At the Medical School of the University of Maryland, there is a large number (19), of Public Health Service research projects whose investigators depend very heavily on the latest computing methodologies to meet their research goals. Specifically, the group consists of ten research projects currently funded by NIH for a total of $13,342,670; the remaining nine are under review and pending PHS support for a total of $10,862,613. Rapid advances in computing technology have resulted in the availability of powerful research tools that can dramatically increase research productivity in these projects and open up entirely new avenues of investigation not previously possible. Neither the University nor each individual research project can independently cope with the financial responsibility of the new generation of computing (networked workstations). To correct this major shortcoming, new hardware-software configurations are required whose cost can only be justified on a shared-use basis. Twenty-one senior research investigators from the Departments of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Physiology, Pathology, and Surgery directing and/or participating in these research efforts, in collaboration with four computer senior faculty from the Engineering College of the University of Maryland College Park Campus evaluated the needs, examined alternatives, and selected the most cost-effective solution. The result is this application to purchase commercially available computer hardware and software to implement a shared-computing system via a Medical Informatics Network that makes possible workstation-based distributed processing. The total cost of the equipment is $383,254. No research and development is needed and no such funds are requested. This proposed shared computing plan is highly innovative and will increase research productivity many- fold. Major features include: 1) meeting all current and planned project research needs by providing powerful new methodologies for data analysis and presentation, mathematical computation, artificial intelligence, and high speed communication; 2) allowing maximum resource sharing among all investigators while, at the same time, giving each major user the greatest possible flexibility; 3) serving a wide segment of biomedical investigators while providing maximum security for preservation of patient data confidentially; and 4) utilizing open architecture which, under the committed technical guidance of computer experts, ensures maximum cutting- edge longevity at economical cost for technological updating. The application also includes an organizational structure, a grant administration plan, and institutional and Principal Investigator commitments or continued maintenance and support. The overall aim is to achieve a shared medical informatics resource which will serve Public Health Service research projects in this school for the longest length of time and to maximum capability made possible by the ongoing advances in computer technology.
