Transcript Two Pilot Projects at the NCRR

Department of Health and Human Services
National Institutes of Health
National Center for Research Resources
Division of Research Infrastructure
Extending the Reach
of Advanced Networking:
Two Pilot Projects at the NCRR
Susan R. Kayar, Ph.D.
Shelia A. McClure, Ph.D.
www.ncrr.nih.gov/resinfra.htm
Institutional Development Award
(IDeA)/DRI
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Designed to enhance the competitiveness
for biomedical research funding of
institutions located in states with
historically low funding from NIH.
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Inclusion of underserved populations is a
primary feature.
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Research focus is broad.
Eligible States
23 States and Puerto Rico
How is the Internet used at
IDeA-Funded Institutions?
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Communications
 E-mail and basic computer services
 Library access
 Website design and utilization
 Video teleconferencing
Genomics and Proteomics data management
Imaging
Equipment linking and collaboratories
Data Mining
Computing at high speed, high capacity
Archiving of databases
“IDeANet” Project
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Increased connectivity for high-bandwidth science
applications in six western IDeA states is first step.
Geographic Reality of
Western Region IDeANet
Internet2 – ‘Abilene’ 10gb/s Upgrade
Connections to Backbone
PNWGP
U. Alaska
U. Idaho
Montana State U
U. Nevada
Reno
CENIC
U. Hawaii
U. Wyoming
FRGP
Multiple Levels of Benefit
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IDeANet will relieve strategic bottlenecks in
connectivity entering states.
One major university campus per state to be
directly linked.
In general, connectivity of on-campus and instate networks is relatively high.
Many sites throughout states will experience
improved Internet performance.
Can leverage benefits to other university
departments and other institutions.
Additional Institutional Needs
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End-to-end performance evaluation at all sites;
Before/after performance metrics;
Assessment of needs for computer configurations,
software, etc.;
Address IT personnel issues (‘wizard gap’);
Assess opportunities for achieving better
connectivity to other institutions in each state.
Research Centers in Minority
Institutions (RCMI)
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Designed to expand the Nation’s capacity for
conducting biomedical research at institutions
with 50% or greater enrollment of
underrepresented minorities that grant doctoral
degrees in health/health-related sciences;
Strengthen research environments and improve
faculty research competitiveness;
Enhance the clinical research capacity
How is the Internet used at
RCMI Institutions ?
All the usual academic uses
 Research training and faculty development
 Bioinformatics and computational biology
 Research networks on health disparities
 Global collaborations
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RCMI Translational Research
Network (RTRN) Goals:
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Establish a stable high performance network linking
RCMI sites and other sites (using Internet2 Abilene
infrastructure)
Establish distributed and linked data collections for the
test bed clinical research projects
Enable data mining from multiple data collections or
databases
Develop a stable software and hardware infrastructure
with partnering groups that will allow centers to
coordinate efforts to accumulate larger studies than
can be carried out at one site
RCMI Translational Research
Network (RTRN)
The RTRN will include:
 Consortium of clinical investigators from the RCMI
Clinical Research Centers;
 Translational and clinical investigators from other
RCMI institutions as appropriate for studies;
 Other NIH-supported Clinical Research Centers;
 Other relevant organizations, including patient support
organizations, for the study of a subgroup of diseases;
and
 Data and Technology Coordinating Center (DTCC)
RTRN - DTCC
The DTCC will provide :
 Scalable coordinated clinical data management
system for collection, storage, and analysis of
data of the RTRN
 Portal and tools for integration of developed and
publicly available datasets for data mining at
RCMI Centers
 Web based recruitment and referral
 User friendly resource site for the public,
research scientists, and clinicians
RTRN
This cooperative program should:
 facilitate identification of biomarkers for
disease risk, disease severity/activity, and
clinical outcomes
 encourage development of new approaches to
diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of those
diseases that disproportionately affect minority
populations