News

Nov 16, 2008 Welcome to the INCF Neuroinformatics Portal

The INCF has released the Neuroinformatics Portal, aiming to serve as an entry point to all relevant neuroinformatics resources.

In these pages you will find information about the organization, relevant resources indexed in a useful way, as well as opportunities for community interaction.

Your feedback is always welcome, we pride ourselves on listening to the needs of our users: neuroinformaticians and neuroscientists. If there is anything in our portal you would like to comment on or if you have new ideas, email us at info@incf.org.

The portal is demonstrated throughout the SfN meeting at the INCF booth #3226.

Download the complete program of the INCF booth [pdf]

Nov 13, 2008 INCF Workshop Report on Needs for Training in Neuroinformatics

The report from the INCF workshop on Needs for Training in Neuroinformatics is now available.

The workshop was organized by the INCF National Node of the UK. The scope of the workshop was to provide as overview of the current state of neuroinformatics training and recommendations for future provision of training. The report presents a summary of the workshop discussions and recommendations to the INCF.

Download the workshop report [pdf]

Nov 13, 2008 Enhancing Search Functionalities

The INCF National Node of Japan (J-Node) has developed a web-accessible tool, "Related Abstract Search", to facilitate retrieval of conference abstracts based on keyword searches.

The tool is being used for abstracts submitted to the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, which will take place in Washington DC, Nov 16 - 19, 2008.

Developed by the Lab of Neuroinformatics at RIKEN BSI, the tool is freely available to all users. For a live demonstration of this and other new tools, please visit INCF booth #3227 at Neuroscience 2008, Monday Nov 17, 13:30-16:30.

Nov 10, 2008 Live demos at "Neuroscience 2008", Washington DC, November 16 - 19

INCF has invited leading scientists to present databases, tools for visualization and analysis of neuroscience data, and environments for modeling and simulation of nervous system functions.

Welcome to the INCF booth in the Institutional Exhibit area, #3227.

We are hosting demonstrations from 15 different projects, in a two-session daily program. Morning sessions run from 9:30 to 12:30, and afternoon sessions from 13:30 to 16:30. At the booth you will also have the opportunity to provide feedback on the INCF Neuroinformatics Portal, and you will find INCF publications.

Download the complete program [pdf]
Download available abstracts [pdf]

Nov 04, 2008 New Program Officer at the INCF Secretariat

The INCF Secretariat welcomes Janis Breeze as Program Officer.

Janis Breeze will oversee the newly launched INCF Program on Ontologies for Neural Structures, support the development of new programs through their definition and start-up phase, and manage selected web services.

Janis received an M.P.H. in Epidemiology from Columbia University and has an S.B. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences from M.I.T. She worked as a Research Associate for several years at McLean Hospital and Cambridge Health Alliance, in the Boston area, with particular experience in research project management and statistical analysis of large neuroimaging datasets.

Oct 03, 2008 INCF Congress of Neuroinformatics: establishing a new venue for interactions in the neuroinformatics community

The 1st INCF Congress of Neuroinformatics was a big success, attracting nearly 300 participants.

The Neuroinformatics 2008 congress took place on September 7 - 9, in Stockholm, Sweden. With a broad international outreach, the meeting brought together scientists from different fields, under the common denominator of neuroinformatics and neuroinformatics related problems and challenges. The format of single-track meeting with keynote lectures, poster sessions, and interactive demos, provided opportunities for discussions and extensive interactions among participants. The feedback has been tremendously positive and INCF has already sensed a considerably amplified level of interest for the field of neuroinformatics and next year's congress in Pilsen, Czech Republic.

Videos of the keynote lectures

Congress snapshots

Oct 01, 2008 2nd INCF Congress of Neuroinformatics

The 2nd INCF Congress of Neuroinformatics will take place in Pilsen, Czech Republic, September 6 - 8, 2009.

