Neuroimaging and Genetic Data Resources

Big Data resources have become increasingly important to researchers in many fields. In the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and genetics, technological improvements have resulted in rich phenotyping, including brain imaging, of large epidemiologically informed samples. A University of Minnesota team led by PI Monica Luciana (professor, Psychology - CLA; MSI PI) and co-PIs Damien Fair (professor, Institute of Child Development - CEHD; MSI PI), Scott Vrieze (associate professor, Psychology - CLA; MSI PI), and Kelvin Lim (professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences - Medical School; MSI PI) are working to develop a repository of some of these large datasets that will be accessible to U of M researchers. The project, the Neuroimaging and Genetic Data Resources (NGDR) Initiative, was recently awarded a UMII Seed Grant.

The initial plan for the NGDR Initiative is to include four datasets: the UK Biobank, the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study, the Human Connectome Project, and the Minnesota Center for Twin and Family Research. The project involves purchase and continued upgrade of hardware, plus the development of workflows. Use of MSI’s storage resources is a vital part of the project.

This Seed Grant falls under the Discoveries and Treatments for Brain Conditions research area of the MnDRIVE initiative.

Research Computing partners:

• University of Minnesota Informatics Institute
• Minnesota Supercomputing Institute