorensen & Ward, 2019 — reproducibility of radiomic features.
+
+**Weeks 11–12**
+
+- Paris & Ward, 2020 — airway tree modeling and structural signatures.
+- Goddard & Ward, 2021 — emphysema structural subtypes.
+- van Griethuysen et al., 2017 — PyRadiomics and reproducibility.
+
+---
+
+## Month 4 — CT Preprocessing & Harmonization
+
+Goal: deeply understand what your preprocessing pipeline does and why.
+
+**Weeks 13–14: CT Physics & HU normalization**
+
+- Chen et al., 2020 — standardization of lung densitometry.
+- Kirby 2018 harmonization paper(s).
+
+**Weeks 15–16: Lung segmentation and reconstruction effects**
+
+- Hofmanninger et al., 2020 — robust U-Net for lung segmentation.
+- Maier-Hein et al., 2018 — pitfalls of deep learning in medical imaging.
+
+---
+
+## Month 5 — Phenotyping Methods & Cluster Analysis
+
+Goal: learn unsupervised and supervised COPD phenotyping methods.
+
+**Weeks 17–18**
+
+- Castaldi et al., 2014 — cluster-based COPD subtypes.
+- San José Estépar et al., 2015 — airway geometry and subtypes.
+
+**Weeks 19–20**
+
+- Revisit PRM and air trapping papers (Galbán, Labaki, Kirby).
+- Rahaghi et al., 2019 — automated airway phenotyping.
+
+---
+
+## Month 6 — Deep Learning for 3D CT
+
+Goal: understand foundations of 3D CNNs and self-supervised learning (SSL).
+
+**Weeks 21–22: 3D model foundations**
+
+- Çiçek et al., 2016 — 3D U-Net.
+- Kamnitsas et al., 2017 — DeepMedic.
+
+**Weeks 23–24: Self-supervised and contrastive learning**
+
+- Tang et al., 2022 — Models Genesis or equivalent 3D SSL work.
+- Chen et al., 2020 — MoCo (core contrastive framework).
+- Recent surveys on SSL in medical imaging.
+
+---
+
+## Month 7 — Deep Learning for COPD Phenotyping
+
+Goal: see modern end-to-end deep learning approaches to lung phenotyping.
+
+**Weeks 25–26**
+
+- Kurugol et al., 2021 — 3D CNNs for COPD progression.
+- Azarang et al., 2021 — deep feature learning for COPD risk.
+- Related SPIROMICS imaging papers.
+
+**Weeks 27–28**
+
+- Ward et al., 2021 — deep features vs classical radiomics.
+- Airway-oriented CNN pipelines for asthma/COPD.
+
+---
+
+## Month 8 — Large-Scale Pipelines & Distributed Computing
+
+Goal: link reading to the Dask-based preprocessing in this repo.
+
+**Weeks 29–30: Dask foundations**
+
+- Rocklin, 2015 — Dask: parallel computation in Python.
+- Khan et al., 2020 — scalable medical imaging pipelines.
+
+**Weeks 31–32: Cloud-native imaging**
+
+- Zarr format overview for large 3D arrays.
+- MONAI data loading and preprocessing patterns.
+- Overview of cloud-native imaging frameworks (e.g., Clara, open-source alternatives).
+
+---
+
+## Month 9 — Scanner Variability, Reproducibility & Bias
+
+Goal: prepare to answer committee-level questions on rigor and generalization.
+
+**Weeks 33–34**
+
+- Maier-Hein et al., 2018 — reproducibility crisis in medical imaging.
+- Ward/Sorensen radiomics robustness papers.
+
+**Weeks 35–36**
+
+- Papers on dataset bias in medical imaging.
+- Harmonization and domain adaptation methods for CT.
+
+---
+
+## Month 10 — Evaluation Frameworks & Uncertainty
+
+Goal: understand evaluation beyond a single metric.
+
+**Weeks 37–38**
+
+- Kendall & Gal, 2017 — aleatoric and epistemic uncertainty.
+- Sokol & Flach, 2020 — explainability in medical ML.
+
+**Weeks 39–40**
+
+- Topol, 2019 — high-performance medicine.
+- Imaging-based prognosis prediction / risk models.
+
+---
+
+## Month 11 — Datasets Deep Dive (NLST, COPDGene, LIDC)
+
+Goal: full command of the datasets the pipeline targets.
+
+**Weeks 41–42**
+
+- Regan et al., 2010 — COPDGene study design.
+- Black-Shinn et al., 2019 — NLST dataset overview.
+- Armato et al., 2011 — LIDC-IDRI.
+
+**Weeks 43–44**
+
+- Kirby and Ward papers using COPDGene/NLST.
+- Review metadata schemas and harmonization strategies used.
+
+---
+
+## Month 12 — Proposal, Synthesis & Research Direction
+
+Goal: integrate everything into PhD-ready research aims.
+
+**Weeks 45–48**
+
+- Re-read your “top 20” most central papers.
+- Summarize key methods in a comparative table.
+- Identify gaps in literature.
+- Draft 2–3 possible dissertation aims.
+
+**Weeks 49–52**
+
+- Write a preliminary research proposal (4–8 pages).
+- Extend `literature-map.md` with a narrative of the field.
+- Prepare draft slides for a mock committee presentation.
+- Use these materials to support meetings with potential supervisors.
diff --git a/literature/summaries/TEMPLATE_paper_summary.md b/literature/summaries/TEMPLATE_paper_summary.md
index e7c1e2c..e5c77b8 100644
--- a/literature/summaries/TEMPLATE_paper_summary.md
+++ b/literature/summaries/TEMPLATE_paper_summary.md
@@ -1,3 +1,49 @@
 # Paper Summary Template
 
