Neuroscience Information Framework

Established in 2004, the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research ^[1] brings the 16 NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices that support neuroscience research into a collaborative framework to coordinate their ongoing efforts and to plan new cross-cutting initiatives. Working together, representatives from the partner Institutes, Centers, and Offices identify pervasive challenges in neuroscience and any technological barriers to solving them.

The Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF): An Initiative of the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research

Early in their deliberations Blueprint representatives recognized that a framework for identifying, locating, relating, accessing, integrating, and analyzing information from the neuroscience research enterprise is critical to enhancing cooperative activities in the neurosciences. A Broad Agency Announcement was issued, and In, 2005 the Blueprint began support ^[2] for a new initiative known as the "Neuroscience Information Framework" (NIF).

In 2008, The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine received a contract from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to enhance and maintain the Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF) – a dynamic inventory of web-based neurosciences data, resources, and tools that scientists and students can access via any computer connected to the Internet ^[3]. The NIF enables discovery and access to public research data and tools worldwide through an open source, networked environment. The project is headed by Maryann Martone, Ph.D., co-director of the National Center for Microscopy and Imaging Research (NCMIR), part of the multi-disciplinary Center for Research in Biological Systems (CRBS), headquartered at UC San Diego.

Under the contract – valued at up to $10 million over the course of five years if all options are exercised – the CRBS will apply its pioneering work in neuroinformatics and web-based information integration environments. Martone, along with co-principal investigators Jeffrey S .Grethe, Ph.D., and Amarnath Gupta, Ph.D., will lead a national collaboration that includes researchers at Yale University, the California Institute of Technology, George Mason University, and Washington University. The collaboration focuses expertise from the domains of neuroscience, information technologies, and knowledge management to enhance and deploy the NIF.

Goals of the Neuroscience Information Framework Initiative

The NIF enables scientists and students to discover global neuroscience web resources that cut across traditional boundaries – from experimental, clinical and translational neuroscience databases, to knowledge bases, atlases, and genetic/genomic resources.

Unlike general search engines, NIF provides deeper access to a more focused set of resources that are relevant to neuroscience, search strategies tailored to neuroscience, and access to content that is traditionally “hidden” from web search engines. The Framework is a dynamic inventory of neuroscience databases, annotated and integrated with a unified system of biomedical terminology (i.e. NeuroLex). NIF supports concept-based queries across multiple scales of biological structure and multiple levels of biological function, making it easier to search for and understand the results.

The goal of this initiative is to develop an inventory of information and other resources within a framework that enables neuroscientists to identify resources relevant to their research needs. The framework will enable concept based queries (spanning multiple levels of biological organization and function) within and across the diverse types of information constituting the inventory. The framework also will provide a registry through which resources providers can disclose availability of resources relevant to neuroscience research. The NIF framework is not intended to be a warehouse or repository itself, but a means for disclosing and locating resources elsewhere available via the web.

Resources Included in the Neuroscience Information Framework

Resources include databases, software tools, experimental reagents and tools, knowledge bases and portals, and other entities identified by the neuroscience research community. Although the Framework continues to be developed (2009-1-09), the latest version can be accessed at www.neuinfo.org.

NIH has released several program announcements that encourage resource providers to register their resource with NIF.

External Links

Notes and References

^ The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is a cooperative effort among the 16 NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices that support neuroscience research. By pooling resources and expertise, the Blueprint supports the development of new tools, training opportunities, and other resources to assist neuroscientists in both basic and clinical research. Read more about the Blueprint.
^ Under contract HHSN271200577531C from the NIH administered by NIDA
^ University of California Press Release

[1] The NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research is a cooperative effort among the 16 NIH Institutes, Centers and Offices that support neuroscience research. By pooling resources and expertise, the Blueprint supports the development of new tools, training opportunities, and other resources to assist neuroscientists in both basic and clinical research. Read more about the Blueprint.

[2] Under contract HHSN271200577531C from the NIH administered by NIDA

[3] University of California Press Release

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The Neuroscience Information Framework (NIF): An Initiative of the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research

Goals of the Neuroscience Information Framework Initiative

Resources Included in the Neuroscience Information Framework

Further reading

External Links

Notes and References