Extending the Reach of Advanced Networking: Two Pilot Projects at the NCRR

1. Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health National Center for Research ResourcesDivision 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

2. Institutional Development Award (IDeA)/DRI • Designed to enhance the competitiveness for biomedical research funding of institutions located in states with historically low funding from NIH. • Inclusion of underserved populations is a primary feature. • Research focus is broad.

3. Eligible States 23 States and Puerto Rico

4. How is the Internet used at IDeA-Funded Institutions? • 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

5. * * * * * * “IDeANet” Project • Increased connectivity for high-bandwidth science applications in six western IDeA states is first step.

6. Geographic Reality of Western Region IDeANet

7. Internet2 – ‘Abilene’ 10gb/s Upgrade

8. PNWGP U. Alaska U. Idaho Montana State U U. Nevada Reno U. Wyoming CENIC FRGP U. Hawaii Connections to Backbone

9. Multiple Levels of Benefit • 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 in-state networks is relatively high. • Many sites throughout states will experience improved Internet performance. • Can leverage benefits to other university departments and other institutions.

10. Additional Institutional Needs • 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.

11. Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) • 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

13. 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

14. RCMI Translational Research Network (RTRN) Goals: • 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

15. 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)

16. 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

17. 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