Unique Information Resource and Portal for Neuroscientists
NEW YORK (November 11, 2005) — The National Institutes of Health's (NIH's) new Neuroscience Information Framework will be designed by a consortium led by Weill Medical College of Cornell University, whose Dr. Daniel Gardner was awarded the prestigious competitive contract. An invaluable information resource and portal for neuroscientists, the Framework will aggregate numerous neuroscience databases, provide neuroscience-related findings, and offer tools for exploring information about the brain.
The project represents the first major effort of NIH's Neuroscience Blueprint, a framework to enhance cooperative activities among 15 NIH Institutes and Centers that support research on the nervous system.
"Our goal is to make scientific data and findings available in order to help further research and promote a greater understanding of brain function and disease," says Dr. Gardner, principal investigator for the initiative. He is professor of physiology and biophysics; professor of physiology and biophysics in neuroscience; and head of the Laboratory of Neuroinformatics at Weill Cornell Medical College.
More than a "database of databases," the Neuroscience Information Framework will use innovative search technology to give rapid, informative, and clear responses that will offer users guidance about where disparate data or information exists, and will aid in its synthesis.
The existing prototype, which was designed by members of the consortium, is the Society for Neuroscience's Neurodatabase Gateway, which references more than 100 databases, tool repositories, and other sites.
All technology needed to access the Framework will be non-proprietary and available freely. The technology will also be scalable in order to support any functionality and data added in the future.
The 15-month exploratory first phase of the project has a budget of $550,000, and will be followed by a $1.1 million second phase in which the Framework is constructed. At its completion, the Framework will be delivered to and maintained by the NIH.
Assisting Dr. Gardner with this project at Weill Cornell are Dr. Bernice Grafstein, the Vincent and Brooke Astor Distinguished Professor in Neuroscience and professor of physiology and biophysics; Dr. Fabien Campagne, assistant professor of computational biomedicine in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, and the bioinformatics officer in the Institute for Computational Biomedicine at Weill Cornell; and Dr. Adrian Robert, research associate in physiology and biophysics.
The Framework's prime contractor is Weill Cornell Medical College and its Laboratory of Neuroinformatics, led by Dr. Gardner. The consortium includes neuroinformatics groups at Yale University School of Medicine, University of California at San Diego, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and George Mason University. Nine other sites, including the 37,000-member Society for Neuroscience, are contributing collaborators. The effort is supported by federal funds from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH, and Health and Human Services.
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