All information regarding the Neuroinformatics 2009 congress will be made available as it emerges through the congress web page:

www.neuroinformatics2009.org

Sep 19, 2008 INCF launches Program on Ontologies of Neural Structures

The 1st INCF Workshop on Neuroanatomical Nomenclature and Taxonomy presented a clear basis for targeted INCF actions. Building on the report and further analyses, the INCF is now launching its third program: Program on Ontologies of Neural Structures (PONS).

Sep 05, 2008 The INCF Software Center

The INCF Software Center is now officially released. The INCF vision of the Software Center is that it will become a communication enabler for software users as well as developers. The Software Center will not only make relevant software discoverable for the neuroscience community but also provide services for developers and users.

The application was first made available and tested at the FENS meeting in Geneva, July 11 – 15, 2008. The development team has to date focused on implemention of basic functionality, to allow neuroscience software users to efficiently find, evaluate, and successfully make use of shared software tools. Features to be added include communication and collaboration functions, support services to allow software developers organize their software, track the use, and receive feedback for further improvement and development.

The INCF Software Center is the first component of the INCF Neuroinformatics Portal, to be released in November 2008.

The INCF Software Center

Aug 29, 2008 INCF Travel Grants

The INCF Travel Grants will make resources available to researchers, primarily young scientists, engineers, and technologists, for study visits of relevance for INCF Programs.

Everyone is eligible to apply for an INCF Travel Grant. But priority will be given to applicants from the INCF member countries, and in particular to researchers and developers who are active in their INCF National Node. Applications are accepted continuously.

Aug 29, 2008 INCF provides access to a Blue Gene supercomputer for the neuroinformatics community

INCF owns a share of a BlueGene/L (BG/L) supercomputer which is placed in the Parallel Computer Center (PDC) at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm. This share is now made available for usage through the INCF Secretariat.

Large-scale computing projects will be selected, based on the suitability of the project for supercomputers.

The INCF is participating at the FENS FORUM, July 13-16, 2008, presenting the INCF Software Center, hosting neuroinformatics live demos, and organizing a Social Event.

Leading scientists have been invited to demonstrate databases, tools for analysis of neuroscience data, and environments for modeling and simulation of the nervous system. The INCF Software Center, the first component of the INCF Neuroinformatics Portal, will be demonstrated throughout the meeting at the INCF booth and presented also at the poster session on Tuesday July 15 (161.4. Poster board G4).

The INCF Neuroinformatics Social Event will take place on Tuesday, July 15 (18:30 - 20:30, Room Cervin, Palexpo Conference Center). It will include a discussion on "What is the role of neuroinformatics in neuroscience?" with Alain Berthoz, Michael Hines, Colin Ingram, Wolf Singer, and Rodney Douglas, and a live demonstration with robots presented by Alessandro Crespi and Auke Jan Ijspeert.

Download the full program [pdf]

Last minute update: The NetMorph demonstration had to be moved to Tuesday afternoon (parallel to the NEURON demo). FIND took its place on Monday morning and for Sunday afternoon we now have the Brain Architecture Management System (BAMS) presented by Mihail Bota and Larry W Swanson (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA).

Neuroinformatics Social Event [pdf]

Jul 08, 2008 INCF Newletters

The INCF announces the launch of its newsletter series.

As a major vehicle of communication within the INCF global network of national nodes as well as to the neuroscience and neuroinformatics community in general, the INCF Newsletter publishes the latest developments and activities of INCF and related neuroinformatics initiatives. Regular contributions and updates from INCF National Nodes will be another feature of the series.

Download the INCF July/August Newsletter [pdf]

Jul 08, 2008 INCF Strategy Overview

The International Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility officially releases its Strategy Overview 2008-2010 to set the long-term strategic goals for the organization to become a major international resource. The document also describes concrete measurable objectives for the next three years.

Download INCF Strategy Overview [pdf]

Strategy Overview

Jul 08, 2008 Executive Director leaves INCF Secretariat January 2009

Message from the INCF Governing Board: The board is profoundly impressed by the way in which Jan Bjaalie has successfully built up the operations of the INCF since the beginning in 2006. Jan Bjaalie has informed the board that he will leave his position in January 2009 to pursue new challenges as Head of the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences at the University of Oslo. The search for a successor has been initiated by the INCF Search Committee and the position is now advertised in major scientific media, including Nature and Science.

