Metadata 101: Adding Value to HEAL Data (Virtual Webinar)

The NIH HEAL Initiative^® is on a mission to utilize its vast research portfolio to create science-backed solutions to pressing and worsening public health crises. By taking advantage of ubiquitous computing power and methodological advances in data science, the data generated in HEAL studies is poised to be of greater value than would have been historically possible. 

Properly preparing study data for use and re-use is the key to maximizing its potential value and impacts for diverse audiences. This third webinar in our Fresh FAIR series introduces the topic of metadata, a core focus for ensuring data is accessible for computation and further research. Metadata - or put simply “data about data” - increases the value of HEAL data for the research community by ensuring that data is findable and accessible for reuse.   

John Cheadle of the HEAL Data Stewardship Group will lead a brief introductory session about metadata and its use, which will be followed by a conversation with two HEAL Investigators currently utilizing metadata in their daily work.

John Cheadle, M.S., is a bioinformatics data scientist within the Research Computing Division at RTI International. He has nearly 10 years of experience working at the intersection of programming, biological science, and engineering. Within the HEAL project, he works to develop metadata models, tools, and processes to promote adherence to FAIRness across the myriad repositories that comprise the HEAL initiative. He is passionate about exploring ways of enhancing scientific decision-making, discovery using data science, and employing data infrastructure and modeling techniques to enable cutting-edge science.

Emily Dressler, Ph.D., is an associate professor and vice chair in the Department of Biostatistics and Data Science at Wake Forest School of Medicine. She is the lead biostatistician with the WF NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Research Base. She earned her PhD in the Division of Biostatistics at the Medical University of South Carolina, and her primary research interest is in clinical trials. She has expertise in adaptive phase I trial designs such as the continual reassessment method and has developed methods that incorporate ordinal toxicity grading and mixed toxicity/efficacy outcomes. Dressler has over 10 years of experience overseeing statistical and data considerations for trials including study design, monitoring, data intake/management, and analyses.

Nicole (Nikki) Pelot, Ph.D., earned her Bachelor's of Electrical Engineering and Bachelor's of Science (Physics) at Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada. She then earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering at Duke University, focusing on computational modeling of peripheral nerve stimulation and in vivo electrophysiology, including mechanisms of action of kilohertz frequency block. Pelot is Research Director in the Duke University Grill lab, where she leads a team of students and staff researchers working to advance neuromodulation of the autonomic nervous system.

For More Information, Contact:

Stephanie Suber at [email protected].