Marking an Anniversary

It’s Tuesday, which means it’s time for Musings.

It’s also time to celebrate! Musings from the Mezzanine is now 3 years old, and we’re marking the occasion with a new masthead, and some reflections.

When I began this blog three years ago, I wanted to use it to reach NLM stakeholders and offer them a chance to get to know me better. Over time, it’s evolved into an important vehicle for communicating advances in the NLM portfolio, describing key policy issues, and highlighting events and other perspectives. To my great surprise, Musings has become a powerful tool for advancing the work we do every day at NLM.

Last year, I decided to direct more of my attention in this blog toward the science of NLM — computational biology, biomedical informatics, and data science. I promised more posts about basic biomedical informatics, data science research, and new partnerships with domain scientists who are building tools that are accelerating discovery. In addition, I wanted to discuss in detail some complex policy issues, such as the data life cycle and the Library’s responsibility to support rigor and reproducibility within federally funded research.

Focusing on the science of NLM, we’ve reported on the work of some of our intramural scientists. For example, Teresa Przytycka introduced the Musings audience to network biology, characterizing the complex way that cells interact with each other as a suite of networks and nodes. Utilizing data from high-throughput experiments, Teresa’s research group has shown how those interaction networks can be leveraged to identify disease-associated groups of related genes.

We’ve had many articles featuring data science this year — from David Hale’s discussion of the innovative NLM Data Discovery portal to Jim Ostell’s announcement of the launch of NLM’s Sequence Read Archive (SRA) in the cloud, making SRA the largest database of publicly available high-throughput accessible via the cloud. We also addressed whether our data are ready and fit for artificial intelligence, and Susan Gregurick described how the National Institutes of Health (NIH) enhances data sharing through NIH-supported repositories, PubMed Central’s data deposit, the Science and Technology Research Infrastructure for Discovery, Experimentation, and Sustainability (STRIDES) Initiative, and a pilot with the generalist repository Figshare.

I’m proud of how we expanded the focus on public policy germane to NLM. Earlier this year, Dina Paltoo, along with Jerry Sheehan and Rebecca Goodwin, updated us on public policy initiatives affecting NLM, including data sustainability, net neutrality, and open science. They reported on the work of an NLM policy team that brings experts together to deliberate on how NLM should address such issues. And, just last month, I shared the congressional testimony that I submitted to the U.S. House Congressional Subcommittee on Appropriations for NIH Investments in Medical Research.

My blog has also become a place to showcase important events and a variety of perspectives. In February, we celebrated the contributions of African American scientists at NIH. Guest bloggers have periodically provided insights into new developments, such as the introduction to authority-based security by Kurt Rodarmer and the overview of NLM’s new Office of Engagement and Training by Amanda Wilson, and shared their thoughts on important issues, such as the discussion of data reuse by Melissa Haendel of the Oregon Health & Science University.

And, true to the blog’s name, I’ve continued to share my own musings as I’ve matured as an NIH director, including on communicating and leading in a time of change and on my role as a nurse who directs a national library, in response to the oft-asked question, “Didn’t you used to be a nurse?” I was delighted to highlight the 10 women who lead institutes and centers at NIH, which has become my most popular post. I also made a plea for the appropriate use of sick leave — please stay home when you’re sick, if you can.

It’s a privilege and a pleasure to develop this blog and to work with NLM Office of Communications and Public Liaison staff to bring these posts to you. Please let me know your thoughts and ideas — and maybe consider contributing something yourself!