Browsing by Author "Ssentongo, Lloyd"

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    Deploying Educational Roaming (eduroam) in a Rural Research Institution in Rakai, Uganda; Challenges and Lessons Learned
    (UbuntuNet Alliance, 2016) Ssentongo, Lloyd; Kimera, Rodgers; kakeeto, Ben; Mubiru, Moses; Tartakovsky, Michael
    The NIAID International Center for Excellence in Research (ICER) in Uganda, RHSP (Rakai Health Sciences Program) recently deployed the eduroam service at the laboratories and offices in the village of Kalisizo and the main offices at Entebbe. Eduroam is a global framework to allow academics and researchers to have wireless access from any participating institution. An acronym for educational roaming, eduroam is a user friendly solution that provides a common WiFi network (SSID) at all participating universities and research organizations. Unlike the typical model of “guest” networks, this system provides a real identity to which network administrators and security staff can map both traffic and activity. There are clearly defined structures in place for reporting inappropriate activity to the home institution. The deployment of eduroam by the Office of Cyber Infrastructure and Computational Biology at the Ugandan ICER faced challenges and taught the team a number of lessons. The implementation began May 2016 in a test environment and was one of the first organizations to do so in Uganda. We share our experience in as far as challenges and lessons learnt.
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    Using publicly available, interactive epidemiological dashboards: an innovative approach to sharing data from the Rakai Community Cohort Study
    (Oxford University Press, 2024-10) Footer, Kevin; Lake, Camille M; Porter, Joshua R; Ha, Grace K; Ahmed, Tanvir; Glogowski, Alex; Ndyanabo, Anthony; Grabowski, M Kate; Chang, Larry W; Ssekasanvu, Joseph; Kagaayi, Joseph; Serwadda, David M; Mckina, Jackie; Whalen, Christopher; Ssentongo, Lloyd; Nsimbi, Ivan; Kakeeto, Benedicto; Kigozi, Godfrey; Ssekubugu, Robert; Lutalo, Tom; Wawer, Maria J; Gray, Ronald H; Reynolds, Steven J; Rosenthal, Alex; Quinn, Thomas C; Tartakovsky, Michael
    Public sharing of de-identified biomedical data promotes collaboration between researchers and accelerates the development of disease prevention and treatment strategies. However, open-access data sharing presents challenges to researchers who need to protect the privacy of study participants, ensure that data are used appropriately, and acknowledge the inputs of all involved researchers. This article presents an approach to data sharing which addresses the above challenges by using a publicly available dashboard with de-identified, aggregated participant data from a large HIV surveillance cohort.ObjectivesPublic sharing of de-identified biomedical data promotes collaboration between researchers and accelerates the development of disease prevention and treatment strategies. However, open-access data sharing presents challenges to researchers who need to protect the privacy of study participants, ensure that data are used appropriately, and acknowledge the inputs of all involved researchers. This article presents an approach to data sharing which addresses the above challenges by using a publicly available dashboard with de-identified, aggregated participant data from a large HIV surveillance cohort.Data in this study originated from the Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS), which was integrated into a centralized data mart as part of a larger data management strategy for the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Uganda. These data were used to build a publicly available, protected health information (PHI)-secured visualization dashboard for general research use.Materials and MethodsData in this study originated from the Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS), which was integrated into a centralized data mart as part of a larger data management strategy for the Rakai Health Sciences Program in Uganda. These data were used to build a publicly available, protected health information (PHI)-secured visualization dashboard for general research use.Using two unique case studies, we demonstrate the capability of the dashboard to generate the following hypotheses: firstly, that HIV prevention strategies ART and circumcision have differing levels of impact depending on the marital status of investigated communities; secondly, that ART is very successful in comparison to circumcision as an interventional strategy in certain communities.ResultsUsing two unique case studies, we demonstrate the capability of the dashboard to generate the following hypotheses: firstly, that HIV prevention strategies ART and circumcision have differing levels of impact depending on the marital status of investigated communities; secondly, that ART is very successful in comparison to circumcision as an interventional strategy in certain communities.The democratization of large-scale anonymized epidemiological data using public-facing dashboards has multiple benefits, including facilitated exploration of research data and increased reproducibility of research findings.DiscussionThe democratization of large-scale anonymized epidemiological data using public-facing dashboards has multiple benefits, including facilitated exploration of research data and increased reproducibility of research findings.By allowing the public to explore data in depth and form new hypotheses, public-facing dashboard platforms have significant potential to generate new relationships and collaborations and further scientific discovery and reproducibility.ConclusionBy allowing the public to explore data in depth and form new hypotheses, public-facing dashboard platforms have significant potential to generate new relationships and collaborations and further scientific discovery and reproducibility. MEDLINE - Academic