Enhancing Organism Based Disease Knowledge Via Name Based Taxonomic Intelligence

Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole MA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The health of Human society is unmistakably intertwined with the health of the Earth and her inhabitants. As modern society becomes increasingly global, unprecedented stresses are placed on interdependent ecologies. Nowhere is this more apparent than with increased incidences of emerging infectious diseases, which include vector-borne diseases, increasingly antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, and rapidly mutating viral syndromes. To better understand the ecology and etiology of zoonotic (animal to human) emerging infectious diseases, there is a significant need to integrate biomedical and biodiversity knowledge. As demonstrated by the success of Medline and its usage of the MeSH vocabulary, the incorporation of scientific controlled vocabularies in the information retrieval process can facilitate the identification of relevant information. We propose to develop and use informatics techniques to bridge biomedical and biodiversity information into a single resource that will enable the linkage of previously unconnected information that might be useful for the study of infectious diseases. Specifically, we aim to (1) develop a taxonomy ontology and incorporate emerging environment and geo-location ontologies for the annotation of biomedical and biodiversity information into a structured repository;(2) index information from several currently non-linked biomedical and biodiversity knowledge sources using statistical methods that are anchored in organism, environment, and geo-location information;and, (3) evaluate the utility of linking biomedical and biodiversity information relative to emerging animal-to- human infectious diseases. Through regular collaboration events, such as annual workshops, the proposed research will continually evaluate the value of the deliverables and findings with a team of experts and potential beneficiaries from around the world.