Friday, April 10, 2026
David N. Kennedy, Ph.D., will present "From Observation to Knowledge: Harnessing Reproducible Practices to Accelerate Science" from 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. EDT.
About the Seminar
Reproducible research practices are essential for transforming raw scientific observations into robust, actionable knowledge. This talk explores how advances in infrastructure, developed by ReproNim and the community, empower researchers to better share, reuse, and build upon scientific data.
I will highlight our interactions with collaborative platforms like OpenNeuro, to make versioned and re-executable computation accessible at scale. In addition, the ENIGMA Parkinson’s Disease project will serve as an example highlighting harmonization and query across dozens of research sites, and how public and private metadata stores (so-called ReproLakes and ReproPonds) can be integrated to support FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) and reproducible analyses.
Attendees will gain insights into the technical and cultural challenges of reproducible science, get practical examples of solutions in action, with the hope that this can support advancing data sharing and reuse within their own research programs. Together, we can accelerate the transition from scientific observation to reliable knowledge by harnessing the power of reproducible practices.
About the Speaker
Dr. Kennedy is a Professor of Psychiatry and Radiology at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. He is Director of the Division of Neuroinformatics at the Child and Adolescent Neurodevelopment Initiative (CANDI). He has extensive expertise in the development of image analysis techniques and was a co-founder of the Center for Morphometric Analysis (CMA) at the Massachusetts General Hospital in 1988. His career has seen participation in the advent of such technologies as MRI-based morphometric analysis (1989), functional MRI (1991) and diffusion tensor pathway analysis (1998). He has long standing experience with the development of neuroinformatics resources (such as the NeuroImaging Tools and Resources Collaboratory (NITRC)) and reproducibility initiatives (such as ReproNim: A Center for Reproducible Neuroimaging Computation). In addition, he was a founding editor of the journal Neuroinformatics that debuted in 2003.
About the Seminar Series
The seminar is open to the public and registration is required each month. Individuals who need interpreting services and/or other reasonable accommodations to participate in this event should contact Allison Hurst at 301-670-4990. Requests should be made at least five days in advance of the event.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Data Science Strategy hosts this seminar series to highlight examples of data sharing and reuse on the second Friday of each month at noon ET. The monthly series highlights researchers who have taken existing data and found clever ways to reuse the data or generate new findings. A different NIH institute or center will also share its data science activities each month.