Professor Jan Bjaalie took up the position as INCF Executive Director in September 2006 and has been in charge of the establishment of the new Secretariat at Karolinska Institutet. He will continue in a full time position as Executive Director throughout 2008 and continue to be a consultant for the INCF in 2009.

“It is not an easy decision to leave this unique position with its many interesting opportunities for the future development of neuroinformatics and a promising momentum created together with our global network. But the new organization is now stable and productive and I feel confident in passing the torch on” says Jan Bjaalie.

Sten Grillner, Chair of the Governing Board

Information about the INCF Executive Director position

Jul 08, 2008 INCF Annual Report 2007

The INCF publishes its annual report for 2007.

The first full year of operations witnessed significant growth of the organization with 4 new member countries. A highly visible INCF Workshop series spearheaded scientific programs, and new services to the community started to be implemented. INCF Annual Report 2007

Download report [pdf]

Jul 08, 2008 New INCF graphical profile: In keeping with the transition from build-up phase to full operation, the INCF will introduce a new and more comprehensive graphical profile for web and printed material during 2008.

Printed material distributed from July 2008 will have the new format. On the web, the new format will occur first in the new INCF Software Center, to be released in July. The main web site will be redesigned during the fall.

Jun 16, 2008 INCF workshop report on Sustainability of Neuroscience Databases

The report from the INCF workshop on Sustainability of Neuroscience Databases is now available.

The goal of the workshop was to discuss issues related to the sustainability of neuroscience databases, identify problems and propose solutions, and formulate recommendations to the INCF. The report summarizes the discussions of invited participants from the neuroinformatics community as well as from other disciplines where sustainability issues have already been approached. The recommendations for the INCF involve rating, ranking, and supporting database sustainability.

Download report [pdf]

This report is open for public comment through July 31, 2008: viewpoints@incf.org

Apr 28, 2008 INCF launches Program on Digital Brain Atlasing

Building on the recommendations from the 1st INCF Workshop on Mouse and Rat Brain Digital Atlasing Systems, the INCF has initiated actions in this area of neuroinformatics under a new Program.

Apr 25, 2008 INCF MUSIC project: request for comments

The INCF has engaged in the development of software that allows large scale neuron simulators to communicate during runtime. An RFC - Request For Comments - document is now available and open for comments on the proposed design and prototype specifications. MUSIC (Multi-Simulation Coordinator) is a project under the INCF Program on Large-Scale Modeling of the Nervous System.

The aim of the INCF MUSIC project is to provide a standardized software interface (an API) on top of the message passing interface (MPI) for communication between parallel applications for large-scale simulation of neural networks. It enables the transfer of massive amounts of event information and continuous values from one parallel application to another, including applications that use different data allocation strategies. In the design of the standard interface, care has also been taken to facilitate easy adaptation of existing simulators and enable straight-forward independent third-party development and community sharing of reusable and interoperable software tools for parallel processing.

The INCF MUSIC library is scheduled for release in November 2008.

Requests For Comments -RFC [pdf]
Project page
Comments to the RFC can be sent to: music-rfc@incf.org

Apr 25, 2008 INCF launches Program on Large-Scale Modeling of the Nervous System

INCF is currently launching a series of programs, each composed of activities supporting infrastructure development and maintenance within a specific area of neuroinformatics. The first program introduced deals with Large-Scale Modeling and builds on the recommendations provided in the report from the 1st INCF Workshop on Large-Scale Modeling of the Nervous System.

Apr 07, 2008 INCF workshop report on Neuroanatomical Nomenclature and Taxonomy

The report from the INCF workshop on Neuroanatomical Nomenclature and Taxonomy Nomenclature is now available.

