Data Management and Analysis Core

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ABSTRACT The research to be performed by Nebraska Center for Integrated Biomolecular Communication (CIBC) investigators will result in the creation of large, complex datasets, particularly for those researchers with projects in metagenomics, metabolomics, and proteomics. Proper experimental design, data generation, and subsequent analyses of these datasets will require analytical and computational expertise, access to scientific equipment and relevant technical expertise, and large capacity, high-speed computing facilities. Coordinated access to such services is often cost prohibitive and non-intuitive for individual laboratories. Another obstacle faced by many biomedical researchers, including those affiliated with the CIBC, is the timely and comprehensive sharing of research data and research findings with collaborators, stakeholders, and the general public. To address these issues, the CIBC will support a Data Management and Analysis Core (DMAC) facility. The DMAC facility's long-term objective is to establish a critical, sustainable resource for bioinformatics and analytical support, while its near-term goal is to develop and implement hardware, software, and expertise in high-throughput bio/chemical data, from multi-type data management to integrative statistical analyses. The DMAC will serve CIBC investigators through four specific aims: 1) Design and implement a computational platform for data management - including appropriate documentation, long-term backup, and basic data analysis - for laboratory experiments conducted by CIBC investigators; 2) Establish a process for initiating collaborations with DMAC personnel to enable complex, interdisciplinary projects which may require expertise in experimental design, statistical methods, and interpretation; 3) Serve a critical, sustainable role in CIBC research by contributing as research collaborators on proposed center projects as detailed in this application, as educators in bioinformatics, as authors on publications relevant to the CIBC, and as co- investigators on subsequent proposals for both internal and external funding; and 4) Educate CIBC members about the role of large-scale omics data in chemical and biochemical research, the potential and caveats of such data, and the established pipelines for omic data preprocessing and analysis and facilitate the use of such techniques in CIBC projects. The DMAC facility will provide Center members with the resources and expertise to address inter- and transdisciplinary research questions focused on understanding chemical and biochemical communication pathways for applications in public health. Through the DMAC, CIBC members will receive individualized assistance from and in collaboration with Ph.D.-level biomedical scientists within the core. CIBC members will also benefit from educational opportunities, which will help build their knowledge base in biomedical omics, computation, and analysis. The DMAC will capitalize on existing expertise at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, hire needed expertise, and partner with the Holland Computing Center, an existing computing facility with facilities in both Lincoln and Omaha.