Dependable Data Driven Discovery

数据驱动的决策对个人和社会的福祉变得越来越重要；未来十年，美国和世界对这些决策的依赖可能会大幅增加。然而，数据科学生命周期是由具有不同专业水平的各种个人和机构组装和操作的。虽然犯错是人，但在关键数据科学生命周期中，错误的后果可能是灾难性的。不可靠的决策可能会产生巨大的负面影响，如生命损失、广泛的传染和经济萧条。为了应对这一关键挑战，NSF研究培训项目正在建立一个研究生学习项目，“可靠数据驱动发现（D4）”，该项目聘请多个学科的教师，培训具有不同科学背景的学生，以识别可靠数据驱动发现的风险，并制定相应的缓解策略。预计将有100名来自计算机科学、数学、统计学、生物工程和计算生物学等学科的学生参加，其中包括32名获得资助的研究生（硕士和博士）学员和16名来自少数族裔的本科生，这些学生在这些领域的参与人数不足。学员将通过课程学习以及协作、跨学科研究获得整个数据科学生命周期的整体视角。D4的研究和培训议程包括三个重点领域。首先是对可靠的数据驱动发现框架的正式基础、方法和工具的关注。其次是对风险缓解方法的检查，以处理数据中的噪声、有限的训练数据以及机器学习模型的不确定性预测和可解释性。第三个重点领域解决蛋白质功能预测和细胞工程过程的质量保证问题，以可靠的数据科学生命周期指导未分化细胞进入成熟的功能细胞。该项目将开发一个新的可靠数据科学研究生证书，以培养学生在数据科学生命周期内的可靠性问题。通过课程，学员将多次体验整个数据科学生命周期，每一次都对风险、措施和风险缓解机制有更深入的了解。学员还将与行业合作伙伴合作，审查其数据科学生命周期并讨论降低风险的方法。本课程将加强学员解决上述数据科学、生物科学和工程研究问题的技术技能，以及书面和口头沟通技巧。学员将通过D4研讨会与外部合作者互动，与行业合作伙伴获得体验式学习，通过顶级项目进行原创性研究，并在实习中工作，从而提高爱荷华州立大学、当地行业、非政府组织和政府对可靠数据科学生命周期和风险缓解机制的认识。该项目将通过爱荷华州立大学现有的两个基础设施开展外展活动：爱荷华州立大学科学中心和爱荷华州立大学与爱荷华4-H的推广和外展。美国国家科学基金会研究实习生（NRT）计划旨在鼓励开发和实施大胆的、具有潜在变革性的STEM研究生教育培训新模式。该项目致力于通过创新、循证、适应不断变化的劳动力和研究需求的综合培训模式，在高优先级跨学科或融合研究领域对STEM研究生进行有效培训。该项目由NRT和促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Data-driven decisions are becoming increasingly critical for the well-being of individuals and society; and the nation and the world’s reliance on such decisions is likely to increase tremendously in the next decade. However, data science lifecycles are assembled and operated by a wide variety of individuals and institutions with varying levels of expertise. While to err is human, the consequences of errors in critical data science lifecycles can be catastrophic. Unreliable decisions can potentially have enormous negative impacts such as loss of life, widespread contagions, and economic depression. To respond to this critical challenge, this NSF Research Traineeship project is establishing a graduate program of study, "Dependable Data Driven Discovery (D4)" that engages faculty across multiple disciplines to train students with diverse scientific backgrounds to recognize risks to dependable data driven discovery and to develop corresponding mitigation strategies. One hundred students are expected to participate from disciplines such as computer science, mathematics, statistics, bioengineering, and computational biology, including 32 funded graduate (MS & PhD) trainees and 16 undergraduate students from minority groups who are underrepresented in their participation in these fields. Trainees will gain a holistic perspective of the entire data science lifecycle through coursework as well as collaborative, transdisciplinary research. Three focal areas comprise the D4 research and training agenda. First is a focus on formal foundations, methodology, and tools for a dependable data driven discovery framework. Second is an examination of risk mitigation methods to handle noise in data, limited training data, and uncertainty prediction and interpretability of machine learning models. The third focal area addresses quality assurance issues for protein function prediction and cellular engineering processes to direct undifferentiated cells into mature, functional cells with dependable data science lifecycles. The project will develop a new graduate certificate in dependable data science to train students in dependability issues within data science lifecycles. Through coursework, trainees will experience the entire data science lifecycle several times, each with an increasingly deeper understanding of the risks, measures, and risks mitigation mechanisms. Trainees will also engage with industry partners to examine their data science lifecycles and discuss risk mitigation methods. The capstone project course will reinforce trainees’ technical skills to address the above research problems in data science, biological science, and engineering as well as written and oral communication skills. Trainees will interact with outside collaborators through the D4 seminars, gain experiential learning with industry partners, conduct original research through capstone projects, and work in internships, resulting in awareness of dependable data science lifecycles and risk mitigation mechanisms across Iowa State University, local industry, NGOs, and government. The project will engage in outreach activities through two existing Iowa State University infrastructures: ISU Science Bound and ISU Extension and Outreach with Iowa 4-H.The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas through comprehensive traineeship models that are innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs.This project is jointly funded by NRT and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.