Our Goal
Advances in imaging technologies have provided researchers with a wide variety of techniques to study brain structure and function across a broad spectrum of spatial scales. As a result, a vast amount of human brain mapping data is being gathered in laboratories around the world.
However, the full scientific potential of such data is not being realized, as it is used almost exclusively in the laboratory of origin for the initially-proposed protocol. The NIH envisions a much broader impact, including: "the creation of new datasets by combining data from multiple sources," the "testing of new or alternative hypotheses," and "the exploration of topics not envisioned by the initial investigators"..
A primary roadblock to realizing this potential is the lack of appropriate informatics infrastructure. Therefore, our long-term goal is to develop informatics methodologies and tools that will increase the creativity and productivity of neuroscience investigators, as they work together to use shared human brain mapping data to generate and test ideas far beyond those pursued by the data's originators.
Our vision of a data sharing and exploration infrastructure for structural MRI is described in these slides.
We currently have four major projects supporting this goal:
