# Columbia University Science of Behavior Change Resource and Coordinating Center renewal -Ontology Administrative Supplement

> **NIH NIH U24** · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · 2022 · $837,443

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The overall aim of this Columbia University Science of Behavior Change (SOBC) Resource and Coordinating
Center (RCC) administrative supplement proposal is to increase the scientific rigor of mechanisms-focused
behavioral science by developing a transparent, rigorous, and reproducible approach to ontology development
for constructs in behavioral medicine. To our knowledge, this will be the first time that experts in stress, its
measurement, and its role as a construct in the broader field of the behavioral sciences are convened to work
with experts in information science, natural language processing, and automated learning to develop a domain
ontology of stress for use by the field as a whole. The aims of this supplement are aligned with the goals of the
RCC, which include (1) serving as a hub for scientists to evaluate, discuss, and disseminate mechanisms-
focused behavioral science; (2) engaging with national scientific organizations and bringing basic and
applied/clinical scientists together to promote collaborations and further advances in mechanistic behavioral
science; and (3) conducting outreach and dissemination of the experimental medicine approach. Specific aims
of the supplement are to: (1) Convene stakeholders and experts in the stress construct, stress
measurement, and ontology development tools to choose the scope, approaches, materials, and specific
tasks necessary to develop an ontology of stress that is maximally useful to the field of behavioral science.
Deliverables: A published record of our stakeholder selection and organizational processes, goals for the
collaboration, and a priori plan for engineering an ontology of stress. (2)Develop a rigorous ontology of
one or more components of stress. Deliverables: A rigorous, intuitive, and useful ontology of stress that
can facilitate automated reasoning and organize existing literature on stress-related constructs. The Stress
Ontology is enabled by the ITEM (Indicator Terminology for Explanation and Measurement) Ontology, the
Larsen team’s recently completed domain ontology. ITEM is the first ontology for modeling the sub-indicator
entities in psychological measures, a necessary first step for accurate measure and construct integration. (3)
Conduct outreach and dissemination of the ontology development process. Deliverable: Published
and web-based materials for teaching the value of ontologies in behavioral science, describing the expertise,
tools, and steps necessary for constructing ontologies, and demonstrating the utility of our stress ontology
specifically. (4)Integrate finalized ontologies into SOBC efforts. Deliverables: We will include ontology
development and related insights into SOBC/the experimental medicine approach dissemination efforts,
including the SOBC website.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10652199
- **Project number:** 3U24AG052175-08S1
- **Recipient organization:** COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES
- **Principal Investigator:** Donald Edmondson
- **Activity code:** U24 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $837,443
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2015-09-30 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10652199

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10652199, Columbia University Science of Behavior Change Resource and Coordinating Center renewal -Ontology Administrative Supplement (3U24AG052175-08S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10652199. Licensed CC0.

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