1st INCF Workshop on Global Portal Services for Neuroscience

Abstract

INCF was established by definition to coordinate activities in neuroinformatics, i.e., coordination and promotion of databasing/sharing, analytical tools and computational models. Portals were considered to be basic tools not only in neuroinformatics activities in the field but also for the INCF mission itself. As the amount of neuroscience data explodes, so do the numbers of databases and associated portals, and the relations, often overlapping, between them. It is urgent that these activities be coordinated to make them accessible and useful to the neuroscience community. The committee determined that it is essential that the INCF take a lead role in this coordination. INCF should be proactive in establishing a list of maintained and developing neuroscience portals/databases. This list should include links to development sites and descriptions of the objectives of the project. The level of disclosure of any new development project should be regulated by the developer. INCF should: i) act as a broker to bring together individuals with expertise in particular areas of development, ii) provide guidance on the availability of development resources, and iii) advise on current “best practice”, including infrastructure recommendations, design processes, and scalable source control. This “best practice” should be conducted to enable interoperability via improved and pervasive ontology, have accessible API/scriptable interface, and have exposed database schemas. INCF should generate a policy statement on open source and accessibility of projects in development. INCF could provide a repository or library for the code base, data, etc., of projects no longer in development which might be reused in developing new resources. INCF representatives should be observers at NSF, NIH, DOD, Creative Commons, UK e-Science All Hands, and other meetings on core technologies related to cyberinfrastructure, and pass appropriate information on to developers. INCF should play a role in identifying and facilitating the development of unique value-added projects, such as an international database of neuronal connectivity. INCF should identify and coordinate requirements (standards) that assist in the acquisition of data, metadata, and development of databases. In addition, there needs to be a standard practice/policy on the release of statements and information. Methods and routes for dissemination vary between internal documents within nodes and those for external consumption. How do you measure/ evaluate success and how are people to be held accountable? Success measures must be considered in the context of on-going funding/support from the National Nodes. Annual reports can fulfill some of these requirements both in the preparation and its dissemination. This could include summaries of node activity, which will help with good practice. Last but not least, opportunities for running undergraduate courses in neuroinformatics should be considered as well as including neuroinformatics in medical training. Educational material could also be made available via the portal.