The OAI Collaborative Osteoarthritis Research Enterprise (OAI CORE) Knowledgebase - PROJECT SUMMARY We propose to create a knowledgebase to extract, accumulate, organize, annotate, and link growing bodies of information related to the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI), one of the most prolific osteoarthritis (OA) cohorts in history. The OAI is a unique and rich 16-year multicenter observational study with comprehensive publicly available clinical data, medical images, genetics, and biospecimens from 4,796 people with or at risk for knee OA. Consequently, the OAI is a valued resource to a large and dynamic research community, with ~1,000 publications (>100/year for the past 6 years) and >770 researchers having multiple publications using OAI data. Despite the OAI’s widespread adoption among OA researchers, it retains considerable untapped potential to support investigations in wide-ranging OA-related fields. Utilization of OAI data, images, and biospecimens would be enhanced by a centralized resource that leverages contemporary technology to raise awareness in a broader research community and provide logistical support in leveraging the OAI, ensuring that the OAI will be a durable resource. We propose to create a biomedical knowledgebase to promote and facilitate the use of the OAI to accelerate discovery. We will use trustworthy governance and good data practices to offer high-quality and efficient services to meet the community’s needs using an intuitive and centralized resource. We will create two broad platforms with the first being the Online OAI Resource Library, primarily a stand-alone online resource with 1) foundational documents (OAI Archive; e.g., approved consent forms), 2) presentations and educational opportunities (OAI.Edu), 3) annual State of the OAI Reports, 4) an online calculator for descriptive analyses (OAI Explorer), 5) a database of available OAI biospecimen, and 6) datasets that instructors can use in classes (OAI Learning Lab). Our second will be the OAI Engagement Services, where the OAI CORE will directly engage with interested investigators to assist with an array of activities, including 1) discussing available data and limitations, 2) creating parsimonious data or imaging sets, 3) preparing new datasets to link to the publicly available data, and 4) connecting new OAI investigators with experienced OAI investigators during one-on-one and group sessions – a catalyst to facilitate collaboration and new research. We will also monitor and report >25 metrics of usage, utility, and scientific impact and advancement of knowledge and understanding. This knowledgebase will promote and maintain the OAI, facilitate high-quality studies of existing data, and encourage the generation and sharing of new data from the OAI among OA researchers and the broader research community, accelerating the pace of discoveries.
