Taking Flight: NLM’s Data Science Journey

Guest post by the Data Science @NLM Training Program team.

Data science at NLM is ready to soar!

In 2018, we embarked on a journey to build a workforce ready to take on the challenges of data-driven research and health, and earlier this year we shared our plans for accelerating data science expertise at NLM. Now, it’s time to reflect on our progress and recognize our accomplishments.

Our Data Science @NLM Training Program Open House, held last week, showcased some of the great data science work happening across the Library. We learned from each other and discovered new opportunities to strengthen the Library’s proficiencies in working with data and using analytic tools, furthering NLM’s research practices and services.

A poster gallery featuring 77 research posters and data visualizations provided a snapshot of the many ways that NLM staff apply data science to their work. It was great to see so many NLM staff sharing their work and engaging in stimulating conversations about innovation.

Three “lightning” presentations gave a glimpse of how NLM staff use data science. NLM Data Science and Open Science Librarian, Lisa Federer, PhD, MLIS, talked about building a librarian workforce to engage with researchers on open science and data science. NLM’s Rezarta Islamaj, PhD, and Donald Comeau, PhD, presented their perspectives on enriching gene and chemical links in PubMed and PubMedCentral and evaluating Medical Subject Headings, or MeSH in indexing for literature retrieval in PubMed.

The open house was also an opportunity for NLM staff who participated in an intensive 120-hour data science fundamentals course to share what they learned and how they’re applying their new skills.  

But this event was more than a celebration of accomplishments. It provided space to reflect on lessons learned, how to use what we’ve learned on a daily basis, and hopes for the future of data science at NLM. Dina Demner-Fushman, MD, PhD, of NLM dove into data science methodologies in her discussion of the Biomedical Citation Selector (BmCS), a high-recall machine-learning system that identifies articles that require indexing for MEDLINE selectively-indexed journals.

NLM staff brainstormed over 60 ideas to bring data science solutions to new and ongoing projects and talked with data science experts at the open house “ideas booth.” Staff also shared how they will learn, or continue to use, data science in support of their individual career goals.

We were delighted to see over 300 NLM staff participating in the open house, which is just one of the ways that NLM is working to achieve goal 3 of the NLM strategic plan to “build a workforce for data-driven research and health.”

The Data Science @NLM Training Program has helped increase NLM staff awareness of and expertise in data science. NLM staff are now better prepared than ever to demonstrate the Library’s commitment to accelerating biomedical discovery and data-powered health.   

Our data science journey continues, as does the growth of the data science community at NLM. For a recap of the day, follow the experience at #datareadynlm.

We’re taking off!

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