Use Case Champions

Michelle Angrish, Environmental Protection Agency

Shannon Bell, Research Triangle Institute

Status

• Active use case workgroup that meets every 3 weeks
• Currently developing a manuscript to reflect use case discussions and recommendations related to improving the findability of published toxicology data

Purpose

The purpose of this use case is to increase awareness that understanding the health effects of environmental exposures requires finding and integrating relevant information. Several challenges in finding this information are that one must:

• Know where to look and how to find it
• Have the resources to collect, screen, and curate the information
• Assimilate that information so that it is accessible and usable

We are doing this by developing minimum information reporting templates that help address the challenge of finding studies and data of relevance to research and public-health efforts. Our goal is to support, promote, and apply a harmonized language throughout the development of these templates. The expected impacts of the Data Discovery Use Case are to:

• Quickly find existing data and understand where there are data gaps
• Increase adoption of common metadata for describing study data and findings
• Provide a basis for addressing discoverability of data produced by new research methods

Progress to Date

• Explored tools to help better align controlled vocabularies and data management systems.
• Examined and compared data elements from select data repositories, minimal information templates (MITs), and reporting requirements to look for overlap and gaps.
• Started drafting minimum information needed for studies assessing exposure impacts for in vitro, in vivo studies, ecological, and human studies
• Started development of a manuscript describing use case work and recommendations

Next Steps

• Finalize the use case manuscript on improving the findability of published toxicology data.

Expected Final Products

• Short-term: Publish a manuscript on findability of published toxicology data
• Long-term: Creation of a minimal information template or guidance around how to develop/ use MITs

How to Get Involved

The Data Discovery Use Case is seeking feedback on the manuscript under development. Email [email protected] to be added to the Data Discovery Use Case team. You will receive meeting invitations, email updates, and access to the group’s collaboration platform on MS Teams.