Canadian open neuroscience data community meets in Toronto

Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives (HBHL) is pleased to be supporting the First Annual Canadian Open Neuroscience (CONP) meeting, which kicks off on Monday, April 29, at the Royal Canadian Military Institute (RCMI) in Toronto.

Over two days, CONP Committees and Scholars will present progress on the development of a gateway platform technology for the discovery and distribution of open datasets, analytical tools, training resources, best practices in data governance, and the communication of scholarly results.

Launched in 2018 at McGill University, the CONP fills a void in Canadian neuroscience research.

Thanks to rapid advances in technology and the move toward open science, modern neuroscience research produces massive amounts of data, which researchers can use to find patterns revealing early signs of neurological disease or even the effectiveness of a new drug target on individual patients. However, this data must be stored, processed, and distributed effectively.

Through CONP, leading neuroscientists across Canada will pool data from diverse sources, maximizing the potential for breakthroughs that improve the lives of people with neurological disease. CONP will consolidate many forms of data within a federated national platform, joining several institutional databases to increase ease of access and re-use.

HBHL has helped support the training and recruitment of researchers and fellows with the skills and experience necessary to realize CONP's objectives. CONP is also supported by Brain Canada and a host of foundational partners, including The Tanenbaum Open Science Initiative (TOSI), the Ludmer Centre, supporting training opportunities, international partnerships and the development of data governance procedures underpinning the principles and practice of open data sharing.

CONP is made up of scientists and developers from all across Canada, including the University of British Columbia, University of Calgary (Hotchkiss Brain Institute), Université de Laval, McGill University, University of Toronto, University of Western Ontario, Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal (CRIGUM), Baycrest, the Ontario Brain Institute, Montreal Heart Institute, as well as members of numerous other institutions engaged in CONP committees.

For details about the meeting, please consult the event program.