Elements of Style in Workflow Creation and Maintenance: A Kids First Pediatric Research Training

Presentation/Conference

August 22, 2022 - August 26, 2022

In this upcoming week-long training, NIH Data and Technology Advancement (DATA) Scholar Dr. Anne Deslattes Mays will teach the simple rules (dubbed the “Elements of Style”) for analyzing large-scale data sets, such as genomic and phenotypic data accessible through the Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource.

In addition to learning the Elements of Style, this course aims to teach attendees how to:

cut barriers to cloud computing while understanding how to collaborate with others.
build and share processes in ways that assure reproducibility no matter the computational environment by using cloud platforms.
understand platform agnostic methods, enabling the creation of workflows that operate equally, without modification, using on-premises high-performance computing, a laptop, or the cloud.

Dr. Marcia Fournier, program manager of the Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program, says she “hopes users will feel empowered to ask scientific questions and collaborate using Kids First Data in the cloud as well as tools and workflows in a platform-agnostic way. We also hope they will learn about resources the program offers such as the Kids First Data Portal, Kids First Cloud Credit Pilot, and funding mechanisms open to all researchers.”

When it comes to contributing to data science research, Dr. Fournier says "the Kids First Program is growing a data resource in the cloud with Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data. The program aims to accelerate pediatric cancer and structural birth defects research, leading to better prevention, diagnosis, and treatments for patients and families. The Kids First Portal already has data available from nearly 30,000 affected families. We expect the training will expand the use of the Kids First data, promote data sharing, and foster tool development and collaborative research to accelerate interoperability and new discoveries.”

This class will use Seven Bridges’ CAVATICA platform to conduct cloud-based analyses.

Anne Deslattes Mays, Ph.D.

Dr. Deslattes Mays is an NIH DATA Scholar assigned to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development’s (NICHD’s) Office of Data Science and Sharing (ODSS). Her work focuses on using all relevant data and applications at scale in the cloud in reproducible, open, and transparent ways to address pressing specific pediatric cancer needs, including identifying needed diagnostics and therapeutics.