A research team at NYU Langone Health and Sage Bionetworks has been awarded a $25 million grant to establish a data hub and coordinating center for the National Institutes of Health's Complement-Animal Research in Experimentation (Complement-ARIE) program, according to a Mar. 18 announcement.
The initiative aims to accelerate the development of new approach methodologies (NAMs), which are laboratory or computer-based testing methods designed to more accurately model human biology and potentially replace traditional animal research models. These technologies include advanced human-based cell systems, computational models using artificial intelligence, and cell-free biochemical assays for toxicology screenings.
The NIH award will provide $5 million annually over five years to fund the NYU-Sage NAMs Data Hub and Coordination Center (NYU-Sage NDHCC). This center will standardize, harmonize, and share datasets ranging from molecular tests to simulated population outcomes using cloud technology. The hub is expected to serve as the backbone for data management within the consortium, offering AI-supported data curation and analytical tools for researchers.
Collaboration across the Complement-ARIE consortium will be encouraged through interactive workshops, benchmarking competitions, and engagement with stakeholders interested in NAMs technologies. A key feature of the NDHCC is its FAIR, Unified Schema for Interoperability of Ontologies in NAMs (FUSION) framework. This system integrates biomedical knowledge maps into a common data model so that diverse experimental and computational NAMs data can be interoperable and reusable.
"As part of the Complement-ARIE consortium, our joint team will advance the understanding of human health and disease by coordinating the full spectrum of data generated across the consortium, transforming it into a resource ready to drive new discoveries by our team, consortium members, and the broader community," said Gustavo A. Stolovitzky, PhD, director of the Biomedical Data Sciences Hub within NYU Grossman School of Medicine.
The project also includes grants establishing technology development centers at other institutions coordinated by this new data hub. These centers will focus on developing NAM technologies targeting areas with significant scientific need. Additionally, a Validation and Qualification Network will bring together industry and regulatory experts to set standards for validating these new methodologies.
Funding comes from the National Institutes of Health Common Fund under grant U24ES03837.
