Frequently Asked Questions
General Questions
Listed below are general frequently asked questions.
- What is FITBIR?
- What is the purpose of FITBIR?
- Is the FITBIR policy available?
- Where does FITBIR get its data from?
- Who can submit data to FITBIR?
- What type of data is in FITBIR and will the data be expanded over time?
- If I am submitting an application to the NIH or DOD for funding, how should I include FITBIR in my data sharing plans?
- How is FITBIR funded?
Q. What is FITBIR?
The Federal Interagency Traumatic Brain Injury Research (FITBIR) informatics system is a collaborative effort involving the NIH Institutes and Centers (ICs) and the US Army Medical Research and Material Command (USAMRMC) to develop a biomedical informatics system and data repository for Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) research.
Q. What is the purpose of FITBIR?
The purpose of FITBIR is to help accelerate TBI research by creating an infrastructure that integrates heterogeneous datasets allowing access to much more quality research data than an investigator would be able to collect independently. Generally, FITBIR provides the following capabilities:
- Standards to enable cross site meta-analysis and data comparisons across bioinformatics systems
- Deployment of useful bioinformatics tools for researcher use
- Promotion of the sharing of quality research data with the TBI research community
- Query access to a repository of phenotypic, genomic, imaging and pedigree research data.
Q. Is the FITBIR policy available?
The approved FITBIR policy is available here, Policy
Q. Where does FITBIR get its data from?
FITBIR stores data provided by TBI researchers. FITBIR accepts high quality research data from a number of projects, regardless of funding source and location, and is working to connect with relevant research repositories.
Q. Who can submit data to FITBIR?
Any researcher who has acquired research data related to TBI may apply for approval to submit data to FITBIR.
Q. What type of data is in FITBIR and will the data be expanded over time?
Currently, FITBIR is set up to accept standard phenotypic data, imaging and genomic data related to human subjects (see Standards for more information on the imaging and genomic formats supported by FITBIR). FITBIR has developed a data dictionary system allowing investigators to define additional TBI data elements and measures. Refer to Published Form Structures for the listing of FITBIR's currently defined form structures.
Q. If I am submitting an application to the NIH or DOD for funding, how should I include FITBIR in my data sharing plans?
All TBI or TBI-related applications for NIH/DOD funding are strongly encouraged to share their data with FITBIR (see solicitation for specific details). Applications should include a description of the principal investigator's intent to submit data to FITBIR, the type of data to be submitted and the anticipated time line for submissions. Clinical researchers must plan on utilizing the NINDS Common Data Elements (see www.commondataelements.ninds.nih.gov) and should plan to use the DOD definition of TBI (see definitions and classifications in the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Concussion/Mild Traumatic Brain Injury . To support the costs associated with data submission, include the FITBIR Cost Model into the budget of your application.
Q. How is FITBIR funded?
FITBIR is an informatics system and data repository developed by the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The funding for FITBIR has been provided by USAMRMC through CDMRP with NIH providing contributions in staff and technical resources. For more information, refer to the Funding Organizations page.