The report discusses the problems arising from the use of different parcellation schemes and use of different terminologies and highlights the need of a universal vocabulary for describing the structural organization of the nervous system. Workshop participants encourage the creation of an International Coordinating Committee for Neuroanatomical Nomenclature and propose short- and long-term goals for such a committee.

Download report [pdf]

This report is open for public comment through May 31, 2008: viewpoints@incf.org

Apr 07, 2008 INCF workshop report on Global Portal Services for Neuroscience

The report from the INCF workshop on Global Portal Services for Neuroscience is now available.

The report provides an overview of existing portal services in the field of Neuroscience, proposes guidelines for portal coordination and development, and provides recommendations on specific roles of the INCF in coordination and support.

Download report [pdf]

This report is open for public comment through May 31, 2008: viewpoints@incf.org

Apr 04, 2008 INCF workshop report on NeuroImaging Database Integration

The report from the INCF workshop on NeuroImaging Database Integration is now available.

The report provides an overview of existing neuroimaging databases that were discussed during the worksho and examines the feasibility of database federations. The report includes several recommendations for future developments.

Download report [pdf]

This report is open for public comments: viewpoints@incf.org

Apr 03, 2008 NPRC announces increased journal participation

On behalf of the NPRC, the INCF welcomes its latest member, Nature Neuroscience.

The INCF announces further advances in neuroscience publishing, with wide adoption of the Neuroscience Peer Review Consortium (NPRC) initiative. The NPRC is an alliance of neuroscience journals that have agreed to accept manuscript reviews from other members of the Consortium to accelerate publication of research articles. Currently, 27 journals have joined the NPRC for a one-year trial period.

Press Release [pdf]

More information about the NPRC: http://nprc.incf.org

Full story about the NPRC

Mar 17, 2008 INCF Allen Brain Atlas Mirror

The INCF Secretariat operates the European mirror server for the Allen Brain Atlas, the leading rodent brain digital atlas, developed and provided by the Allen Institute for Brain Science.

The Allen Brain Atlas is a web-based genome-wide map of gene expression throughout the mouse brain. Through the partnership agreement, the INCF is operating a mirror, or direct copy, of the atlas from its Secretariat in Stockholm, Sweden. The INCF will ensure the sustainability and technical maintenance of the mirror site, as well as optimal Internet connectivity, in order to guarantee the highest possible service performance and quality in Europe.

Sunday, November 4th

Morning session (9:30 am – 12:30 pm)

Analyze locally - Infer globally: Tools for Integration of Multiscale Imaging Data | S Larson, B Bug, I Zaslavsky, A Gupta, WW Wong, ME Martone [PDF]
Genetic Control of Gene Expression in Hippocampus, Striatum, Cerebellum, and Eye | RW Williams, L Lu, GD Rosen, G Kempermann, and members of Brain Gene Expression Consortia [PDF]

Afternoon session (1:30 pm – 4:30 pm)

Japanese Neuroinformatics Node and Platforms I: the Neuron-Glia, Neuroimaging, and Common Tools Platforms | S Usui, Y Okumura, and members from the individual platforms [PDF]
SenseLab: recent advances in supporting cellular and circuit research in the brain | GM Shepherd [PDF]

Monday, November 5th

Morning session (9:30 am – 12:30 pm)

Interactive Neuronal Network Modeling with NEST 2 | M Diesmann, M-O Gewaltig, A Morrison, HE Plesserv [PDF]
Simulator-independent neuronal network modeling with PyNN | A Davison, P Yger [PDF]

Afternoon session (1:30 pm – 4:30 pm)

CARMEN: Code Analysis, Repository and Modelling for e-Neuroscience | F Gibson, C Ingram, M Jessop, A Knowles, P Lord, L Smith [PDF]
Japanese Neuroinformatics Node and Platforms II: the Integrative Brain Research, Cerebellar, Cerebellar Development Transcriptome, and Brain Machine Interface Platforms | S Usui, Y Okumura, and members from the individual platforms [PDF]

Tuesday November 6th

Morning session (9:30 am – 12:30 pm)