-(Full template inserted here.)
+Replace the title and citation fields and save as:
+`LastName_Year_shortTopic.md`
+
+## Citation
+
+- Title:
+- Authors:
+- Journal / venue:
+- Year:
+- DOI or URL:
+- Tags: `airway`, `parenchyma`, `PRM`, `radiomics`, `3D-CNN`, `ssl`, `COPDGene`, `NLST`, `LIDC`, `Kirby`, `Ward`, etc.
+
+## 1. Five-Sentence Summary
+
+1. Problem addressed:
+2. Dataset(s) used:
+3. Method (inputs → transformations → outputs):
+4. Key results:
+5. Limitations:
+
+## 2. Methods Details
+
+- Input data:
+- Preprocessing:
+- Model / algorithm:
+- Evaluation setup and metrics:
+
+## 3. Relevance to COPD Phenotyping
+
+- Which phenotype(s) or biomarkers are being modeled?
+- How does this relate to airway, parenchymal, or functional small airway disease?
+- How does this relate to Kirby’s or Ward’s work?
+
+## 4. Relevance to This Repository
+
+- Which parts of the codebase does this influence?
+  - `ingest/`
+  - `preprocess/`
+  - `features/`
+  - `train/`
+- TODO: concrete ideas for new features, tests, or benchmarks.
+
+## 5. Ideas and Open Questions
+
+- Ideas for follow-up experiments:
+- Questions about assumptions or limitations:
+- How this could become part of a PhD aim:
diff --git a/literature/tags/airway.md b/literature/tags/airway.md
index f69283d..28d1526 100644
--- a/literature/tags/airway.md
+++ b/literature/tags/airway.md
@@ -1,3 +1,14 @@
 # Airway-Focused Papers
 
-(Full content here.)
\ No newline at end of file
+List and briefly summarize papers heavily focused on airway metrics.
+
+## Core Papers
+
+- Kirby et al., 2015 — Quantitative CT of airway disease.
+- San José Estépar et al., 2015 — Airway geometric phenotypes.
+- Paris & Ward, 2020 — Airway tree modeling and structural signatures.
+
+## Notes
+
+Use this file to collect high-level patterns about airway-based biomarkers
+and methods (tree modeling, airway dimensions, wall thickness, etc.).
diff --git a/literature/tags/harmonization.md b/literature/tags/harmonization.md
index b58f60f..e1c3c3e 100644
--- a/literature/tags/harmonization.md
+++ b/literature/tags/harmonization.md
@@ -1,3 +1,14 @@
-# Harmonization Papers
+# Harmonization-Focused Papers
 
-(Full content here.)
\ No newline at end of file
+List and briefly summarize papers heavily focused on harmonization methods.
+
+## Core Papers
+
+- Kirby et al., 2017 — Calibration / harmonization for phenotyping.
+- Chen et al., 2020 — Standardization of lung densitometry.
+- Additional Kirby harmonization papers (2018–2022).
+
+## Notes
+
+Use this file to collect high-level patterns about airway-based biomarkers
+and methods (tree modeling, airway dimensions, wall thickness, etc.).
diff --git a/literature/tags/radiomics.md b/literature/tags/radiomics.md
index 3ce20be..0355f25 100644
--- a/literature/tags/radiomics.md
+++ b/literature/tags/radiomics.md
@@ -1,3 +1,15 @@
-# Radiomics Papers
+# Radiomics-Focused Papers
 
-(Full content here.)
\ No newline at end of file
+List and briefly summarize papers heavily focused on radiomic features and methods.
+
+## Core Papers
+
+- Ward et al., 2015 — Texture-based lung phenotyping.
+- Ward et al., 2017 — Quantitative imaging biomarkers for COPD.
+- Sorensen & Ward, 2019 — Reproducibility of radiomic features.
+- van Griethuysen et al., 2017 — PyRadiomics and reproducibility
+
+## Notes
+
+Use this file to collect high-level patterns about airway-based biomarkers
+and methods (tree modeling, airway dimensions, wall thickness, etc.).
diff --git a/literature/tags/ssl.md b/literature/tags/ssl.md
index 26cae0b..bce59f5 100644
--- a/literature/tags/ssl.md
+++ b/literature/tags/ssl.md
@@ -1,3 +1,15 @@
-# Self-Supervised Learning Papers
+# SSL-Focused Papers
 
-(Full content here.)
\ No newline at end of file
+List and briefly summarize papers heavily focused on self-supervised learning methods.
+
+## Core Papers
+
+- Azizi et al., 2021 — Big Self-Supervised Models for Medical Imaging.
+- Chen et al., 2020 — A Simple Framework for Contrastive Learning of Visual Representations (SimCLR).
+- Tang et al., 2022 — Self-supervised Learning for Medical Image Analysis using Models Genesis.
+- Zhou et al., 2021 — Models Genesis: Generic Foundation Models for 3D Medical Image Analysis.
+
+## Notes
+
+Use this file to collect high-level patterns about airway-based biomarkers
+and methods (tree modeling, airway dimensions, wall thickness, etc.).