# Design and Analysis Core

> **NIH NIH P20** · BROWN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $324,515

## Abstract

The mission of the Design and Analysis Core (DAC) is to provide faculty-level support for neuroscience
research in principled study design, statistical modeling, inference, machine learning and high performance
computation. The DAC is complementary to but distinct from the Behavior and Neuroimaging Core (BNC), with
the BNC providing practical, implementation services. The DAC has the following Specific Aims in the Phase II:
(1) Provide project-specific, faculty-level collaboration to COBRE Project Leaders (PLs) on design and
analysis; (2) Develop novel statistical methodology and computing toolboxes for study design and
comprehensive analysis of neuroimaging and behavioral data; (3) Coordinate and facilitate access to the
Brown University central computing and information infrastructure and provide complementary support on data
management; (4) Serve as a locus for training and exchange of ideas on computational neuroscience and
extend the statistical and computational support to the growing community of neuroscience researchers in
Rhode Island.
The DAC consists of four faculty members from the Departments of Biostatistics and Computer Science, and
two staff scientists, one shared with the BNC. The DAC will support the COBRE Projects by matching faculty
expertise to specific scientific goals, by guiding experimental design, identifying adequate statistical and
computational approaches and performing data analysis. Since the innovative research proposed in the
COBRE projects will yield complex data that may require new statistical methods, the DAC will also develop
novel statistical methodology for the design and analysis of neuroimaging and behavioral data. Once an
analysis approach is developed, the DAC aims to enable the COBRE PLs to obtain the workflow, so that they
could reapply the tools to the same type of experiments. The DAC and the BNC work together to coordinate
with the Center for Statistical Sciences, the Data Sciences Initiative, and Center for Computation and
Visualization at Brown University, to help the PLs achieve the most efficient, reliable, and reproducible analysis
of their research data, and to maintain analysis process in a system that ensures continuity of research within
the project and lowers the boundary for cross-project transferring, as well as dissemination to the external
scientific community.
The DAC will extend its support to the large community at Brown University and its affiliated hospitals, by
providing training opportunities together with other entities that also promote interdisciplinary research,
including the Data Science Initiative, the Advance Clinical and Translational Research and other COBRE
centers in Rhode Island.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10246485
- **Project number:** 5P20GM103645-09
- **Recipient organization:** BROWN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Zhijin Jean Wu
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $324,515
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2013-08-15 → 2023-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10246485

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10246485, Design and Analysis Core (5P20GM103645-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10246485. Licensed CC0.

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