Notice Number: NOT-AI-15-045

Key Dates
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Response Date: July 31, 2015

Issued by
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

Purpose

The NIAID Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation (DAIT) is seeking input from the research community with expertise and interest in public data repository management and services.

Background

DAIT supports extramural basic, pre-clinical and clinical research that focuses on immune-mediated diseases through a variety of research grants and contracts. For over 10 years DAIT has funded the development of a public data sharing repository, the Immunology Database and Analysis Portal (ImmPort), through the Bioinformatics Integration Support Contract (BISC). ImmPort, https://immport.niaid.nih.gov/, has aggregated and disseminated a variety of study data sets from DAIT-funded and several other research programs. ImmPort has also developed and integrated metadata standards and analytical tools to facilitate the reuse of the shared data. DAIT plans to continue to fund the bioinformatics support for data sharing, integration, and analysis, and intends to improve the access and reuse of ImmPort data for the extraction of new information and knowledge in immunology-related research.

Information Requested
All stakeholders with an interest in improving immunology research through the use of well-maintained public data repositories are invited to provide information.

Areas of possible comment include but are not limited to:

• Best practices in maintaining public data sharing repositories.
• Innovative bioinformatics or data analysis tools or methods for research data visualization that are currently missing from or need to be improved upon in ImmPort.
• Metadata analysis tools and methodology for extracting new information and knowledge from studies in public data repositories that are currently missing from or need to be improved upon in ImmPort.
• Existing barriers that prevent maximum utilization of ImmPort including specific obstacles related to accessibility, readability, or usability of data from ImmPort or to the data submission process.
• Outcomes from utilizing the ImmPort dataset and tools including, but not limited to: new collaborations, manuscripts, grant proposals, research proposals, research funding, and consultations.
• Ability to use ImmPort in conjunction with other databases and analytical tools.
• Other emerging technologies or research initiatives that may impact the future development of ImmPort.
• Data model and data repository infrastructure that support efficient data collection, curation, annotation, integration, and public sharing.
• Data standards and transformation methods for integrating disparate datasets.
• Suggestions for improving ImmPort.

Submitting a Response

Responses to this RFI are voluntary. This RFI is for planning purposes only and should not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Federal Government, the National Institutes of Health, or NIAID. The NIH does not intend to make any award in response to this RFI or to pay for either the preparation of information submitted or the Government’s use of such information.

RFI responses should be directed to Johanna Schneider, Ph.D., NIAID Division of Allergy, Immunology and Transplantation, via e-mail at schneiderjs@niaid.nih.gov byJuly 31, 2015.

Responses should be limited to 10 pages and emailed as an attachment (Microsoft Word or PDF). No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. Submitted data and information will not be returned and will not be considered confidential.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Johanna Schneider, Ph.D.
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Telephone: 240-627-3558
Email: schneiderjs@niaid.nih.gov