Conference: Advancing research and education in big data neuroscience

NSF Conference Award: PI – Dr. Sharlene Newman, University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Title: Advancing research and education in big data neuroscience In recent years, there has been a massive increase in the number of publicly available neuroimaging datasets and online tools for their analysis. These developments have led to vastly productive research that makes use of existing data rather than incurring the cost of continuously creating new datasets. Online data sharing and analysis have also proved to be extremely beneficial to the transparency and accessibility of neuroscience to other communities (e.g., computational modelling, engineering). However, the benefits have not spread evenly, and remain concentrated in well-resourced labs and institutions. This workshop seeks to change that, by specifically engaging with less well-funding institutions across the South, particularly HBCUs, to provide training in the use of these tools, foster collaborations, and solicit insights from researchers at these institutions for how to further lower barriers to their participation. Participants will be provided with funding for travel to attend and participate in a multiday workshop consisting of talks, listening sessions, and direct training. Speakers and presenters include faculty from universities across the south and several HBCUs. The workshop aims to foster the development of a community of neuroimaging researchers across the South. This project is jointly funded by Cognitive Neuroscience 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.