Tools to Support Collaborative Research Across RTRN

Uniting the thousands of RCMI researchers in a virtual environment in which they can successfully collaborate and share information that will ultimately have an impact on improving health disparities is the catalyst for RTRN’s initiatives to develop and establish dynamic collaborative tools. RTRN, through its Data and Technology Coordinating Center (DTCC), is providing access to novel tools that will support collaborative research across the network. The implementation of such collaborative tools as Profiles, VIVO—Research Networking, and eagle-i Resource Discovery will further improve our scientist’s ability to search specifically for intellectual and physical scientific resources to bolster their research efforts.

Implementing these collaborative technologies will enable our scientist to identify other researchers with similar and/or complementary research interests or supportive scientific skills, as well as locate state-of-the-art equipment and technologies that have been unavailable beyond the walls of their individual institutions.

RTRN is committed to continuously making available the latest tools and technologies to improve translational research to address the most pressing health problems affecting our communities.

Profiles

PROFILES is one of the industry’s cutting-edge tools to facilitate the identification of potential collaborators and learning about their research interests and skills. PROFILES allows our researchers to search specifically for required skills sets and knowledge base using research areas, keywords, and even institutions. The RTRN Scientist Directory, the preliminary interface, was introduced to the RCMI Community in 2010. Our researchers have since been fashioning and updating their personal profiles creating a robust directory of more than 1,400 scientists and support personnel available to form collaborations across the network. This comprehensive directory is undergoing a seamless transition to PROFILES and is expected to be fully operational in Spring 2011.

Click here for more information about Profiles.

Find Experts and Collaborators with RTRN PROFILES presentation

U24 eagle-i

Representing a broad geographic and demographic collaboration, the eagle-i Consortium comprised of nine distinct academic research institutions including four RCMI sites: University of Hawaii, University of Puerto Rico, Morehouse School of Medicine and the RTRN Data and Technology Coordinating Center at Jackson State University, is on the forefront of scientific discovery.  These institutions have united in an effort to develop a prototype research resource to facilitate the discovery and identification of scientific resources.  In development is a search application capable of linking various resource types to the particular interests of individual investigators.  By directly bridging this information gap, eagle-i will serve to improve efficiency in scientific discovery and bring the “bench” closer to the “bedside” and another step closer to the community.  By increasing the visibility of often-invisible research resources, eagle-i seeks to accelerate the pace of basic, clinical and translational research, thereby enabling investigators to more effectively address the health concerns of our communities and our nation.

An eagle-I search scenario 

For more information, visit www.eagle-i.org

These tools become more robust and beneficial as the users (researchers) share and input information about  your laboratories and/or facilities across the network.  We are interested in learning about your sites unique services, specialized skills, and advanced technologies and equipment