Data Curation Network Partnership Events

Spring-Summer 2025 NIH and Data Curation Network Training Events

The Data Curation Network is excited to host a series of in-person workshops designed to empower data curators and information professionals with the skills needed to help researchers make their data accessible through public repositories. These workshops, hosted on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD, will take place throughout the spring and summer of 2025.

Workshop Schedule

  • Workshop 1: CURATED Fundamentals
    Dates: March 4–5, 2025
    Focus: Foundational skills and best practices for data curation
    Workshop Summary and Materials: Coming soon
     
  • Workshop 2: Specialized Curation for Code and Simulations-Based Research
    Dates: May 12–13, 2025
    Focus: Advanced techniques for curating datasets involving code and simulation-based research
    Workshop Summary and Materials: Check back following the workshop
     
  • Workshop 3: Specialized Curation for Geospatial and Scientific Images
    Dates: July 14–15, 2025
    Focus: Expertise in curating geospatial data and scientific imagery
    Workshop Summary and Materials: Check back following the workshop

About the Program

This workshop series is funded by the NIH Office of Data Science Strategy’s Data Management Center of Excellence (DMCOE), a project under HHS’s Health FFRDC, operated by MITRE. Each workshop welcomes 20 participants to foster a collaborative and hands-on learning environment. The series provides participants with actionable insights and concrete tools to enhance data curation and accessibility at their home institutions.

Past Events

Summit for Academic Institutional Readiness in Data Sharing (STAIRS)

The Data Curation Network hosted the Summit for Academic Institutional Readiness in Data Sharing (STAIRS) on August 5-6, 2024! This summit was funded under the NIH Office of Data Science Strategy’s Data Management Center of Excellence (DMCOE). The DMCOE is a project of HHS’s Health FFRDC, which is operated by MITRE.

Goals of the STAIRS Summit

The STAIRS summit was designed to bring together data service providers, institutional repository (IR) managers, data curation professionals and other key stakeholders from across universities who support managing and sharing research data. The summit was used to build up communities of practice for institutionally based research data services and repositories in academic libraries, identifying common areas of need and exploring ways to strengthen connections between institutions.

Read the event report

The 2022-2023 Workshop Series

The Office of Data Science Strategy (ODSS), in partnership with the National Library of Medicine (NLM), organized an event series led by the Data Curation Network (DCN). DCN is a project funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, comprised of professional data curators, data management experts, data repository administrators, disciplinary scientists, and scholars from academic institutions and non-profit data repositories that steward research data for future use. To prepare for the implementation of the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, researchers need to gain new skills in managing and sharing their data. This event series provided new approaches, methods, and best practices from representatives of the Data Curation Network on management, curation, and sharing to promote transparency, reproducibility, and reuse of research data. The first event in the series will educate researchers broadly about DCN experts, their services, the role of institutional libraries, and curation resources. Subsequent events focused on other stakeholders – program officers, other community researchers, and repository owners – to provide training and access to resources, including a bring-your-own-data curation workshop. This is expected to help the NIH research community better manage and prepare their data, making it more useful and usable for others. The content generated from this series will also be made available online as self-paced training material for broader use.

Event 4: CURATE(D) Workshop (In-person)  
April 12-13, 2023 

Apply today for this 2 day in-person curation workshop based on CURATED workflows. Applications due February 17.

Learn more

Event 3: Applying the CURATE(D) Model for Data Curation   
November 15, 2022, 1:00 P.M.-4:00 P.M. EST (Open Event)

Watch the Video

This workshop, geared toward researchers and information professionals, will provide an overview of appraising and preparing research data for the purpose of data sharing through the Data Curation Network’s CURATE(D) model. During this half-day learning opportunity, attendees will:

  • Increase their understanding of data curation practices to make data more Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR).
  • Apply the CURATE(D) model to a data deposit.
  • Meet like-minded colleagues who are interested in developing or enhancing curation practices at their institutions.

