Our Research
Current Research Initiatives
One of the primary goals of LONI’s research is to develop deformation strategies, warping algorithms, and quantitative data analyses to create a set of brain atlases that characterize the normal brain through development, through adulthood and old age. LONI researchers are also working to understand and map the brain in Alzheimer’s disease, as well as the brains of other patient populations. The resources on this page are open and accessible to the entire research community; accessing certain materials may require the submission and approval of a data use application.
Software
LONI is a leader in the design, development and wide dissemination of advanced informatics, computational algorithms, and software tools for the comprehensive and quantitative mapping of brain structure and function across space, time, and scale. The LONI Pipeline is an innovative and free workflow processing application that facilitates the graphical construction, execution, monitoring, validation and dissemination of advanced data analysis protocols, allowing data scientists to integrate multiple processing tools and distributed computing resources with an easy-to-use graphical interface.
Image and Data Archive
The LONI Image Data Archive (IDA), a nexus of many multi-site brain imaging collaborations, provides an effective means for aggregation, archival access, and protection of collaborator-collected image data. The archive protects data from unauthorized access while providing simple ways to securely transmit neuroimaging and other data to computational resources and to co-investigators around the world. The IDA utilizes a web-browser interface so there is no hardware to purchase or software to install.
The archival process involves de-identifying the header file and securely transmitting the image data from the local site to LONI. The purpose of de-identification is to remove or replace any fields in the header file that have to do with the identity of the subject, such as the Patient Name and ID fields. A de-identification applet, which integrates the LONI Debabeler technology, allows the user to de-identify files locally, inserting a subject identifier which conforms to de-identification norms, and to validate the changes, prior to transmission. Once the results of the de-identification process have been validated, the files are securely transmitted. Upon arrival, the data is stored in our fault-tolerant storage area network and the database is populated with relevant metadata attributes.
The IDA contains data collected from thousands of subjects participating in studies on development, aging, and the progression of specific diseases. Researchers control access to their data and many have generous data sharing policies and support online access requests.
Computing Resources
The INI’s new home, the Stevens Hall for Neuroimaging (SHN), has undergone a complete revitalization and now houses LONI, the state-of-the-art Center for Image Acquisition, and the unparalleled Data Center, as well as workspaces for over 90 faculty, post-docs, students and staff in an area over 17,000 square feet.
The Data Center is a secure facility requiring multiple layers of access to reach all sensitive equipment. The entire building has 24/7 redundant video monitoring and the data center adds motion-detection monitoring. An integrated computing, network, and storage environment boasting 4096 processor cores and 38 Terabytes of memory comprise a massively scalable, highly-available computation array. The storage cluster of 66 nodes with 7.5 Petabytes of high-performance storage, fault-tolerant processing with multiple levels of data backup, and redundant isolated power supplies with unmatched connectivity and bandwidth make use of the latest virtualization technology to support processing power with a minimal physical and energetic footprint.
Poster Printing
LONI offers large format color poster printing to its researchers and collaborators with a turn-around time of four business days. For details on submitting your file and tips on printing, see the poster printing request form.
Additional Information / Resources