View slides from this presentation  (359 Kb)

Abstract

The Integrative Biology VRE project was a JISC funded Virtual Research Environment (VRE) project based at the University of Oxford that ran for two years between April 2005 and March 2007.

The project resulted in a large-scale VRE demonstrator which investigated the use of existing collaboration frameworks to support the entire research process of an international research consortium, namely that of the Integrative Biology (IB) project. The IB is an EPSRC funded e-Science Pilot project to develop a Grid infrastructure to support the post-genomic research of nine post-doctoral researchers, and to provide training for 10 PhD students, across seven UK Institutions, and with partners in IBM and the University of Auckland.

This presentation will highlight the set up of the IBVRE, and in particular how the project addressed the user community's requirements in the areas of graphical user interfaces and collaborative tools, both pressing needs bearing in mind the distributed and collaborative nature of the research undertaken by this community.

website: http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/programme_vre/ibvre.aspx

About the speaker

Dr. Ann Borda is a Programme Manager (e-Research) in the Development Group at the JISC (Joint Information and Systems Committee) based in the UK. Ann has managed a diverse portfolio of projects and development services, and was initially under the Core Middleware Programme where she was responsible for overseeing the first early adopter projects of Shibboleth. This activity led to the set up of the Middleware Assisted Take-Up Service and preliminary discussions on creating a UK-wide Access Management Federation.

Ann's work on early adoption has carried over to her current remit of responsibility in the JISC e-Research programme in which she is engaging with e-Research communities to facilitate broader and more effective use of the UK e-infrastructure (e.g. grid networks, infrastructure service providers), as well as support for new capabilities and research practices over the research life cycle. This involves close working with a number of organisations such as UKERNA, the National Grid Service, OMII-UK, and the e-Science Centres, and key stakeholders across the UK Research Councils and a range of sectors to identify national requirements.

Due to the remit of her activities, Ann actively liaises with international organisations and projects and is keen to foster discussion in the areas outlined and to ascertain synergies and collaborative ways of addressing common issues.

Finally, Ann oversees The Open Source Software Advisory Service (www.oss-watch.ac.uk) which provides support for all of JISC development projects and provides advice on open source licensing and best practice.