This will be an interactive workshop with breakout rooms and small group activities. Attendees will need access to appropriate technology (computer, microphone, webcam, speakers/headphones, web browsers, high speed internet) and come prepared to participate.

Michelle Yee   
Michelle Yee, Senior Data Catalog Coordinator, New York University (NYU) Health Sciences Library
Marley Kalt   
Marley Kalt, Data Management Consultant, Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries
Shanda Hunt   
Shanda Hunt, Public Health Librarian & Data Curation Specialist, Health Sciences Library, University of Minnesota

Yee Bio: Michelle Yee is a Senior Data Catalog Coordinator in Data Services at the New York University (NYU) Health Sciences Library. In addition to maintaining the institutional data catalog, Michelle provides assistance with biomedical research data management, access, and sharing. Through training and outreach, she advises researchers on Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR) data sharing options. She holds a MPH from NYU School of Global Public Health.

Kalt Bio: Marley Kalt is a Data Management Consultant at JHU Data Services of Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries. The department provides consultation and training on data access, data analysis, geospatial research and data management planning, and operates the JHU Data Archive, an open access data sharing platform for the JHU community. Kalt advises on data management planning and curates research data for a variety of disciplines and data types.

Hunt Bio: Shanda Hunt, MPH, is the Public Health Library Liaison and Data Curation Specialist. Shanda collaborates with public health faculty, staff, and students to find, preserve, and share information. She also serves the broader university community in her roles as data curator for the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM) and member of the Research Data Services Team.

Event 2: Towards Authenticity: Critical Appraisal of Data Management Plans   
July 19, 2022, 12:00 P.M.-3:00 P.M. EST (Open Event)

Watch the Video

This workshop, geared towards program officers, will be an introduction to the many considerations of research data management and sharing, specifically around the role of data management plans (DMPs) in grant proposals. In addition to learning how to evaluate DMPs from the perspective of a data curator, attendees will learn how their roles fit into the entirety of the research data lifecycle, will learn how to balance sharing sensitive data while protecting participant privacy, and will brainstorm ways to integrate best practices for DMPs into the grant proposal process. This session will combine lecture, activities, and discussion -- attendees should come prepared to participate.

Jake Carlson   
Jake Carlson, Director of the Deep Blue Repository and Research Data Services (DBRRDS) Department, University of Michigan (U-M) Library
Jen Darragh   
Jen Darragh, Senior Research Data Management Consultant, Duke University
David Fearon   
David Fearon, Data Management Consultant, Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries
Mikala Narlock   
Mikala Narlock, Assistant Director of the Data Curation Network, University of Minnesota

Carlson Bio: Jake Carlson is the Director of the Deep Blue Repository and Research Data Services (DBRRDS) department at the University of Michigan (U-M) Library. DBRRDS oversees the Library’s two institutional repositories: Deep Blue Documents, for articles, dissertations, presentations and other human-readable materials, and Deep Blue Data, for data sets and other machine-readable materials generated by the U-M community. Carlson’s work centers on developing and supporting services to publish materials of scholarly value that do not have a home in traditional publication structures, including research data, following FAIR and ethical practices. Carlson has authored or co-authored more than 20 articles on research data services in libraries. He is a co-editor, with Lisa Johnston, of the book Data information Literacy: Librarians, Data and the Education of a New Generation of Researchers published in 2015 by the Purdue University Press.

Darragh Bio: Jen Darragh is an experienced research support professional who has served as a longitudinal research data processor, data archivist, data librarian and now research data management consultant. Jen has a deep understanding of the research data lifecycle and is an advocate for open data sharing whenever possible. Jen is also an expert in restricted-use data acquisition and use environments.

Fearon Bio: David Fearon is a Data Management Consultant with JHU Data Services, of Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries. The department provides consulting and training on data access, geospatial research, and data management planning, and operates the JHU Data Archive, an open access data sharing platform. David advises on ways to improve data management practices for a variety of disciplines and data types. He specializes in human subject data privacy and consults on data de-identification for JH School of Medicine compliance offices. David focused on research data curation for his Library and Information Science degree at UCLA. He also has a PhD. in Sociology from U.C. Santa Barbara, specializing in sociolinguistics.

