ICS Colloquium: Lena Sherbakov, PhD, Intermountain Neuroimaging Consortium, University of Colorado Boulder

Title: Towards F-A-I-R Data Practices in Neuroimaging Research

Presenter: Dr. Lena Sherbakov, Assistant Director MRI Data Storage & Analysis Services, Intermountain Neuroimaging Consortium, University of Colorado Boulder

Abstract: Published neuroimaging research has been shown to suffer from high levels of false results (due to lack of statistical power, high degree of flexibility in analysis methods, non-deterministic code, software errors, and data-sharing hurdles, to name a few culprits). In an effort to combat these issues, NSF and NIH grant requirements have become stricter - requiring researchers to detail a rigorous data management and sharing plan. As a response, there has been a rise in development of both open source and industry-based tools that facilitate reproducibility in the spirit of Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability principles (F-A-I-R). This talk explores the building blocks of F-A-I-R neuroimaging research: data standards, data hierarchies, version control, containerized analysis pipelines, data governance, provenance, and sharing. We will showcase one industry-based solution implemented at the Intermountain Neuroimaging Consortium, Flywheel.io. The pilot project highlights the importance of collaboration between CU Boulder’s Research Computing infrastructure (CUmulus, PetaLibrary, Blanca and Alpine HPCs), INC staff, neuroimaging labs, and industry partners to meet these new reproducibility standards.

Bio: Lena Sherbakov got her PhD in Computational Neuroscience from Boston University in 2014 and has since worked in both industry and academia in various data and analysis roles. Lena joined the Intermountain Neuroimaging Consortium in late 2019 and has since been managing the data and analysis infrastructure at INC. In addition to nurturing a close collaboration with CU Boulder's Research Computing and industry partners Flywheel.io, Lena co-leads trainings, develops tutorials, and serves as a consultant and resource for INC users in programming, data management, storage and analysis skills.

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