Designing an Internet-based collaboratory for biomedical research

Several recent grants from the National Institutes of Health to the Universities of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana have created a unique opportunity for collaboration in biomedical research among the three schools, as well as the community colleges in the region. NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) programs at Wyoming have been established to study the biological effect of nitric oxide and to investigate stressors that can contribute to the progression of cardiovascular disease. Funding from these and related grants have significantly upgraded Wyoming bioimaging and microscopy facilities, as well as provided support for faculty and students in a variety of research disciplines. In order to enhance these research efforts, the Center for Rural Health Research and Education at the University of Wyoming is spearheading an effort to create an Internet-based system for sharing data and research resources among the involved sites. This paper describes how such a "collaboratory" could be designed, using techniques developed for distributed research and development in the computer industry. The system, as envisioned, will support remote data acquisition, management, and visualization, while providing security in the form of authorization and authentication of users and virtual private networking for data transmitted between nodes of the network.