Common use of Methodological approach Clause in Contracts

Methodological approach. The neuGRID project is focused on setting up “a grid-based e-infrastructure for data archiving/communication and computationally intensive applications in the medical sciences”. The exploitation of the developed infrastructure for the exchange of imaging and clinical data has been assured by a focused dissemination strategy, ensuring effective collaboration both within the project and with communities external to it, and coordinating neuGRID with related projects and activities carried out in Europe and elsewhere. The dissemination strategy has as its main objectives: • To disseminate project results to the relevant scientific communities; • To raise awareness at the political and decision-making levels of the opportunities offered by neuGRID; • To spread within research-, academic- and clinical communities knowledge about the facilities and tools supplied by the infrastructure; • To assess the regulatory needs of the pharmaceutical industry for pre-competitive research and clinical trials including clinical trial registration, agreements that should be prepared and signed by potential industry users, IPR management, and regulations for data ownership, exchange, and analysis; to define the adaptations or expansions of the present infrastructure to host industry pre-competitive research and randomized clinical trials with clinical and imaging/biological surrogates; and to define a set of activities that should be carried out to make neuGRID compliant with industry needs; • To promote compatibility of neuGRID with related initiatives that are being carried out in North America, Japan, and Australia; • To promote integration into neuGRID of the most popular tools for brain image analyses to carry out high performance grid computing by international researchers on own or merged datasets; • To spread infrastructure aims and services to be exploited in the daily research and clinical practice; • To teach potential users how to use the implemented services through the provided GUI; • To teach research users how to take advantage by the high performance computing facilities. There are several possible channels for disseminating information and results about neuGRID. The selection of modalities and ways varies in relation to the communication targets. As detailed in the Dissemination and training plan, during all the 36 months of the project the dissemination activities have included: conferences, teleconferences, meetings, workshops, letters of intent, emails, articles, poster, video and the creation of the project logo and project website in order to reach the largest number of professionals and lay audience. These have been identified to be powerful tools to outline the project aims and to enhance public awareness of the neuGRID efforts in Europe. Particular attention has been devoted to the specific characteristics of the various players and target groups identified to be the main beneficiaries of the dissemination: the activities have been targeted and customized in order to fit with their profile, demands and expectations.

Methodological approach. The neuGRID project is focused on the setting up of “a grid-based e-infrastructure for data archiving/communication and computationally intensive applications in the medical sciences”. The exploitation of the developed infrastructure for the exchange of imaging and clinical data has been assured by a sharp and well focused dissemination strategy, ensuring effective collaboration both within internally in the project and with communities external to it, and coordinating neuGRID with related projects project and activities carried out in Europe and elsewhere. The dissemination strategy has as its main objectives: • To disseminate project results to the relevant scientific communities; • To raise awareness at the political and decision-decision making levels level of the opportunities offered by neuGRID; • To spread within research-research, academic- scholar and clinical communities wide knowledge about the facilities and tools supplied by the infrastructure; • To assess the regulatory needs of the pharmaceutical pharma industry for pre-competitive research and clinical trials including clinical trial registration, agreements that should be prepared and signed by potential industry users, IPR management, and regulations for data ownership, exchange, and analysis; to define the adaptations or expansions of the present infrastructure to host industry pre-competitive research and randomized clinical trials with clinical and imaging/biological surrogates; and to define a set of activities that should be carried out to make neuGRID compliant with industry needs; • To promote allow compatibility of neuGRID with related initiatives that are being carried out in North America, Japan, and Australia; • To promote integration into neuGRID of the most popular tools for brain image analyses to carry out high performance grid computing by international researchers on own or merged datasets; • To spread infrastructure aims and services to be exploited in the daily research and clinical practice; • To teach potential users how to use the implemented services through the provided GUI; • To teach research users how to take advantage by the high performance computing facilities. There are several possible channels for disseminating information and results about neuGRID. The selection of modalities and ways varies in relation to the communication targets. As detailed in the Dissemination and training plan, during all the 36 first 18 months of the project the dissemination activities have included: included (and will include): conferences, teleconferences, meetings, workshops, letters letter of intent, emails, articles, poster, video poster and the creation of the project logo and project website in order to reach the largest number of professionals and lay audience. These events have been identified to be a powerful tools tool to outline the project aims and to enhance public awareness of the neuGRID efforts in Europe. Particular attention has been devoted to the specific characteristics of the various players actors and target groups identified to be the main beneficiaries of the dissemination: the activities have been targeted and customized in order to fit with their profile, demands and expectations. One of the critical nodes where dissemination took place was the project Advisory Board (AB), which is composed of representative people from the institutions and communities, with an immediate or prospective interest in the deployed e-infrastructure as its potential users. Involvement in Advisory Board has proved to be a pivotal factor in the dissemination process: endorsement of neuGRID by key persons of institutional bodies and agencies can have a high impact, as they can promote the adoption of and exploitation of neuGRID by new research project and biotech companies. Moreover, representatives of scientific societies can help finding time and environment space for training courses or promote links with scientists working in related fields. Two main groups of immediate users, represented in the AB, were envisaged for neuGRID: neuroscientists and developers of algorithms for the analyses of brain images. During the first year of the project, the Advisory Board has been established as described in the table below. Sixteen members, coming from different European and American organisations, agreed to be part of the AB. On 23rd January, a conference call involving AB members was organised. Regular conference calls are planned at the end of the second and third year. The Advisory Board has been presented with an extensive outline of the project achievements and results of the first year, together with a brief description of future planned events and activities. Group Name Role Affiliation Proposed Tasks 1 Computer scientists ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Statistical Parametric Mapping developer Functional Imaging Laboratory, Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK Explore the possibility of integrate SPM into neuGRID 2 Related project in Europe/U.S. ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Ph.D. Alzheimer’s Association director, medical and scientific affairs Alzheimer’s Association Director, Medical and Scientific Relations Chicago, Illinois Promote links of neuGRID with worldwide ADNI related initiatives 3 Related projects in Europe ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Principal Investigator of IFRAD (French ADNI) Professor of Neurology, Salpetriere Hospital, Paris Director, Behavioural Unit, Salpetriere University Hospital, Paris Director of Research Unit INSERM U610, Salpetriere Hospital, Paris Contribute data from the French ADNI into neuGRID 4 Computer scientists ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇ Director of the Montreal Consortium for Brain Imaging Research (MCBIR), Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) at ▇▇▇▇▇▇ University in Montreal Provide consultancy on gridification and use of the cortical extraction pipeline into neuGRID 5 Prospective user group ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, MD Neuroscientist in fields other than Alzheimer's ENS Subcommittee on Neuroimaging Director Neuroimaging Research Unit, Scientific Institute and University San Raffaele, Milan Italy; ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Professor of the American Neurological Association Adjunct Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA Visiting Professor, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Serbia Take part to user requirements session - provide feedback about the performance of neuGRID when in place 6 Computer scientists ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇, PhD Computer scientist Associate Professor (Statistics) Neurosciences and Biostatistics and Bioinformatics University of California, San Diego Director of Clinical Informatics, ADNI Advice before and during the development of compatibility between ▇▇▇▇▇ and the LONI databasing system (according to AZ's judgement) 7 Related projects in Europe ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇, MD Principal Investigator of NeuroGrid Professor of Epidemiological Psychiatry, Director, Oxford Clinical Trial Unit for Mental Illness (a registered UKCRC CTU); Director, Centre for Evidence-Based Mental Health Department of Psychiatry University of Oxford Advice about architecture on specific occasions (according to TS's judgement) NeuroGrid feedback on past (similar) experiences, 9 Related projects in Europe ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ NeuroLOG co-PI French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) Laboratoire d'Informatique Signaux et Systèmes de Sophia- Antipolis (I3S Advice on compatibility issues and potential integration of other (similar) platforms, advice on gridification models, support in formulating new requirements for submission to the EGEE gLite (grid middleware) community, 10 Neuroscientists in the Alzheimer's field ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Chairman of the Dementia Study group of the European Federation of Neurological Society Dept. Neurology/Alzheimer Center VU University Medical Center Help organize training courses to EFNS neuroscientists 11 Computer scientists ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇. ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ of FSL package Professor of Biomedical Engineering Associate Director, Oxford University FMRIB Centre Advice about architecture on specific occasions (according to TS's judgement), advice on appropriate integration (gridification) models and algorithms scheduling optimisation, advice on how to make the algorithms appealing enough to attract new users in the field (gluification), explore the possibility to integrate FSL routines for image analysis. 12 Computer scientists ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Developer of Cortical Pattern Mapping and Radial Mapping Professor of Neurology UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles Explore the possibility of integrate cortical pattern and radial mapping into neuGRID 13 Neuroscientists in the Alzheimer's field ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ Principal Investigator of EADC University Professor, Hospital Practitioner, dept. of Geriatric Medicine, Univ. Hosp. Center, Toulouse, Purpan Faculty of Medicine, University ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, Toulouse, France. Research Associate Professor, Clinical Nutrition Laboratory (Aging Process Study), School of Medicine, University of New Mexico, USA. Help organize training courses to EADC neuroscientists 14 Neuroscientists in the Alzheimer's field ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ European Federation of Neurological Societies representatives (EFNS) Professor of Clinical Neurology (dementia research), University of Copenhagen Help organize training courses to EFNS neuroscientists 15 Neuroscientists in the Alzheimer's field ▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ Co-Principal Investigator of the EADC Professor of geriatric medicine and chief physician at the Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge and the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm Director of the Karolinska Institutet Aging Research Center (ARC), KASPAC (Karolinska Institutet Sumitomo Pharmaceutical Alzheimer Center) and the Swedish Brain Power Center of Excellence Help organize training courses to EADC neuroscientists 16 Political liaisons ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇.▇. ▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and Scientific Attaché, Italian Embassy in London Scientific Attaché, Embassy of Italy in the U.K. Help with political liaisons at the European level and links with neuroscientific communities Dissemination activities have been coordinated by CO1 FBF Provincia ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇-Veneta - Ordine ospedaliero di San Giovanni di ▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇, as leader of Workpackage 4, with the contribution of partners involved according to the work description. Contributions by the participant partners have been adequate to their competencies and field of expertise.