Combining optical imaging, electrophysiology and magnetic resonance imaging: A new integrated experimental strategy to unravel the BOLD signal formation | M Sibila, MA Gaudnek, K Obermayer, A Hess [PDF]
The Allen Brain Atlas and Beyond: Atlasing Gene Expression in the Brain | A Bernard, K Overly, and the Allen Institute for Brain Science [PDF]

Afternoon session (1:30 pm – 4:30 pm)

BAMS: a mature workbench for neurobiological data and metadata | M Bota, LW Swanson [PDF]
Large scale 3D neural network simulations in a parallel computing environment with neuroConstruct | P Gleeson, V Steuber, RA Silver [PDF]

Wednesday November 7th

Morning session (9:30 am – 12:30 pm)

The BrainInfo Portal and Atlas | DM Bowden, M Dubach [PDF]

Open Forum (all day)

Oct 19, 2007 INCF Deputy Executive Director: The INCF Secretariat welcomes Dr. Hui Wang as Deputy Executive Director of the INCF.

Dr. Hui Wang, previously working in an editorial director position at Wiley, will strenghten the management function at the Secretariat, drawing from his solid and extensive experience from academia as well as the scientific publishing industry. He will also be responsible for the management of selected INCF program areas.

Oct 15, 2007 INCF workshop report on Mouse and Rat Digital Brain Atlasing Systems

The report of the INCF workshop on Mouse and Rat Brain Atlasing Systems is now available.

The report provides:

a survey of the current status of digital rodent atlases,
a review of the status of current projects and needs for further developments, and
recommendations on how the INCF can support the community directly or contribute to the implementation of large collaborative projects.

The report also points out potential international collaborations fostered by the workshop.

Download report [PDF].

Aug 20, 2007 1st INCF Congress of Neuroinformatics: Databasing and Modeling the Brain: The INCF will be organizing a neuroinformatics congress in Stockholm, September 7-9, 2008.

The Chair of the scientific committee is Professor Rodney Douglas. More information available at www.neuroinformatics2008.org.

Aug 15, 2007 Program officer at the INCF Secretariat: The INCF Secretariat welcomes Pontus Holm as Program Officer.

Together with other staff at the Secretariat, he will be responsible for the coordination of INCF program activities, resulting from the recommendations provided by the INCF workshop series. In addition, he will be responsible for specific projects run by the INCF Secretariat.

Aug 15, 2007 Poland - new member of the INCF: Poland has decided to become member of the INCF from August 2007.

The decision was made by the The Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The Polish participation in the INCF is administered through The Nencki Institute, on behalf of a Polish neuroinformatics network.

Aug 15, 2007 INCF Scientific Information and Public Relations Officer: The INCF Secretariat welcomes Elli Chatzopoulou as Scientific Information and Public Relations Officer.

Dr. Chatzopoulou will manage the information and PR activities of the INCF. She will also be responsible for communication with INCF National Nodes concerning the promotion of their activities and integration in the overall INCF activities.

Jul 09, 2007 INCF Annual Report 2006: The Annual Report for 2006 is now available.

The report outlines the activities over the 4 months of operations in 2006 and provides an overview of the near-future activities of the INCF.
Download report [PDF]

Jun 29, 2007 Society for Neuroscience focus on neuroinformatics

"Neuroinformatics is an emerging field that tackles the unique challenges posed by neuroscience data", says David Van Essen, President of the Society for Neuroscience, the worlds largest organization of neuroscientists. The announcement is discussed in the Spring 2007 issue of Neuroscience Quarterly, the Newsletter of the Society for Neuroscience.

Link to SfN newsletter

May 16, 2007 Society for Neuroscience focus on neuroinformatics

"Neuroinformatics is an emerging field that tackles the unique challenges posed by neuroscience data", says David Van Essen, President of the Society for Neuroscience, the worlds largest organization of neuroscientists.

The announcement is discussed in the Spring 2007 issue of Neuroscience Quarterly, the Newsletter of the Society for Neuroscience.

