Introduction
Hello everyone! I have been contemplating the crucial next steps for the development of our community and the significance of data science in general. I was particularly intrigued by @psaffie’s proposal to write a scientific article on this topic. In this post, I will present my thoughts on the matter.
Rationale
I firmly believe that a fundamental step in promoting data science is to ensure that people understand its essence and importance. We cannot build a thriving community if our reach remains limited. We currently live in an era of extensive data availability and high-quality studies, which makes it essential that the scientific community, including PD research communities, embrace and utilize these datasets in their research. It’s surprising to me that a lot of individuals in the scientific community aren’t fully engaging with this field, considering how important it is.
I also believe that there are various ways to convey the significance of data science to researchers. These range from introducing authors to this field through academic articles and events within the scientific community, to leveraging social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube to highlight its importance. However, before turning to social media, we need to consolidate our knowledge base on this topic in order to convincingly engage people. Therefore, I propose that we start by writing a scientific article.
Proposal
I suggest we collaborate on writing and publishing a scientific article that emphasizes the importance of data science in PD research. The main objectives and structure of the article would be as follows:
- Explain the relevance of data science across various research domains, with a specific focus on how it can benefit PD research.
- Provide examples of impactful research studies that have utilized high-quality datasets, such as the recently published study on the role of α-synuclein seed amplification assays in identifying PD and its subtypes (link to the study here).
- Provide a brief introduction to the most significant available datasets for PD research, along with guidance on accessing them and utilizing the resources they offer.
- Include any other relevant topics or aspects that you believe would be beneficial.
Observation: in the previously suggested topics, I didn’t include the possibility of promoting our community, as I’m unsure if it’s the right time to do so, given that we are still in the early stages (akin to an alpha phase). However, if you believe it would be beneficial, we could consider including it in the manuscript. Nevertheless, I believe the primary objective should be to highlight the value of data science as a whole, rather than solely focusing on our group, even though this idea is welcome. (open to discussion)
I conducted a basic search on PubMed using PD-related terms and the names of the major datasets I am aware of (PPMI, Fox Insight, PDBP, AMP-PD, and BioFIND). Unfortunately, I found no relevant articles that specifically addressed this issue in the way I envision (link to search methodology and results here).
I have proposed the following title for the manuscript (or something similar): “The Present and Future of Parkinson’s Disease Research: Emphasizing the Importance of Data Science.”
I would greatly appreciate your honest opinions on this topic. Do you think it aligns with the scope of our community? Do you find it useful? Are you aware of any existing articles that have covered this topic and that I am unaware of? Depending on our discussion, I am willing to lead this endeavor on behalf of our group, alongside anyone who wishes to actively contribute. The first step would be to schedule a meeting to thoroughly discuss this possibility and hear your experiences and opinions on how to proceed.
Thank you for your attention!