Narlock Bio: Mikala Narlock is the Director of the Data Curation Network, based at the University of Minnesota. In this role, Mikala ensures the DCN develops in a sustainable fashion while advancing strategic goals. This includes support and development for the data curators, fostering community with members and potential partners, advocating for the data curation profession, and upholding DCN's reputation as a trusted, transparent, and empowering partner. She earned her MLS from Indiana University in 2018.

Event 1: Introduction to Data Curation & Services for Researchers   
April 6, 2022, 1:00 P.M. EST (Open Event)

Watch the Video

“Life Rafts in a Sea of Data: The Role of Librarians in Supporting Data Sharing”  

Jake Carlson, Director of the Deep Blue Repository and Research Data Services (DBRRDS) Department at the University of Michigan (U-M) Library

Mikala Narlock, Assistant Director of the Data Curation Network, University of Minnesota   

 

“Making Headway in National Efforts toward Data Sharing and Support”

Peace Ossom-Williamson, Associate Director of the National Center for Data Services, The Network of the National Library of Medicine

Life Rafts in a Sea of Data: The Role of Librarians in Supporting Data Sharing

Abstract: The NIH has updated its policies on managing and sharing research data and will require a Data Management and Sharing Plan for all NIH-funded projects beginning in January 2023. This impending change may seem overwhelming, particularly for researchers who have not had to consider how to make their data findable, accessible, interoperable, or reusable by others outside of the project team before. Librarians have prepared for the data sharing requirements made by funding agencies and publishers, and many academic libraries now offer data services to help researchers navigate through the process. Librarians offer services and support to help craft actionable data sharing plans, to assist researchers in considering how to document and organize their data, and to prepare data for deposit into a repository. Our presentation will introduce you to how librarians approach data services and how to connect with the services they provide.

Making Headway in National Efforts toward Data Sharing and Support

Abstract: A growing area of library services involves supporting (re)use, management, and sharing of data in research. In order to support capacity for data-informed research, the National Center for Data Services (NCDS) was established in July 2021. The NCDS provides training, resources, and support for health information professionals in developing data literacy and providing data services. This presentation will provide background about the NCDS and detail the particular efforts of the Center toward informing about the NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan requirements to begin in 2023.

Carlson Bio: Jake Carlson is the Director of the Deep Blue Repository and Research Data Services (DBRRDS) department at the University of Michigan (U-M) Library. DBRRDS oversees the Library’s two institutional repositories: Deep Blue Documents, for articles, dissertations, presentations and other human-readable materials, and Deep Blue Data, for data sets and other machine-readable materials generated by the U-M community. Carlson’s work centers on developing and supporting services to publish materials of scholarly value that do not have a home in traditional publication structures, including research data, following FAIR and ethical practices. Carlson has authored or co-authored more than 20 articles on research data services in libraries. He is a co-editor, with Lisa Johnston, of the book Data information Literacy: Librarians, Data and the Education of a New Generation of Researchers published in 2015 by the Purdue University Press.

Narlock Bio: Mikala Narlock is the Assistant Director of the Data Curation Network, based at the University of Minnesota.  In this role, Mikala ensures the DCN develops in a sustainable fashion while advancing strategic goals. Specific responsibilities include support and development for the data curators; fostering community with members and potential partners; advocating for the data curation profession; facilitating shared curation activities; and upholding DCN's reputation as a trusted, transparent, and empowering partner. 

Ossom-Williamson Bio: Peace Ossom-Williamson, MLS, MS, AHIP is Associate Director of the National Center for Data Services of the Network of the National Library of Medicine. Prior to this role, she served as Director of Research Data Services at The University of Texas at Arlington, where she developed and led efforts supporting data use in research. She is a medical librarian and health educator with 17 years of experience in libraries in a wide variety of roles, and she teaches numerous courses for different audiences around data services and public health informatics.

This page last reviewed on May 2, 2025