Great Lakes Regional Center for AIDS Research GLR CFAR

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Great Lakes Regional Center for AIDS Research
(GLR CFAR)

• Steven Wolinsky, M.D.

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The GLR CFAR

• Organizes and integrates multidisciplinary AIDS
  research across the departments and schools of
  Northwestern University, the University of
  Minnesota-Twin Cities, the University of
  Michigan-Ann Arbor, and the University of
  Wisconsin-Madison

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The GLR CFAR (cont.)

• The GLR CFAR maintains a strong research
  infrastructure for collaboration, technology
  support and development, and access to its eight
  core resource facilities
• It sustains seven proven, productive AIDS-related
  research programs through with it coordinates and
  supports the cutting-edge research of 111
  investigators funded by NIH

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The GLR CFAR (cont.)

• The center supports education, training and
  career development opportunities for AIDS
  researchers through innovative communication
  technology
• The center benefits the AIDS research activities
  at the four universities by enhancing cooperation
  (creating value) and increasing competitiveness
  (capturing value)

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GLR CFAR Core Facilities

• Administrative Core
• Clinical Research Core
• Non-Human Primate Models Core
• Molecular Biology Core
• Immunology Core
• Single-Cell Imaging and Analysis Core
• Collaboratory Research Core
• Developmental Research Core

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The Goal of the GLR CFAR

• The GLR CFARs goal is to stimulate and support
  scientific discovery and its application to the
  prevention and treatment of AIDS.

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The Collaboratory Research Core

• Sustains an infrastructure that facilitates AIDS
  research by enhancing information and resource
  exchange among clinical and basic scientists
• Provides a comprehensive mechanism for the timely
  exchange of ideas and data using groupware
  applications designed for real-time and
  asynchronous interactions delivered via the
  Internet

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The Collaboratory Research Core (cont.)

• The specific aims
• Create and sustain the centers technical
  infrastructure to enable scientific integration
  and collegial interface among its members,
• Make collaboratory tools easily accessible to
  investigators and use them to integrate and
  disseminate information from research results.

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The Collaboratory Research Core (cont.)

• This support creates opportunities for
  collaboration by
• Allowing participation in virtual laboratory
  meetings
• Engaging in distance learning through real-time
  broadcast of lectures, and
• Supporting collaborative research projects by
  connecting distant scientists with diverse
  expertise, equipment, and data together,
  regardless of location.

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Significance

• Makes intellectual and technological resources of
  the center more readily accessible to its
  members
• Facilitates information and resource exchange
  among investigators to integrate the scientific
  research programs and enhance the pace of AIDS
  research and
• Enhances international cooperation in AIDS
  research and its application to prevention and
  treatment.

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Progress in Pursuit of Goals

• Enables the integration of data and tools,
  facilitates information exchange to support a
  diverse portfolio of AIDS research activities
• Provides a suite of off-the-shelf groupware tools
  supporting a broad range of collaborative
  activities
• Conducts ongoing assessments of the use of impact
  of the tools in the form of surveys, interviews
  and observation

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Progress in Pursuit of Goals (cont.)

• Create and sustain the centers technology
  infrastructure to enable integration and
  interface among its members
• Make collaboratory tools easily accessible to
  investigators and use them to integrate and
  disseminate information from research results
• Virtual Laboratory Meetings
• Virtual Seminars

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Cumulative GLR CFAR membership over time

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Virtual Laboratory Meeting

• Screen sharing applications and desktop video
  conferencing (e.g. Microsofts Net Meeting and
  iVisit)
• Teleconferencing to allow researchers to engage
  in conversation

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Virtual Laboratory Meeting (cont.)

• One-on-one meetings
• Larger group meetings

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Virtual Laboratory Meeting (cont.)
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Participants responses to questions designed to
assess the value of the distributed lab meetings

• The goals of the meeting were accomplished.
  Rating 4.382.
• I prefer to use collaboration technology for my
  CFAR meetings. Rating 4.53.
• Managing the technology gets in the way of
  learning about the science during the meeting.
  Rating 1.0.

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Seminar Series

• Uses the PlaceWare Auditorium application
  combined with a teleconference
• Slides and other selected graphics display on a
  personal computer monitor

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Seminar Series (cont.)

• Accurate picture of a seminar participation
  derives from a survey administered to the full
  membership (n48, a 42 response rate for the
  membership total at the date of the survey
  administration)
• 73 of GLR CFAR members who responded to the
  survey attended at least one, and on average
  three, virtual seminars

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Seminar Series (cont.)

• The primary reasons for non-attendance was
  scheduling conflicts (78)
• 14 of respondents said they did not attend
  because the topic was irrelevant to their work
• Insufficient advance notice was listed by 8 of
  respondents
• Only 5 responded not attending due to technical
  difficulties

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Participants responses to questions designed to
evaluate satisfaction with the virtual seminars

• Attending the virtual seminar gave me access to
  information that I would not have received
  otherwise. Rating 4.42.
• I plan to attend future CFAR virtual seminars.
  Rating 4.73.
• The technology allowed me to participate in this
  seminar as I would have had I been in the same
  room as the speaker. Rating 3.34.
• Managing the technology gets in the way of
  learning about the science during the seminar.
  Rating 1.0

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Added Value

• The Collaboratory Research Core benefits the
  center by promoting synergy among its members
• It expands and facilitates access to resources
  and new technology and provides economy of scale
• The core links researchers with the resources
  they need, ensures collaboration, and encourages
  participation across scientific disciplines