Link to SfN Newsletter

May 16, 2007 Portal development team at the INCF Secretariat: The INCF is pleased to welcome our new System Developers, Anders Larsson and Per Erik Strandberg.
Together with the recently employed Usability and Requirements analyst, they will deliver technical developments for the upcoming INCF Portal and Systems Integrations program.

Apr 18, 2007 UK to join the INCF: The United Kingdom has decided to join the INCF from August 1, 2007.
The decision was made by the Neuroscience and Mental Health Board of the MRC.

Apr 18, 2007 New member of INCF Secretariat systems development team: The INCF is pleased to welcome our new Usability and Requirements Analyst Ylva Lillberg to the systems development team at the Secretariat in Stockholm...
Mrs. Lillberg will play a key role in strategic development efforts such as the INCF Portal project and the Systems Integrations program, working for ensuring quality and suitability for purpose from the user’s perspective in the development and offering of professional services to the neuroscientific community. Ylva Lillberg enters the first of three development team positions that the INCF is currently recruiting.

Apr 04, 2007 INCF workshop report on Large-scale modeling

The first report in a series of INCF workshop reports is now available.

The report provides 1) a survey of the current status of large-scale modeling in neuroscience and the scientific needs in the field, 2) a review of the status of current tools for large-scale modeling and needs for further developments, and 3) recommendations on how the INCF can support the community directly or contribute to organizational changes and scientific infrastructure. The INCF will introduce Program areas, one of which will be on large-scale modeling.

Download report [PDF]

Feb 20, 2007 Inauguration of INCF Secretariat

The new Secretariat was inaugurated on February 15, 2007.

An Inauguration ceremony took place in Nobel Forum at Karolinska Institutet, with the Swedish Minister of Science and Education, the Executive Secretary of the OECD Global Science Forum, and the Presidents of the host institutions (Karolinska Institutet and The Royal Institute of Technology), and Ambassadors and representatives of the member countries. The ceremony was followed by a reception in the new Secretariat building and a scientific symposium.

Speech of the Swedish Minister of Science and Education

Feb 05, 2007 The Netherlands - new member of the INCF: The Netherlands have decided to become member of the INCF.
The decision to join the INCF was made by the Netherlands Organisation for Health R&D.

Jan 24, 2007 INCF Neuroinformatics Symposium February 15, 2007

"With Neuroinformatics Towards an Understanding of the Brain" The Inauguration of the new INCF Secretariat building at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, will take place on February 15, 2007.

An inauguration symposium, open to the public, will take place at the Nobel Forum, Wallenbergsalen, Nobels väg 1, Karolinska Institutet, 3 pm - 5 pm. The talks cover areas such as integrative and interactive molecular neuroscience and model-oriented databases for reverse engineering of the brain.

Program [PDF]

Dec 14, 2006 INCF Secretariat moving to new building: The Secretariat of the INCF is in the build-up phase and will recruit a staff of 10.
The new INCF Secretariat building of 300 m2 is located on the main campus of Karolinska Institutet and holds 9 offices and a conference room for 25 people. The construction work is being completed in December and the INCF will take over the building in early January 2007. The Swedish Minister of Science and Education, the Executive Secretary of the OECD Global Science Forum, and the Presidents of the host institutions (Karolinska Institutet and The Royal Institute of Technology) will be present at the formal inauguration on February 15, 2007.

Nov 14, 2006 Belgium to join the INCF: Belgium will become member of the INCF from 2007.
The decision to join the INCF was made by the Belgian Federal Ministry of Science Policy (BELSPO).

Oct 09, 2006 INCF Workshop series to begin in December 2006

The INCF Secretariat will organize a series of Workshops, focusing on topics of primary importance for development and maintenance of neuroscience databases, tools, and simulation environments.

The Workshops are part of a process that will lead to recommendations for action to be followed up by Program Officers at the INCF Secretariat. The first Workshop will deal with Large-scale Modeling of the Nervous System, and will take place at the INCF Secretariat in Stockholm, December 12 – 13, 2006.

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Sunday, November 4th

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