caBIG^® Programs

caBIG^® is organized into workspaces, or areas of focus, that were identified based on the priorities of the cancer centers. These workspaces represent fields with a great need for efficiency and collaboration and are areas where the opportunities for positively impacting cancer research, prevention, and care are considered to be the greatest. The workspaces also help to channel the cancer research community into natural sub-groups of people, initiatives, and technologies that can most effectively work together. They continue to be defined and developed based on critical input from the caBIG^® community.

Currently, the workspaces are organized into two categories: "vertically" by research and technical specific subjects, and "horizontally" by cross-cutting policy, planning, and architecture issues. The vertical domain areas are categorized by the following:

• Clinical Trial Management Systems
• Provides software tools for consistent, open, and comprehensive clinical trials management, including enrollment of patients, tracking of protocols, recording of outcomes information, administration of trials, and submission of data to regulatory authorities
• Integrative Cancer Research
• Builds software tools and systems to enable integration of clinical information (such as data collected from biospecimen donors) with molecular information (such as data from high-throughput genomic and proteomic technologies)
• In Vivo Imaging
• Provides technology for the sharing and analysis of in vivo (in the body) imaging data, such as MRI and PET scans, both in basic and clinical research settings
• Tissue Banks and Pathology Tools
• Develops software tools for the collection, processing, and dissemination of biospecimens, including the annotation of those biospecimens with donor clinical and protocol data, as well as for the operational and administrative aspects of biorepositories

The following horizontal, cross-cutting workspaces support the development of policies and infrastructure that bring together the caBIG^® community:

• Architecture

caGrid is the underlying network architecture that provides the basis for connectivity between all of the cancer community institutions. Similar to the Internet, caGrid is the platform upon which additional caBIG® software applications and online tools are based.

• Develops communication standards and systems necessary for all other caBIG^® workspaces to inter-connect as a grid via the Internet, including solutions for access control, security, and patient data protection
• Data Sharing and Intellectual Capital
• Develops policies for the sharing of data, software, and inventions within the caBIG^®-funded cancer community. This workspace addresses, for example, how to implement patient protection policies; the ethical, legal, and contractual obligations associated with the sharing of clinical data and biospecimens; and how the public and private sector should interact when using caBIG^® tools in collaboration
• Documentation and Training
• Provides technical training for software developers in the use of the caBIG^® resources, including online tutorials, workshops, and education programs
• Strategic Planning
• Assists in identifying strategic priorities for the development and evolution of caBIG^®
• Vocabularies and Common Data Elements
• Creates data standards, including the development, promotion, and support of vocabularies, ontologies, and common data elements to ensure that the entire caBIG^® community is speaking the same "language." Such common data standards are a key component to ensure that large scale NCI projects generate interoperable information

caBIG^® projects are enabling the delivery of tools, infrastructure and information needed to advance the study and treatment of cancer.

Today, there are more than 1000 individuals -- from over 200 organizations -- working on caBIG^® projects.

If you are interested in working on the caBIG^® technical program, please visit the caBIG^® participants’ website.

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