Who We Are
The overall vision for the SPARC Portal is to accelerate peripheral neuroscience research and device development by providing access to digital resources that can be shared, cited, visualized, computed, and used for virtual experimentation. The SPARC Portal is developed by a multidisciplinary team, the SPARC Data and Resource Center (DRC).
The SPARC Data and Resource Center
The SPARC Data and Resource Center (DRC) is charged with creating a publicly available, multifunctional online hub facilitating coordination, synthesis, and prediction via four core functions:
- Data Coordination, led by Joost Wagenaar, University of Pennsylvania
- Map Synthesis, co-led by Peter Hunter and David Nickerson, University of Auckland, New Zealand
- Modeling & Simulation, led by Esra Neufeld, IT'IS Foundation, Switzerland
- Knowledge Management, co-led by Bernard de Bono, Whitby LLC and Maryann Martone, University of California, San Diego
The DRC includes core operations, an independent steering committee, and a number of standing committees and working groups who work together in accordance with DRC governance regulations. Funded investigators who produce data, models and tools also closely coordinate with the DRC.
Team & Leadership
The NIH Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions (SPARC) Common Fund program has enabled the development of the next generation of neuromodulation devices informed by the systematic development of high-resolution anatomical and functional neural circuit maps of the peripheral nervous system. Oversight for the SPARC program is provided by the NIH Working Group, led by the Office of Strategic Coordination, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. For more information, visit the SPARC program site at NIH.
Annual Report
We are pleased to share our first annual public report describing highlights and plans for the SPARC platform. We at the SPARC Data and Resource Center (DRC) are on a mission to provide neuroscience researchers with an open platform and ecosystem of FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) data, models, and coming soon - devices. The SPARC Portal - https://sparc.science/ acts as a nexus between researchers, outcomes of the SPARC Consortium, and community support and outreach efforts.
Download and view the SPARC Annual Report 2024
Information about the SPARC DAT-Core.
Information about the SPARC MAP-Core.
Information about the SPARC K-Core.
Information about the SPARC SIM-Core.
The DRC is led by the SPARC DRC Council, comprising the PIs of the 4 Cores and NIH. DRC operations include standing committees who report to the Council.
An independent Steering Committee of outside experts provides oversight of DRC activities and provides advice to NIH on the operations of the DRC.
We are pleased to share our first annual public report describing highlights and plans for the SPARC platform.
