PI: William Klunk
Institution: University of Pittsburgh

Overview:

This project includes the collection, analysis and distribution of PET scans as part of this scope. It benefits from the data science technologies developed as part of TR&D1. The infrastructure, query and dissemination systems capabilities developed as part of the TR&D1 effort serve as the foundation for this project. The technologies provide an environment in which data from many research studies are easily discoverable, and publicly searchable and where products supporting enhanced scientific analyses can be shared. Dr. Klunk and his team’s objective to improve comparison of beta-amyloid (Ab) imaging data across studies is enhanced through the cohort discovery, search and display systems such as the Cohort Scout and Interrogator. The infrastructure also supports wide dissemination of normalized datasets providing common quantitative output values for beta-amyloid (Ab) imaging that is applicable across tracers and methods that serve to enhance cross-site data analyses and ultimately may result in universal prognostic/diagnostic application. We created new systems to curate PET data including quality assessments and measures derived from the images. We make these data available to collaborators and describe it sufficiently so that they may do analyses themselves. In the next phase of this SP we intend to provide (given the plans of TR&D1) a more standardized approach to description of results so that amyloid estimation by PET can be aggregated and compared across diverse projects. Linking these results to other observations from genetics to behavior will provide a more complete assessment of the state of the individuals and cohorts.